Ranking Most Likely Superstars to Beat Becky Lynch for WWE Raw Women's Title
Becky Lynch did the improbable by coming back from injury and fighting against The Authority, Charlotte Flair and Ronda Rousey to win the main event of WrestleMania 35 and capture both the Raw and SmackDown Women's Championships.
Since April 7, she has already lost the blue brand's belt but maintained her hold on the Raw women's title for a long stretch leading up to SummerSlam.
Come August 11, The Man will face off against Natalya, who is seeking to use home-field advantage in Toronto to become the new champion despite many already writing her off.
It doesn't seem The Queen of Harts has enough momentum on her side for a chance of beating Lynch, but the champion has to be dethroned somewhere down the line, and if it isn't by Natalya, who will do it?
Let's take a look at some of the most likely candidates who may have a shot at beating The Irish Lass Kicker to become the next Raw women's champion.
Honorable Mentions
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Before getting into the list, let's address some Superstars who didn't quite make the cut.
One of those is Alexa Bliss, who has had her run-ins with Lynch in the past after taking the SmackDown Women's Championship from her in December 2016.
The Goddess is always in the running for a big share of the spotlight, as she's one of the best talkers in the women's division and extremely popular with several title reigns to her name. However, her injuries may prevent WWE from giving her another title reign, at least in the near future.
Speaking of injuries, Nia Jax has been out of action for the past few months and will remain on the shelf until 2020. When she returns, though, she'll likely wreak havoc; she's too physically dominating for WWE not to have her as The Irresistible Force again.
She and Lynch have history from the build to Survivor Series last year, when Jax inadvertently injured The Man and altered the course of WWE history in the process. The company might want to capitalize on that, even though Jax does have a tendency to lose big matches and not stay on top too long.
If WWE had planned to put the belt on Lacey Evans, she would have already won the title by now. Instead, she lost three challenges in a row, rather decisively.
Still, that doesn't mean she's incapable of winning the belt further down the road if WWE wants her to be one of its biggest focal points.
The last woman here who could stand a chance, if all the cards aligned, is Trish Stratus.
She's a Hall of Famer and a legend with seven title reigns (eight if you count the Hardcore Championship) to her name, so credibility is not an issue. Lynch vs. Stratus would be a money match people would clamor to see, similar to her upcoming bout against Charlotte Flair at SummerSlam.
What disqualifies her from our list is her status as an exceedingly rare special cameo act, and it's doubtful Stratus would want to travel with WWE as much as being champion would require.
5. Nobody
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Technically speaking, Lynch can drop the title without losing, due to all sorts of complications or storyline directives.
If she were to suffer an injury, she could be forced to vacate the championship instead of losing the belt directly to an opponent in the ring.
In a scenario where she upsets an authority figure such as the McMahon Family, some convoluted means of stripping her of the title could take place to avoid having Lynch lose while getting heat on someone like Shane or Stephanie in the process.
It is much more likely Lynch would relinquish her championship than lose it to the majority of Superstars who have little chance in a straight-up contest.
4. Charlotte Flair
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As soul-crushing as it would be to have yet another feud between Lynch and Charlotte Flair, it's well within the realm of possibility.
WWE clearly will always value The Queen as the top overall female performer who has joined the company.
A concerted effort has been made to give her all the accolades, attention, notoriety and clout possible. Most of those achievements have been earned, but she has been WWE's "chosen one" to move into that position of power, and it probably isn't ending any time soon.
At any given time, WWE Chairman Vince McMahon could get the urge to put the belt on Flair to either get her closer to her father's record or in the hopes that beating The Man could make her hated by the WWE Universe even more.
3. Sasha Banks
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Since Sasha Banks disappeared from WWE television after WrestleMania, everything regarding the situation has been kept quiet. Even people in the loop don't know what is going on or are remaining tight-lipped.
The secrecy surrounding her potential return leaves The Boss's career open for an infinite amount of interpretations, and it only makes sense that one of those avenues could be a feud with Lynch.
The two haven't crossed paths much in recent times, and if Banks comes back in a heel turn, she could be the perfect opponent to offset The Man's popularity and attitude.
Assuming Banks reaches agreement with WWE on a big push to keep her happy, it would imply a title victory could be part of the deal, too.
Granted, it could be Bayley who suffers that loss, as Banks has more of a connection to her than Lynch, but that may be precisely why WWE would keep them separate and go with the feud that wasn't heavily hinted at for so long before they became tag team champions.
What stops Banks from being higher on this list, though, is that we simply don't know if she will ever return to WWE, when it will happen or how she'll be utilized.
2. Ronda Rousey
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Ronda Rousey's loss to Lynch was the only time she suffered a true defeat, so a retaliation is the easiest feud in the world to book.
It requires no effort to explain why she would want to go after the title—something everyone should always be fighting for—and why she would be a top contender, with her impressive win-loss record.
Getting a win over Lynch would make them even and give the Raw women's division the biggest celebrity as champion heading into WrestleMania 36 season, coinciding with Brock Lesnar's likely Universal Championship reign.
What's strange about this, though, is it would all take place on Raw, rather than SmackDown Live.
When the blue brand moves to Fox in October, there will probably be a greater focus on presenting the product as a sport than ever before. If I were a network executive, I would want Rousey (and Lesnar, for that matter) on my show as much as possible.
Why would WWE then book the opposite show on USA to be the place those two are featured? Even with the Wild Card Rule in effect, the Raw women's champion shouldn't spend more time on SmackDown.
Also, it's important not to overlook how Rousey simply may not be back in time to take Lynch down, considering her plans to start a family with husband Travis Browne.
In that case, WWE may look to the No. 1 pick on this list instead.
1. Shayna Baszler
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In a world where Rousey isn't a viable option to become the next champion, Shayna Baszler is the best backup plan WWE could hope for.
When The Queen of Spades eventually joins the main roster, WWE needs to book her at the top of the card, and a title win over the most popular women's champion in a long while would immediately earn her a stamp of approval.
Baszler's two title reigns in NXT have cemented her as a dominant champion capable of taking on all challengers and forging a path of destruction not seen since Asuka.
That has given her the credibility to beat Lynch, and her MMA background, ties to Rousey and her mean streak all make her the perfect foil.
Baszler would be fresh and exciting for the part of the fanbase that doesn't watch NXT, while those who are familiar with the developmental brand will know what she brings to the table.
Whenever she moves up to the main roster, she'll become a champion in no time, and with Lynch having so few believable contenders, it is the feud WWE should focus on for WrestleMania 36 and beyond.
Anthony Mango is the owner of the wrestling website Smark Out Moment and the host of the podcast show Smack Talk on YouTube, iTunes and Stitcher. You can follow him on Facebook and elsewhere for more.
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