Plans for a major Becky Lynch rivalry were unexpectedly changed, as former WWE superstar Shayna Baszler recently revealed, due to the COVID-19 pandemic and unforeseen backstage shifts. The Becky Lynch rivalry plans changed dramatically, impacting careers and altering the course of multiple WWE storylines at the height of uncertainty in 2020.
WWE Shake-Ups in the Midst of the Pandemic
The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 forced WWE into uncharted territory, canceling live crowds and drastically changing how shows were produced for over a year. The lack of an audience stripped pro wrestling of its communal energy and forced the company to make quick and substantial creative adjustments.
In the months leading up to March 2020, Shayna Baszler, a former NXT Women’s Champion and then WWE superstar, had been enjoying a substantial main roster push. She gained significant attention after excelling at the Royal Rumble and, most notably, by dominating in the Elimination Chamber 2020 match—where she defeated five competitors to earn a shot at Becky Lynch’s Raw Women’s Championship.
Initial Plans for Shayna Baszler and Becky Lynch Feud
During an interview with Chris Van Vliet on Insight, Baszler shed new light on what was supposed to be a marquee rivalry. According to Baszler’s account, she was set to not only feud with Becky Lynch but also capture the Raw Women’s Title from her. This key storyline, however, was derailed by the abrupt stoppage of live audience shows and subsequent changes in WWE’s strategy during the pandemic.
“I was originally told, and who knows in this business, but I was originally told, ‘Yeah, you’re gonna go into a feud with Becky and eventually win the title off her.’ COVID happens, and then we all get told, well, there’s gonna be no audience, so we want a title change like that to happen in front of a live crowd.And remember, at that time, we didn’t know this was going to be like a year. So we’ll wait till we get back to live crowds, and we’ll just keep extending the thing, and then Becky gets pregnant, and they don’t want to just award a title to me.”
After her standout Elimination Chamber win, Baszler faced Lynch at WrestleMania 36 inside a near-empty WWE Performance Center, losing in an anticlimactic match that was far removed from the atmosphere of previous WrestleManias.
Title Plans Abandoned as Real-Life Events Intervene
Original creative ideas never materialized, in large part due to Becky Lynch’s real-life pregnancy. WWE management’s intention was to see a title change occur in front of paying fans, a plan ruined by the extended ban on live crowds. By the time WWE was ready for such a moment, Lynch’s pregnancy forced the company to pivot yet again, scrapping the intended payoff for Baszler and altering her trajectory on the main roster.
Adding to frustration for Baszler was the decision not to hand her the Raw Women’s Championship during this pivotal period. Instead, she remained in limbo as management weighed their options, ultimately deciding not to simply vacate and assign the title to her amidst the absence of an active champion.
Unexpected Shift to Asuka and Money in the Bank
The fallout of Becky Lynch’s announcement led to a second major pivot. Lynch defeated Baszler at WrestleMania 36 and, weeks later, revealed on Raw that she was pregnant, passing the Raw Women’s Title to Asuka, who had just won the Money in the Bank match. This outcome was not the originally planned direction for the championship’s future.
“So then it was like, okay, Asuka, so maybe we’ll put you in a feud with Asuka. Funny story about that, by the way, I’ll tell this. Nobody knows this story. So COVID happens, and they’re like, ‘Yeah, in front of no audience. What we’re gonna do is we’re gonna shoot cinematic Money in the Bank. You’re gonna win that and then carry your feud on with Becky as the Money in the Bank winner.’ Okay, great, cool, whatever you need.We fly in, which was really weird, because everything was shut down, so it was like a ghost town at the airport and everything. That was really weird. But we get there, and they’re reading us the general idea for Money in the Bank in Titan Towers. And we’re like, all right, and then Asuka climbs and wins.But they had told me, ‘Oh, you’re gonna win Money in the Bank.’ And then so my newly called up NXT fresh meat is going, ‘Oh my god, they’ve lost faith in me. They hate me. They don’t want me to be in this. They’re taking me out of the thing. I don’t know, this is so bad.’ So I’m just beating myself up.And then it was totally kayfabe to the locker room, and everyone, Becky comes out and announces this whole thing about being pregnant, the winner of the Money in the Bank won the title. And I was like, ‘You guys couldn’t have told me, because I’ve been thinking this whole time that I’m the worst and you guys hate me. But you couldn’t have been like, ‘Hey, it’s not you. We can’t tell you why. You’ll find out.” You were like, ‘And then you’re gonna win Money in the Bank.’ Come on, guys. So like, you have no idea I was beating myself up, like, oh crap, it’s the end of my career.”
Baszler explained how she was told she would be the winner of Money in the Bank and was set to use that victory to further her storyline with Lynch. On arriving at the event, however, plans changed suddenly, and Asuka was instead declared the winner in an unforgettable, crowdless match filmed at Titan Towers.
The abrupt change left Baszler struggling emotionally and professionally, as she spent weeks believing her push was derailed out of disfavor. She would later learn that the nature of Lynch’s announcement was not to be shared with anyone in advance, intensifying her sense of isolation and confusion regarding her WWE standing during a period of widespread uncertainty and upheaval in the wrestling world.
Consequences for Shayna Baszler’s Career
Despite being a three-time WWE Women’s Tag Team Champion and a decorated NXT Women’s Champion, Shayna Baszler never captured a singles Women’s Title on WWE’s main roster. The ongoing disruptions caused by the pandemic, along with backstage decisions and unplanned life events, effectively halted her momentum and forced her into roles outside the championship spotlight she seemed destined for at the start of 2020.
The changes involving established stars like Becky Lynch, Asuka, and others reveal just how quickly WWE’s plans can be upended, particularly during extraordinary times. The emotional impact on performers highlights the uncertainties inherent in professional wrestling, where injuries, personal developments, and global events can abruptly alter even the most carefully constructed stories. While Baszler’s main roster singles run did not reach the championship heights originally envisioned, her revelations offer a rare, honest look behind the scenes at how the Becky Lynch rivalry plans changed and how such shifts ripple through the careers of everyone involved.
As WWE continues to adapt and evolve, the experiences shared by Baszler serve as a testament to the unpredictability of the sports entertainment industry, where opportunity and disappointment can hinge as much on real life as on creative direction.
