Becky Lynch was floundering on SmackDown in November 2017. Despite being the captain of Team SmackDown at the 2017 Survivor Series event, Lynch was eliminated two minutes into the match by Bayley. She was written off television that same month in order to film The Marine 6: Close Quarters.
Her co-star in the film is Shawn Michaels, a WWE Hall of Famer and one of the best to ever do it. While on set, Michaels gave Lynch a piece of advice that helped renew her confidence when she returned.
“Things weren’t going as well as they are now before I left to shoot,” Lynch told Scott Fishman of TV Insider. “I remember him giving me advice saying, ‘When you go back, go in as a different person. Hold your head a little bit higher. Have that attitude that you’re a top star. Go with it.' I think this is what I’ve been trying to do since I came back.”
The results weren't evident immediately. Lynch had a good run in the Women's Royal Rumble -- she lasted over 30 minutes in the bout -- but was a non-factor heading into WrestleMania and ended up as one of many participants in the Women's Battle Royal. It wasn't until after Money in the Bank in June that Lynch started to be a featured player on SmackDown.
“It has been incredible, but it’s been playing the long game,” Lynch said. “It was built out of so much frustration as a human, character, just as a person. If you’re not in this to be the best and the top dog, then what’s the point. I think it’s the same for anything in life. There was a lot of times where I felt overlooked, and you questioned why. You’re doing all the right things, but it’s just not your time."
Lynch continued, "Everything is cyclical in WWE, in the world. Sometimes you’ll feel up and sometimes you’ll feel down. I was feeling like I was down too long. The crowd felt I was down too long."
It looked like Lynch's time would come at WWE SummerSlam, but Charlotte Flair "stole" the title from her best friend in a triple threat bout that also featured Carmella. The loss caused Lynch to reach her breaking point. She snapped on Charlotte and the Brooklyn crowd went crazy.
"I felt in that moment with Charlotte, the place erupted because it wasn’t a story that was manufactured. It was something that felt real because it was built on real feelings across the board," she said. "You almost don’t plan that stuff. Maybe it was in the grand scheme of things the whole time, but it felt like for three-and-a-half years this was the culmination. It was as if this was a three-and-a-half-year storyline.”
At Hell in a Cell, Lynch took her place on the throne, defeating Charlotte and capturing the SmackDown Women's Title. Lynch continues her feud with Charlotte this weekend at WWE Evolution. The two ladies will square off for the SmackDown Women's Title in a Last Woman Standing bout.
