Becky Lynch Beats Shayna Baszler, Keeps Raw Women's Title at WWE WrestleMania 36

Becky Lynch defeated Shayna Baszler on Night 1 of WrestleMania 36 on Saturday to retain the Raw Women's Championship and extend her yearlong reign.

Baszler had the Kirifuda Clutch locked in and Lynch was beginning to fade when the champion countered to roll through into a pin for the win.

After beating Ronda Rousey and Charlotte Flair in the Triple Threat main event of WrestleMania 35, Lynch ran through a long list of capable challengers, including Lacey Evans, Natalya, Sasha Banks and Asuka, but Baszler represented her biggest obstacle.

The Queen of Spades is the only two-time NXT women's champion, and her 548 combined days as the titleholder are the most of all time. With such an impressive resume, it seemed like a foregone conclusion that she would eventually contend for a major belt on the main roster.

She was a surprise entrant in the women's Royal Rumble match in January and made it to the final two before Flair eliminated her, but it wasn't long before she made her own break.

After Lynch beat Asuka in a match on Raw, Baszler attacked The Man and viciously bit the back of her neck, which sent the champion to hospital.

With The Queen of Spades officially in the mix on Raw, she was included in the Elimination Chamber match to determine Lynch's opponent at WrestleMania 36. She had a strong field to contend with in Asuka, Nattie, Ruby Riott, Sarah Logan and Liv Morgan.

She entered the Chamber fourth and made Natalya, Riott and Logan submit to the Kirifuda Clutch in a matter of minutes. Baszler then took out Morgan and finally eliminated Asuka to win the match and cement what was perhaps the most dominant Elimination Chamber performance of all time.

Since Baszler is a former UFC star, she was very much in her element at Elimination Chamber. After watching her rival decimate the rest of the Raw women's division, Lynch said she was dealing with one of the biggest challenges she had faced.

Baszler vs. Lynch made sense on several levels, including the fact that The Queen of Spades is close friends with Rousey, who suffered her first loss in WWE at the hands of The Irish Lass Kicker at last year's WrestleMania.

In addition to getting revenge for Rousey, Baszler was out to end one of the greatest women's title reigns in WWE history and prove her own worth as a top star on the main roster.

Lynch got one over on the Four Horsewomen of MMA once again, though, which could lead to Rousey returning in order to set her sights on The Man and the Raw women's title.

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