When ‘The Man’ Comes Around

When you’re babbling on about avocados, I’m main-eventing my show AND your show. Did you hear that last night, Ronda? That’s the sound they make when The Man comes around. pic.twitter.com/5JGZJIUhDW

— The Man (@BeckyLynchWWE) November 13, 2018

“There’s a man goin’ round taking names/and he’ll decide who to free and who to blame.”

Before this year’s Summerslam when Becky Lynch just exploded after losing post-match to Charlotte Flair, she was on quite the winning streak. Seven straight Smackdown Live matches, to be exact. She was a fan favorite, but since being the first Smackdown Woman’s champion, it was like she was stuck in the mud. Let’s not forget, she was the first woman to be drafted to Smackdown when the draft was reinstated.

This is not to the fault of her own. Carmella’s title reign, Asuka being called up on the brand after her undefeated streak in NXT, and concluding with the spectacular match against Charlotte at Wrestlemania 34 were certainly factors. There are so many wrestlers that you can get on a two hour show and so many storylines that you can put on a pay-per-view.

However, flash forward to the end of the Summerslam match. It was the beginning of something organic. Becky’s frustrations boiled over to attacking her best friend who had been picked as the “incumbent.” It’s dynasty vs. destiny. This is in no way taking anything away from Charlotte Flair. She will go down as one of the best wrestlers in history. From the story line standpoint, look at the Flair name. Can’t ignore that bloodline.

On July 13th, 2015 episode of RAW, PBC was brought up from NXT. Billed as the revolution from Stephanie McMahon, Paige and Charlotte came right out the gate and integrated themselves on the RAW brand. Charlotte quickly beat Nikki Bella for the Divas Championship and even had a feud with Paige when the group broke up. From a main roster standpoint, this story already had its basis. Charlotte was the chosen one. Think about it, there’s always a chosen one. It was always someone else. Sasha Banks. Charlotte Flair. Bayley. Etc.

However, there’s also the wrestler that the people choose. That people identify with. You can refer to the Daniel Bryan/YES movement, but there’s something gritty about this. Something just as natural.

I’m sure there are wrestling fans that feel overlooked in some form in their everyday lives. Whether it be a job that you feel that you deserved and didn’t get. Or perhaps something like a relationship that you want to break free from. The defiant and proud Becky Lynch is often clad in a black leather jacket, black shirt boldly stating “I Am The Man”, and holding the Smackdown Live title belt held high. She personifies them now. Lynch is breaking down the expectations of what is believed to be a forgone conclusion. It’s always the dark horses.

Last night, a blooded Becky Lynch stood tall against the “baddest woman on the planet,” Ronda Rousey. A defining moment.  Even before that, during Ronda’s promo, fans chanted Lynch’s name. Rousey billed her as the “millennial” champion. I’m sure that there will be another “millennial killed insert here” article published as a I type this. Ronda’s WWE run as been impressive, but she was picked as the special attraction. Her promo reeked of the conjecture and assumptions that many millennials face.

“You didn’t work for this, so why are you asking for more?” Ronda listed her accolades ranging from the UFC, judo in the Olympics, and Strikeforce and just glossed over Becky’s. What is being conveyed here is a real life problem. Just because you can’t see the work doesn’t mean that it’s not being done.

I’ve made the Stone Cold Steve Austin comparison recently, but I’m beginning to think that it’s too narrow for what’s going on now. However, there is a big parallel to draw. Both can level with being overlooked as some point. “There has to be another wrestler.” Stone Cold Steve Austin poured his anger and passion into his 1996-1997 with epic battles going against Bret Hart and concluding with winning the championship from Shawn Michaels at Wrestlemania.

You don’t even have to watch each show immediately to know what happened because people will point to these signature moments and talk about them. There are almost iconic pictures that will be shown. That’s staying power. These wrestlers become more than their characters.

The people chose them because the emotions that they were emoting in their promos were real. Who didn’t feel like flipping off their boss? Where Austin captured an essence of the “Attitude Era,” Becky is tapping into a time where she shattering that we think the head of a wrestling company is. The answer was right in front of us the whole time. The image of a bloody and screaming Stone Cold Steve Austin as he passed out in his “I Quit” match against Bret Hart in Wrestlemania 13 came to my head during the Raw invasion. Greatness isn’t a clean process and they didn’t give up.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KYRMkcNGjv4

There’s always been a consensus on who is going to be the person to carry the torch for the company and almost always, it’s been a man. “Whose is going to be the next John Cena?” “Who is going to be the face?” It’s always been the assumption that it would be a male face that would head the company. In the era of the women’s revolution and coming off the first all women’s pay-per-view in the WWE, why can’t a women take that mantle? Why can’t a women be “the man?”

The women’s division in the WWE is the most talented it’s ever been. In order to stand apart, you have to create something that someone can believe in even after they leave the arena. When they put your shirt on, the entertainment moves into a personal virtue. The “man” came around to RAW in an invasion angle and left just that.