#259: Becky Lynch vs. Charlotte Flair, WWE Evolution (10/28/2018).
This is a Last Woman Standing Match for Becky's Smackdown Women's Championship.
At the 2018 SummerSlam event in August, Charlotte Flair became a 7 time Womenâs Champion when she won the Smackdown Womenâs Championship, by defeating champion Carmella and Becky Lynch. During the post match, Charlotte and Becky â two long time friends â seemed to embrace the moment. Then, out of nowhere, Becky turned on Charlotte and absolutely beat the hell out of her. On the following episode of Smackdown, Becky berated the fans, claiming that they never supported her during her time in the company, and that she was denied the opportunities that were simply handed to Charlotte.
This entire scenario was done as a way to turn Becky heel. There was just one tiny problem, though â she wasnât being booed. Like, at all. In fact, she was starting to get huge cheering reactions from the fans. This led to WWE tweaking the storyline between the two, making it so that both women made valid points about the other. That didnât stop the fans from showering Charlotte with boos anytime she was in the ring with Becky, whereas Becky was cheered like a conquering hero, no matter what she did.
The two faced off at the Hell in a Cell PPV in September, where Becky would regain the Smackdown Womenâs Championship for the 2nd time, and she would subsequently defend the title against Charlotte at the Super Show-Down event in Australia. Nothing was settled between the two though, and the stage was set for a huge match up between the two at the historic Evolution PPV. The show was an important one for the company, as it was the very first all womenâs WWE PPV in history.
Now, depending on how you see things, this show could have taken place for a multitude of reasons. Of course, thereâs the reason that WWE wants you to believe â that they created the Womenâs Revolution, and this show is the culmination of the promotionâs hard work in presenting them as athletes and not just eye candy. Which, to be fair, is 100% true. After years of womenâs matches being way too short, or just about seeing who can get undressed the fastest, WWEâs womenâs division was consistently putting on the best matches on any show they were on. They deserved a PPV solely for themselves.
And then, thereâs the other reason. Crown Jewel, WWEâs 2nd show in Saudi Arabia, took place five days after this event. And at the time, women were not allowed to compete in Saudi Arabia. That has of course changed in recent years, but at the time, many people believed that Evolution only existed as an apology gift for the women, who were not allowed to go to Crown Jewel due to the possibility of harm coming to them. Whatever the case, thatâs up to you to decide.
As it is, Evolution was and still is a historic moment in WWE history, and both Becky and Charlotte each went out there to show just how far Womenâs wrestling had come in the last several years. In the aftermath of this show â and this match in particular â big things were coming for the women, and for Becky Lynch, she was about to take the entire wrestling world by storm.
There are no countouts or disqualifications in this match, and the only way to win is to keep your opponent down for a 10 count. Charlotte enters first to a, well, letâs just say itâs not the most positive reception. Nothing really against her personally, but she wasnât Becky, thus the fans didnât give a fuck. Itâs a shame honestly that Charlotte is a victim of WWEâs atrocious booking, because she really is one of the most talented women in the world.
The fans loudly cheer for Becky before she even enters. Her music hits, and Becky comes out to a welcoming reception from the New York crowd. Michael Cole talks about the fateful night in 2015, when Charlotte, Becky, and Sasha Banks were all introduced to the main roster, and how things changed from there. Becky is getting a very positive reaction from the fans despite being a heel. The ring intros are done, and poor Charlotte gets booed out of the arena. Meanwhile, Becky is welcomed like a hero.
The bell sounds, and this Last Woman Standing Match is under way. They each exchange shots and are blocked, and Becky gets in Charlotteâs face, telling her that this is her time. Charlotte shoves her to the mat. Becky is back up and delivers a clothesline to Charlotte, who gets up quickly. They stare each other down, and Charlotte takes Becky down. Becky comes off the ropes, and clotheslines Charlotte, then delivers a leg drop and an elbow.
Becky delivers some uppercuts, before Charlotte delivers a neckbreaker. Charlotte goes to the top rope, and Becky pulls her down to the mat below. Becky hits the Exploder Suplex, sending Charlotte into the corner. Becky goes to the middle rope and looks to dive down, but Charlotte moves out of the way. The Queen then hits Becky with a big boot to the face. She looks to capitalize, but Becky pulls her head into the middle turnbuckle. Becky then tosses her to the outside.
Becky grabs a kendo stick from under the ring, and unloads on Charlotte! Several shots to the back, until Charlotte blocks her shots. Becky kicks her low, and sends her to the ground. She smashes her head off the apron, as the crowd chants for tables. Becky grabs a chair from under the ring, while Charlotte grabs one as well and sends it into the ring. They stare at each other, egging the other on to throw more chairs into the ring.
Nice âECWâ chant. Charlotte drags a table from underneath, and Becky meets her with a dive off the steps. Charlotte responds with an exploder suplex on the floor. Becky grabs a chair and hits Charlotte across the spine, then drives the top of it into her ribs. The fans chant âYou Deserve It.â Amazing. Back in the ring, Becky tosses Charlotte onto the pile of chairs. Michael Cole discusses how Becky has a cult following with the fans now. Right, or they just fucking love her a lot!
Becky looks for a suplex on the chairs, but Charlotte fights it off and delivers a back suplex onto the chairs! Charlotte goes to the outside, and she grabs another table from under the ring. As she reenters, Becky kicks her down to the floor. Becky sets the table up inside the ring. Charlotte crawls back into the ring, and Becky drops Charlotte with a front suplex onto the chairs! She grabs Charlotte and lays her across the table, then she scales the top rope. Charlotte is back up, knocking Becky down. She stomps at the head of the champion, and then lays her on the table now. Hard forearms to the chest follow, and now Charlotte goes to the top rope. She comes down with a moonsault onto Becky, but the table doesnât even budge! The table falls over, but Charlotte sets it back up, and smashes Beckyâs face on it. She lays her across it again, and goes back to the top rope. Charlotte comes down with a diving senton, sending Becky crashing through the table! Both women get back to their feet in time, and Charlotte powders out of the ring. She grabs a ladder from underneath and sends it into the ring. Charlotte goes to set the ladder up, but Becky knocks her down. In a brief moment, the ladder is standing on its own by accident. Nice! Becky grabs Charlotte and power slams her right on top of the ladder! Becky, the heel, is getting cheered for that!
She goes for it again, but Charlotte catches her with a chop block. She kicks at the leg, then drags her to the ladder. She ties her legs up in the ladder, and stomps on it. Using the ladder to her advantage, Charlotte locks in the Figure 8 with Beckyâs legs trapped in the ladder! Becky grabs a nearby chair and hits Charlotte with it to break the hold. Becky rolls to the outside of the ring, and Charlotte follows her. Becky sends her into the steel steps. Becky pleads for Charlotte to stay down. Now she sends her face first into the ring post. Becky grabs the championship and looks to leave the arena with it. Charlotte catches up to her in the crowd, and stops her.
She unloads on Becky with heavy chops to the chest, and Becky does the same. Charlotte gets the upper hand, and sends her back over to the ringside area. She tears apart the German announcerâs table, and bounces Beckyâs head off of the other table multiple times. Charlotte grabs another ladder from under the ring, and sets it up in front of the table. Becky uses the championship to catch Charlotte off guard, hitting her right between the eyes.
Becky hits Charlotteâs head off the table, and then places her on it. Becky climbs the ladder, and comes down with a leg drop, sending Charlotte through the announcerâs table! Becky is back up first, and Charlotte somehow gets up as well. Becky drives her boot into Charlotte, followed by several forearms. Becky then grabs chairs at ringside, and chairs from in the ring, and buries Charlotte under them. She even grabs a piece of the broken table! Like a zombie from the depths of Hell, Charlotte stands up and stares Becky down!
Charlotte comes at her with the kendo stick, hitting her several times on the body! A spear follows. She drags Becky to the front of the ring, and sets up the table from earlier in the match. She grabs Beckyâs head and slams it off of the table. She places her on top of it and then goes to the top turnbuckle. Becky is back up, and grabs her for a powerbomb off the corner, through the table on the outside! The crowd is still aggressively cheering for Becky! The referee counts, and Charlotte is unable to get up before the count of 10! Becky retains the Smackdown Womenâs Title! Michael Cole tries to sell that the fans are cheering for both, but...come on, they are cheering for Becky!
Man, the women have come a long way in WWE, havenât they? My hats off to them. What a fantastic showing between two of the best wrestlers in the world â not just women, but WRESTLERS. This is such an interesting match to watch in hindsight, because the evidence that Becky Lynch was about to become one of the most beloved figures in wrestling was obvious on this show.
Kudos to Charlotte for working through those boos. She put on an Iron Man worthy performance, gritting her teeth through some tough offense from Becky. Both women gelled perfectly on this historic night for the womenâs division. The hatred between them was obvious from the start, and they worked hard to sell that to the crowd. Speaking of the crowd, hats off to them because they were hot for this match!
They helped to elevate it even higher by being vocal to everything, whether good or bad. Beckyâs road to WrestleMania 35 really kicked off here, and one broken nose, one concussion, and a Royal Rumble victory later, and Becky would be one of the reasons that the women got to main event WrestleMania for the very first time. Take a deep breath, and say it out loud, folks â Becky Lynch is a fucking trailblazer. You could almost call her...The Man.