How WWE Killed The Superstar Babyface

Becky Lynch Charlotte
WWE

The scripting required to get 'The Irish Lass Kicker's heel turn over as a logical extension of her SmackDown Women's Title reclamation arc was only creditable in its stubborn complexity. It had several purposes to serve; to generate ernest boos from the building that erupted for her actual turn, to further the hostilities with new Champion Charlotte, and to direct Becky's disdain as much towards the fans as her former friend.

What this was really doing was highlighting some inconvenient truths about the entire collapse of the storyline. One; that the live reaction to Becky Lynch's post-match SummerSlam assault on Charlotte Flair meant absolutely nothing. Two; that the anticipated live reactions to Becky Lynch's explanation of her post-match SummerSlam assault on Charlotte Flair meant even less.

The problem isn't isolated to Flair/Lynch of course. The manner in which WWE crafted a Roman Reigns Universal Title victory that wasn't booed out of the building was unapologetically ingenious, but shouldn't be rewarded for that. A fan's role is to love and love to hate the characters and storylines, not marvel at how an organisation finally found a Plan C after nearly three years of trying.

This again reverts back to the company asking fans to treasure the organisation rather than the performers themselves. This despite the fact that WWE are in many ways bigger heels than any of their top villains could hope to be.

CONT'D...

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Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett