Lynch won the main event of WrestleMania 35 but there was controversy about the finish of the main event…
WrestleMania 35 featured a historic first-ever all-female main event triple threat match between Becky Lynch, Ronda Rousey and Charlotte Flair. The match did not disappoint, as Lynch got the better of both the Raw Women’s champion Rousey and SmackDown Women’s champion Flair in a ‘winner takes all’ bout. By virtue of her victory, Lynch became the first person to hold both the Raw and SmackDown Women’s titles at the same time in WWE history.
The finish of the match saw Lynch awkwardly pin Rousey to win both championships. However, her moment of glory at MetLife Stadium could have looked very different if the former UFC star hadn’t outright refused a suggestion for how the ending of the bout might play out.
Becky Lynch Reveals Ronda Rousey Refused Idea for WrestleMania 35 Finish
Rousey refused to break a promise to her mum
Lynch recently appeared on Chris Van Vliet’s Insight podcast and revealed that the original creative plan had called for Rousey to come close to tapping out to Lynch’s Dis-Arm-Her submission move towards the end of the match, but the ex-MMA star shot the idea down as soon as she heard it, per E Wrestling News.
“Her [Rousey’s] driver had taken her to the wrong spot, so she showed up like an hour late… we had been talking through stuff. TJ Wilson, our producer, an amazing producer, he was like, ‘Maybe you have Ronda in armbar, she looks like she’s about to tap out,’ Ronda comes and we tell her the creative, ‘You’re almost about to tap out.’ ‘My mum wouldn’t look me in the eye or talk to me again if I looked like I was about to tap out’.”
The spot was promptly scrapped with Rousey determined to honour a vow that she had made to her mum that she would never tap out. Apparently, that promise extended to the scripted world of pro wrestling in Ronda’s mind. Lynch took the rejection well, though, saying: “Alright, well, she’s probably not going to tap out on the finish then.’ She never tapped out in her career. Understood it, respected it, and moved on quickly. I was going to win, I was going to win two titles in the main event of WrestleMania. It was not a big deal whether she tapped out or not. I was winning and she was doing the honours.”
The Irish star would eventually win the match via a crucifix pin. However, even that didn’t go to plan as Rousey’s shoulders weren’t actually on the mat for the entire three-count. Lynch said she still doesn’t know to this day if Rousey botched the ending deliberately.
“I was in the moment. I couldn’t see it. The discourse afterwards, and also the sound of the audience made it seem like something had gone wrong. Obviously, I wasn’t aware. I don’t know if that was intentional or accidental. I could see the motivation for it being intentional. ‘This will be my out to get a second match’ in the long game or it just being accidental. With a pinfall. Not with a shoulder up, but with a pinfall.”
Lynch is currently on a hiatus from WWE television following her WrestleMania 40 loss to Rhea Ripley, while Rousey left the company after SummerSlam 2023 and seemingly has no plans to return, having been critical of the company since her departure.