Becky Lynch has opened up about the behind-the-scenes fight to protect the story between herself and Bianca Belair at WrestleMania 38, revealing that WWE wanted to add a third person to the match before Lynch pushed back hard enough to change the outcome.
Speaking on Vulture's Good One podcast, Lynch reflected on the full arc of the program, starting with the moment she returned from maternity leave and took the SmackDown Women's Championship from Belair in seconds at SummerSlam 2021.
"We paid off the story in the most amazing way. And what was so incredible about Bianca — I could write a book about how amazing she is — but when I took that title from her, I know how upset she was because she thought, 'Oh, they don't believe in me anymore. They think I'm doing a bad job, and I get squashed in this way,'" Lynch said.
She acknowledged that Belair had every reason to feel aggrieved but chose graciousness instead. "She was so gracious. She was like, 'I'm so happy.' She could have been like, 'This bitch is coming in, taking my spot. She's been gone, I've been here putting in the hard work, and now I just have to roll over for her.'"
Lynch said she always wanted to pay that back in the biggest way possible and that reaching their WrestleMania 38 rematch required a fight of its own. At one point, WWE wanted to bring in a third competitor and turn the match into a triple threat.
"I was like, 'That's not the story.' That was going to be the hill I died on — I was ready to really fight," Lynch said.
The creative direction was eventually changed and the match remained one on one. Lynch said keeping it that way was essential to the story being told properly.
"Thankfully, they changed it, because it needed to go back to Bianca. If it had gone to a triple threat, they would have kept it on me. But the story needed Bianca to win and take that victory. And it just felt like such a happy, perfect ending."
Lynch challenges AJ Lee for the Women's Intercontinental Championship on Night One of WrestleMania 42 on April 18 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.
