Two Major Character Turns At WWE SummerSlam 2022

From babyface to heel, and from heel to babyface...

by Andrew Pollard
WWE SummerSlam 2022 Becky Lynch Bianca Belair
WWE

Coming out of WWE SummerSlam 2022, it appears that two of the company's top female talents have undergone character changes.

After coming up short against Raw Women's Champion Bianca Belair, it seems Becky Lynch has now turned babyface. Post-match, Big Time Becks shared a handshake and a hug with the EST, before then later standing side-by-side with Belair once the returning Bayley came out to confront Bianca. Of course, the Role Model wasn't alone, for she had Dakota Kai and IYO SKY (the former Io Shirai) with her.

Elsewhere, it appears that Ronda Rousey is now a heel. With her SmackDown Women's Title match ending controversially, Rousey attacked Liv Morgan after the bout, putting her in an armbar before then doing the same to the referee. As for that controversial finish, Morgan retained her prize after countering an armbar into a pinning combination and getting the three count. The issue here, was that Liv tapped out one second before the referee counted three.

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These character changes, the return of Bayley, and the main roster arrivals of Kai and SKY certainly shake things up where the WWE's women's divisions are concerned.

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Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.