WWE Gives Fans What They Want with Becky Lynch's Women's Royal Rumble Win

Becky Lynch winning the women's Royal Rumble is a case study in a simple lesson for WWE: Predictability can be a good thing.

The Irish Lass Kicker's hot streak that started six or so months ago made it seem like she was headed toward a possible main event slot at WrestleMania 35.

Not one of three "main events" either—she seemed destined for the main event slot against someone such as Ronda Rousey or Charlotte Flair, if not both in what seems like an obvious match. Put in basketball terms, it's a layup.

WWE didn't miss one Sunday night, though it got a little overly complicated trying to swerve fans anyway. Lynch dropped her title bout to Asuka earlier in the night, which was a good outcome for all involved because The Empress of Tomorrow herself deserves the run she's finally getting after mostly going misused since coming to the main roster.

Later, Lynch wasn't an entrant in the women's Royal Rumble match until Lana went down with an injury on her way to the ring, and it was The Man who wound up getting the nod at No. 30. WWE then tossed in an injury angle at the end to muddy the potential outcome.

But everyone knew:

Which isn't to say there wasn't some good storytelling in there. Nia Jax further injuring Lana backfired at the hands of Lynch. And The Man getting some revenge on Jax for the real-life injury inflicted in November worked, too.

Props for making it entertaining and fitting at least, right? Lynch rose to stardom when she organically won over crowds in a way we haven't really seen since Daniel Bryan's run to the memorable WrestleMania main event.

Over this time span, Lynch endured a brief character botch presumably from her bosses backstage before embracing The Man persona. More impressively, she fought through the broken face suffered at the hands of Jax, which ruined an anticipated match and put her entire push in danger.

Yet through it all, Lynch somehow managed to maintain her status as the hottest property in WWE, which, if we're being honest, was always the biggest hurdle. She was the proverbial lightning in the bottle that the company smartly rode, but time itself was always going to be a problem—could she remain that hot all the way through to WrestleMania?

It's clear now the only correct answer is yes. And from here, predictable is a good thing again—The Man is going to gun for Rousey. Again, it's the only correct answer. WWE clearly wants the former UFC star in the main event, and rather than force something with Flair or otherwise, it has the most organic matchup possible.

Lynch's ascension to the top makes the first-ever women's main event one that walks the casual-hardcore fan tightrope perfectly.

The Man and Rousey have had the proper run-ins and comments about each other for months, both of which will only improve as the match gets closer. And from a send-off standpoint, the actual winner is hard to predict. Does Rowdy walk out the champion? Does Lynch get one final reward for her organic rise and a title win that would still register as a surprise despite everything that has happened?

Maybe that's the beauty of it, as the stars don't usually align like this. The brass in WWE has promised change, and while fans have seen flashes of it, Raw still has a mostly absent top champion and a hole in the men's roster at the top. Bringing back a part-timer or two for massive 'Mania slots would only go against the promises made and wouldn't solve long-term problems.

Luckily for those decision-makers, staying the course with Lynch solves quite a few problems. Predictable works and doesn't leave many fans upset in rare scenarios like this for good reason.

And perhaps this glosses over the biggest point of all—Lynch has earned every bit of it. She has forced her way into the main event scene, made the predictable enthralling, edge-of-seat material in a way maybe only she can.

The reward, as it should be, is a Royal Rumble win and perhaps the first-ever women's WrestleMania main event.