At this year’s SummerSlam pay-per-view, Becky Lynch made her long-awaited return to WWE, defeating Bianca Belair in just under 30 seconds to win the SmackDown Women’s Championship. While many fans were excited to see The Man step back into the squared circle after an extended absence, many also criticized WWE for its decision to have her squash Belair for the title. One person who has evidently taken issue with the booking is a WWE Hall of Famer.
In a post-SummerSlam shoot interview, retired wrestler Nikki Bella (real name Nicole Garcia-Colace) — who was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame alongside her twin sister, Brie, as part of the Class of 2020 — was asked what her favorite moment from the show was. “I can tell you what wasn’t my favorite moment, and it was when she [Belair] lost,” Bella replied.
“That definitely was not my favorite moment,” she continued. “And I don’t know if I actually had a favorite moment, ’cause, you know, I’ve always backed the women and I’m always for the women. And you have someone like Bianca who’s such an incredible talent. And you can’t help but get frustrated when you see moments like that, of like, a championship that meant so much and was lost within seconds. So, I have to admit, for this SummerSlam, there truly wasn’t anything that was my favorite.”
Going into SummerSlam, Belair had been WWE SmackDown Women’s Champion for 133 days, having defeated Sasha Banks for the title on the first night of WrestleMania 37 back in April. Belair earned the right to challenge Banks for the belt at ‘Mania after winning the Women’s Royal Rumble match in January.
Originally, Belair was slated to defend the SmackDown Women’s title against Banks at SummerSlam. However, Banks was not cleared to compete and was pulled from the show as a result. At first, it seemed as though Banks would be replaced by Carmella. Lynch then made her way to the ring to take part in the match instead. Less than a minute later, she was champion.
Prior to SummerSlam, Lynch had not been seen on WWE television in 15 months, having taken a leave of absence due to her real-life pregnancy. Lynch, who was WWE Raw Women’s Champion at the time, announced her pregnancy on the May 11, 2020 episode of Monday Night Raw, at which point she relinquished her championship belt to Asuka, who had won Money in the Bank the previous night.
Source: Twitter
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