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WWE's Plans for Becky Lynch Before Pregnancy; Rumors on Sami Zayn, Robert Roode
May 15, 2020
Bleacher Report catches you up on the latest news from the WWE Universe.
Reported Plans for Lynch Before Pregnancy Announcement
Becky Lynch announced on Monday's episode of Raw that she is pregnant, which resulted in her handing over the Raw Women's Championship to Asuka.
Lynch was not part of Sunday's Money in the Bank card because of her pregnancy, but WWE reportedly had big plans for her at the pay-per-view and afterward before learning that she was with child. She is engaged to fellow Superstar Seth Rollins, and the baby is due in December.
According to Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter (h/t WrestlingInc's Raj Giri), Lynch was supposed to beat Nia Jax in a title match at Money in the Bank. That reportedly would have led to Shayna Baszler winning the women's Money in the Bank ladder match and going on to feud with Lynch.
Instead, Asuka won the ladder match, and it was revealed on Raw that the match was actually for the Raw Women's Championship rather than a contract for a championship match.
Baszler spoke ill of Lynch after her pregnancy announcement in multiple backstage segments, while Asuka embraced and congratulated The Man. That suggests WWE may be setting up a rivalry between Asuka and Baszler for the Raw women's title.
Asuka and Baszler are two of the most technically skilled women in WWE and they have never had a singles match before, so most in the WWE Universe will likely be open to a program between them with the championship hanging in the balance.
Reported Backstage Feelings Regarding Zayn Getting Stripped of IC Title
WWE announced this week that Sami Zayn has been stripped of the Intercontinental Championship since he is unable to defend it. As a result, a tournament will be held to determine the new champion.
According to Meltzer (h/t Giri), WWE's decision made "a lot of people upset" within the company since Zayn is reportedly away from WWE because of his concerns regarding the coronavirus pandemic.
Meltzer noted that WWE told its wrestlers and employees that they do not have to work amid COVID-19 and that it won't be held against them if they choose not to. Meltzer added that there are "people in WWE who are currently working for job security reasons despite not being comfortable doing so."
Zayn beat Daniel Bryan at the WrestleMania 36 taping in March to retain the IC title, but he has not appeared on WWE programming ever since.
Since WrestleMania aired in April, it has now been well over a month since the Quebec, Canada, native defended the Intercontinental Championship. While some may view WWE stripping him of the title as a demotion, WWE also has an obligation to keep the title relevant.
Stripping Zayn of the title without him actually losing a match could make for a great storyline when Zayn decides to return since he can confront the winner of the tournament and start a feud with them.
Why Roode Has Been Absent from WWE TV
Robert Roode hasn't been seen on WWE programming for about two months, and it reportedly has to do with the coronavirus pandemic.
According to Meltzer (h/t H Jenkins of Ringside News), Roode has been unable to travel to the United States amid COVID-19, as he lives in Canada and is not permitted to enter the country. Meltzer noted that The Singh Brothers are experiencing the same problem; they are from the province of British Columbia.
Roode hasn't had a match since the Elimination Chamber pay-per-view on March 8 when he teamed with Dolph Ziggler in a losing effort as part of the SmackDown Tag Team Championship Elimination Chamber match won by The Miz and John Morrison.
Ziggler and Roode had been teaming for quite some time before coronavirus spread in large numbers and forced WWE to start holding its shows at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida, with no fans in attendance.
With Roode out of the picture for now, Ziggler has been aligned with Sonya Deville in a feud with Otis and Mandy Rose.
It is unclear if Roode will go back to teaming with Ziggler when he does return, but as a former NXT, Raw tag team and United States champion, he will undoubtedly have value regardless of how WWE opts to utilize him.
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