5 Reasons why WWE has reportedly turned Becky Lynch heel
“Becky Lynch turns heel” is not a sentence that WWE fans thought they would read after waiting 15 months for The Man’s much-anticipated return.
Lynch gave birth to her first child with fellow WWE star Seth Rollins, Roux, in December 2020. After dropping several social media hints about her in-ring comeback, the WrestleMania 35 main-eventer finally returned at Saturday’s WWE SummerSlam pay-per-view.
Bianca Belair was originally supposed to defend her SmackDown Women’s Championship at the event against Sasha Banks. However, as Banks was unable to compete, Lynch stepped in and defeated Belair in a match which lasted just 27 seconds.
According to PW Insider’s Mike Johnson, the surprising storyline development was the beginning of a heel turn for the new SmackDown Women’s Champion:
“PWInsider.com has confirmed with multiple WWE sources that Becky Lynch is now a heel,” Johnson wrote. “Yes, you read that correctly. We are told that going forward, Lynch will be positioned as the top heel on Smackdown, initially feuding with Bianca Belair.”
The main question going around on social media right now is simply why? Becky Lynch was arguably WWE’s top babyface between August 2018 and May 2020, so why has she reportedly returned as a heel?
In this article, let’s try to explain the possible logic behind the four-time SmackDown Women's Champion's rumored character change.
#5. Becky Lynch's heel turn can make Bianca Belair a bigger babyface
The social media reaction to Bianca Belair vs. Becky Lynch has been less about Lynch’s return and more about WWE’s unusual treatment of Belair. The general consensus among fans is that WWE “buried” Belair by booking her to lose her title in such a short match.
WWE has booked similar match finishes in the past, most notably in 2019 when Brock Lesnar won the WWE Championship from Kofi Kingston. On that occasion, Lesnar quickly hit an F-5 to end Kingston’s six-month title reign in a seven-second match.
Kingston received a lot of support from fans due to the manner of his defeat. However, WWE did not capitalize on fans' reactions because Lesnar immediately entered into new feuds with Cain Velasquez and Rey Mysterio.
In Belair’s case, the support she has received since her unexpected title loss will only grow stronger if she feuds with a heel Becky Lynch.
In 2018, fans were not ready to boo Lynch because there was still so much for her to achieve as a babyface. Three years later, if Lynch fully commits to her heel role, she is talented enough to make fans dislike her and get behind Belair instead.