Making Charlotte Vs. Becky Lynch More Elaborate

Before I go into what I do want to talk about, a little aside. I compared the angle between Ric Flair and Charlotte to what you had between Santino and Beth Phoenix. I said that the angle ended up benefiting the man more than the diva, and that is something to look out for currently. Let me just bring up an example that is a little more recent. A few years ago, the WWE paired Paul Heyman with Cesaro. Many fans have pointed out that the pairing looked like it was more of an opportunity to give Heyman a stage to still promote Brock Lesnar beating The Undertaker at Wrestlemania than an opportunity for Cesaro to be pushed better. The WWE certainly did not book him as an A-tier player. A depush also followed. Could Ric Flair coming out with Charlotte be more of an opportunity for him to still be featured? Does the WWE want to feature the legendary Ric Flair for Wrestlemania season? There are examples out there where the WWE features someone better in a pairing that you would expect does not need the focus as much as the other person. So far, I do not see enough to convince me the WWE wants this to be more about Ric Flair or his daughter. Let's see if they even know what they want.

Onto Charlotte vs. Becky Lynch. Charlotte, not surprisingly, retained her title on Smackdown last week against her former friend. I think the ending was a little flat. Charlotte cheated to win. She's obviously heel. But I think the WWE could have used this match to really punch in a strong heel character. Have her cut a harsh promo on Becky. Have her really beat Becky down. Add some real fuel to the fire to build up to an even bigger match at the Royal Rumble. There is still time to build up to something, but I think they could have done more with that match on Smackdown.

How about this feud goes even beyond the Royal Rumble? How about taking it all the way to Wrestlemania? I didn't think about it until recently, but this can be a really great feud, if handled right. These two were friends. They were in NXT together. They debuted on the same night to team with Paige. Even after Paige turned on them, they stayed together. Next thing you know, Charlotte turns on her friend. There is definitely a story there and some emotion. Throw in Ric Flair and you have something that just might be worthy of Wrestlemania.

A lot of betrayal storylines for the divas in recent years have just been horrible. The feud between AJ Lee and Paige was just sloppy and hard to buy into. The WWE was even inconsistent with Paige turning on Becky Lynch and Charlotte. This storyline right now is better. It is more linear. They developed to Charlotte turning, but they didn't pull the trigger and go back like they didn't like they have in certain other angles similar to this. Could they have done even more to sell the friendship between Charlotte and Becky Lynch? Of course, but the relationship there is at least easier to buy into than the whole "frenemies" thing.

How do you make this feud elaborate? Extending it to Wrestlemania is only part of it. The WWE needs more big segments. It has to go beyond just wrestling. That is one of the reasons I think the WWE could have done more with that title match on Smackdown. Or they can save it for the Royal Rumble. They also need to make good use of supporting players. Ric Flair is obviously involved. They have used some other divas here and there, but more can be done with them.

One thing the WWE could do is having someone else, like Sasha Banks, get a title shot at Fast Lane. That doesn't mean Becky Lynch gets buried while that feud happens. Keep her in the story. I would suggest a triple-threat match, but they probably should not give Becky Lynch too many title shots. Make it look like Charlotte is a top heel diva by being the first to defeat Sasha Banks.

I have seen many fans thinking the WWE will do Sasha Banks vs. Charlotte for Wrestlemania. I do not see how that is worthy for the big PPV. Sasha Banks has her undefeated streak on the main roster, but she is not pushed as dominant. By the time the WWE does move on to that feud, there would not be much time to develop it to be worthy of Wrestlemania. Meanwhile, the feud they have between Charlotte and Becky Lynch right now does have the potential and the WWE can continue to build on that.

The outcome at Wrestlemania would be obvious. Months after her friend turned on her and screwed her out of the title, Becky Lynch overcomes Charlotte and her legendary father to win the Diva's Championship. It would be a great Wrestlemania moment for Becky.

Of course, the WWE is not likely to do this. This is just me playing creative writer. Ever since Trish Stratus retired, the WWE has pushed quantity over quality for Wrestlemania. You have tag matches, battle royals, lumberjills, celebrities getting involved, and even some Wrestlemanias where it seems Santino gets more focus than the women. Why would this year be different? Because Ric Flair is there? We'll see if that matters, but the WWE obviously should not make the Wrestlamania diva angle too much about him. Ideally, he should just be an obstacle for a diva to overcome in taking the title from Charlotte. This would just be a great situation to stop this decade of mediocrity at Wrestlemania.

Trish Stratus vs. Mickie James was the last great Wrestlemania diva feud. Many still consider that match the greatest women's match at Wrestlemania. And this was an elaborate diva storyline. I do not know if the WWE can build Charlotte/Becky to be as good, but I think there is potential to make something great. Trish/Mickie never even got a proper finish due to Trish getting injured and soon retiring after that. It is possible to surpass that storyline. But the WWE actually has to follow through.