WWE, shockingly enough, has done an incredible job telling an actually compelling story in the ongoing feud between Charlotte, the Divas champion, and Becky Lynch, the friend she stabbed in the back who is trying to win the title from her. It's been written well, paced properly, and, most importantly, the performers involved have been at the top of their game all throughout.
The latest chapter, from Monday's Raw, saw Lynch use Ric Flair to talk her way into another shot at the strap (with Charlotte none too happy about it). She got one over on those who had gotten one too many over on her during a time of vulnerability, created by the bond the two initially shared, the bond that was shattered when Charlotte chose glory through nefarious means and Becky stayed true to herself.
Like I said, it's been a great story if you bothered to get invested in it.
The big match will take place at a major pay-per-view, the Royal Rumble event this Sun., Jan. 24 in Orlando, Fla. It's fitting they'll be back where they made their names in NXT for what could be the biggest -- and, hopefully, best -- match in the Divas division since the two were called up to start the so-called "Divas Revolution" last July.
Becky delivered a great promo to get to the match on Raw but she cemented herself as the top babyface in all of WWE with this interview she gave Rich Brennan after the show:
"I can't even begin to tell you, Rich, how much this means to me. When I was back in Ireland the Royal Rumble was always like the big event of the year for me. I would stay up, I would go into school the next morning absolutely exhausted because it would be on until 4 o'clock in the morning. This is my pay-per-view; this is my dream come true. And everything that's happened, Charlotte turning her back on me, Paige turning her back on me, all the back-stabbing, you know, it's bled all the naivety out of me and there's nothing left but pure adrenaline, pure anger, and pure motivation to win that title, to win the Divas champion (sic). You're looking at the new Divas champion, Rich. This is the greatest day of my life.
"Rich, did I just outplay the dirtiest player in the game? Did I just outplay him? I think I did, Rich. Does that make me the new dirtiest player in the game? Well, we'll have to see but you know what? No, I'm going to keep it right. I'm going to keep it right and I'm going to win on my own back. There's going to be nobody in my corner, there's going to be nobody helping me out, so that when I win it's going to mean all that much more. But you know what, I've got the support of the entire WWE Universe ... I hope, I hope, and I appreciate that. And I think that's given me a jet pack and is sending me soaring into that Royal Rumble."
That is perfect. It sets you up to bask in her triumph if she succeeds or rip your guts out if she fails. That creates a scenario where WWE cannot fail, no matter their choice. We'll either be happy Becky reached her goal or devastated she didn't. What's great is we can be certain she'll be even more devastated and that will get us behind her that much more.
WWE did next to nothing right on this week's episode of Raw but they've done next to nothing wrong with the story they've told with these women.