Posted in: Pop Culture, Sports, WWE | Tagged: Asuka, becky lynch, bleeding cool, bret hart, cable, charlotte flair, cm punk, Hulk Hogan, John Cena, pro wrestling, Smackdown, streaming, television, tv, wrestling, wwe

WWE Smackdown: Why "The Man" Becky Lynch is "The Face That Runs The Place"

Professional wrestler Becky Lynch is a revolution of her own making by doing something no other woman has done in WWE: become its top star…"The Face That Runs The Place."

On the January 1st edition of WWE's SmackDown, Lynch crashed John Cena's return to the company, declaring an open challenge to anyone in the back. What fans weren't expecting was "The Man" making her way to the ring doing the typical "youth versus veteran" promo where she's the current face of WWE – even adding a veiled threat in the process before Zelina Vega came out.

Cena and Lynch were booked in the sub main event against Vega and Andrade Almas; and after Cena and Lynch emerged victorious, Lynch mocked Cena using his own trademarks against him after he offered a handshake gesturing the "U Can't See Me" – showing she doesn't care who and what you are. She'll beat the living daylights out of anyone, and people are eating it up: the video of the Cena-Lynch confrontation was a top trend on YouTube.

Now there are two types of WWE main stars: first, the "groomed champion," which are those the company positions on purpose to be the company's featured talent (sometimes whether the fans like them or not). Examples are Hulk Hogan, Bret "The Hitman" Hart, Cena, and Roman Reigns. The second is the "unexpected underdog rebel," with examples of this type being "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, CM Punk… and Lynch.

Lynch falls into the latter category after Charlotte Flair received mixed reactions for winning the SmackDown Women's Title in their three-way match with Carmella. Lynch "turned" on her best friend Flair – and fans loved it, embracing her edgier, tough-as-nails, tell-it-like-it-is persona. Not only did she stand out for her wrestling ability, she's grabbing the torch and exerting her authority as the top star – regardless of gender. As masterful as she is in the ring and on the mic, she's become just as vicious on social media.

A leader embraces his/her status to take charge to put the company on his/her back. While talent was segregated in their own divisions, Lynch transcended her "place" by earning her "spot" the same way others like Austin and Punk did before her. She doesn't even need the title to remain "The Man." While Asuka's reign as SmackDown Women's Champion is long overdue, Lynch has become an undisputed leader in that locker room. The kind of quality talent is starting to parallel WWE's own "Attitude Era," when Austin, Triple H and Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson were battling for supremacy – now? It's Lynch, Flair, and Asuka.

Lynch isn't the top female talent like Trish Status, Sable, or Alundra Blayze/Medusa were before her – but "The Man" is the top talent of the company, like Hogan, Hart, Austin, Punk and Cena. Wrestling fans are lining up behind her – as you can see on television, at live events, and in merchandising sales.

This has nothing to do with the quantity or quality of the male talentin the WWE: to steal a phrase from Triple H, it's because Lynch is just…that…damn…good!

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