Bianca Belair’s homecoming was ruined by Becky Lynch on last week’s (Sept. 17) episode of SmackDown. The segment has only amplified WWE’s reputation for frequently humiliating their hometown stars. Following a recent spree of AEW wrestlers mostly going over big in their hometowns, this has now become a hot topic in the pro wrestling conversation.
WWE has followed up on Belair’s misfortune by releasing their latest top 10 video. This time they are ranking the top 10 spoiled homecomings. Check it out for yourself, if you think I’m joking:
10. Bliss pins Bayley for Raw women’s title in the Bay Area
9. Naomi attacks Paige in England
8. Mahal retains the WWE title vs. Orton in St. Louis
7. Charlotte Flair makes Trish Stratus tap in Toronto
6. Carlito upsets John Cena for the U.S. title in Boston
5. Brock Lesnar submits Rey Mysterio in the 619
4. Sasha Banks taps out Charlotte Flair in the Queen City
3. Becky Lynch drops Bianca Belair in Knoxville
2. Shane McMahon betrays The Miz in Cleveland
1. John Cena defeats Edge for the WWE title in Toronto
The person I feel the most sympathy for on this list is The Miz. Watch him have to lay there and sell Shane McMahon’s terrible attempts at MMA strikes and holds in front of his hometown crowd. Being eaten by zombies would be a more respectable fate for the A-Lister.
There isn’t something inherently wrong with booking a hometown star to get their ass kicked, and sometimes it can be a very effective way to get major heat on a heel. My issue with Belair’s segment is that she is the one who started the fight by refusing to let go of Becky’s hand. Becky Lynch responded by straight up beating her ass, further reinforcing that her 26 second victory over Belair at SummerSlam wasn’t a fluke.
The big problem here is that Lynch didn’t garner a bunch of heat from this segment. She did talk a lot of trash beforehand, but The Man did nothing reprehensible or over the line from a physical standpoint, so there’s little reason to be upset with her actions. The babyface started the fight, and the babyface got her ass kicked. That’s never a good thing when you’re the one the audience is supposed to be rooting for.
Do you actually have any personal favorite hometown humiliations in mind that didn’t make WWE’s list, Cagesiders?