Becky Lynch Returning Too Soon, Ezekiel Crushing It, More WWE, AEW Quick Takes

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Becky Lynch’s recent absence from WWE Raw has been felt, but there’s no need for her return to be rushed.Credit: WWE.com

We’re less than a month removed from Becky Lynch losing her Raw Women’s Championship to Bianca Belair at WrestleMania 38 and already WWE is rushing her return to Raw.

Big Time Becks is being advertised for this coming Monday’s episode. Although it promises to be a must-see appearance, she would have benefited from an extended hiatus from WWE TV after being featured so prominently on the show prior to dropping the title.

In her absence, the former Elias—now known simply as Ezekiel—has quickly become one of the best parts of the program. His weekly segments with Kevin Owens have been beyond ridiculous and his lie detector test from this past Monday’s Raw was no exception.

An act like Ezekiel has no business being as entertaining as it is, but it goes to show that WWE will push whoever they see fit. Coming off a report from Fightful Select’s Sean Ross Sapp on Tuesday, the company appears to interested in bringing back AEW’s FTR eventually, though whether they intend to take them up on an offer after how underwhelming their last main roster run was remains to be seen.

This installment of Quick Takes will tackle why FTR returning down the road wouldn’t be so surprising, Sammy Guevara’s much-needed heel turn, Theory capturing the United States Championship, and more.

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Bianca Belair besting Becky Lynch for the Raw Women’s Championship at WrestleMania 38 was exactly what needed to happen in order for their storyline to be paid off properly. As exciting of a moment as it was for Belair, there were even more questions surrounding what would be next for Lynch.

The Man had spent the last eight months dominating the Raw women’s division as its champion and overcoming every obstacle in her way. There was no resume to resume her rivalry with Belair immediately after ‘Mania, so Lynch taking time off to refresh her character made the most sense.

The summer season would have been ideal, or at the very least, she could have resurfaced following WrestleMania Backlash to rekindle her feud with Belair heading into Hell in a Cell. As it turns out, she’ll be back this coming Monday instead.

While Raw’s women’s division isn’t firing on all cylinders right now, there’s enough going on with Belair, Sonya Deville, Rhea Ripley and others to the point where Lynch isn’t needed at the moment. Unless the idea is to turn her back into a babyface already, there’s no obvious direction for her character to go in.

Lynch could have used another month or two away from the flagship show, but regardless, it will be interesting to see what she has in store for the WWE Universe on Monday night.

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WWE reportedly being interested in FTR now that they’ve reached their highest point of popularity yet is hardly surprising. Even less surprising would be if FTR were to actually return to WWE, albeit not any time soon.

As unhappy as FTR were toward the end of their WWE run, wrestling fans should be well aware by now that virtually anyone can come back to the company if the circumstances are just right. Cody Rhodes returning recently despite being an EVP in AEW up until a few months ago is a prime example of this, especially how unpredictable and how shocking that whole situation was.

Dax Harwood and Cash Wheeler, formerly known as The Revival in WWE, are no exception to that.

Tag team wrestling is clearly valued in AEW, whereas it’s a complete afterthought in WWE. That should lead them to steering clear of their former home for the next several years and then reevaluating the possibility the next time they become free agents.

Until then, it’s silly to believe they wouldn’t ever entertain the idea of going back to WWE for one final run and to show the promotion what they missed out on the first time.

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With how hard he’s been pushed on the Raw roster this year, Theory winning the United States Championship from Finn Balor on Monday’s Raw was only logical.

Balor was never meant to be more than a transitional champion, but Theory taking the title from him was the best thing WWE could have done for both him and the championship. Not only is Theory now wearing his first piece of gold in the company, the idea should be for him to use it as a vehicle to continue climbing up the card.

Theory is far from ready for the main event scene right now, but in due time, it will happen.

He’s shown he has the in-ring ability befitting of a top talent in WWE and is getting better on the mic as well. There isn’t much that he lacks aside from a strong connection with the crowds.

The star-spangled prize has long been utilized as a prop by the promotion and nothing more. It’s been a great while since someone reigned as U.S. champ and was actually better off after the fact, but Theory can change that stigma if used correctly.

Most previous U.S. champs lost more than they should have and were never a focal point on the program, but Theory should be the exact opposite with all he has to offer.

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Although Sammy Guevara and Tay Conti have been legitimately linked for a few months now, it wasn’t until last month that AEW started acknowledging their relationship on television. The boos became more and more noticeable every week that passed and eventually AEW’s only option was to turn them heel.

Their first promo as a heel couple on Wednesday’s Dynamite proved AEW made the right choice in switching up their characters what they did. How much genuine heat they’ll be able to produce in the months ahead is unknown, but what wasn’t necessary was the decision to put the AEW TNT Championship back on Guevara for a third time.

Granted, it elicited the reaction they wanted it to at Battle of the Belts II, but there simply isn’t anything remotely compelling about Guevara being the current champ.

The division has died a slow death in the last six months with how many times the title has changed hands randomly and for how many rematches we’ve seen. Guevara is no doubt a talented competitor, but he feels overexposed in the title hunt and fresher faces like Keith Lee or Swerve Strickland would benefit more from being in that spot instead.

The Spanish God has always been a natural heel and thus he should thrive being back in this role, but his character development doesn’t need to come at the expense of the TNT title and everyone else that could be in the hunt for it.

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Elias returning on the post-WrestleMania 38 after almost eight months away and confronting Kevin Owens was an unexpected treat, especially once he revealed that he was, in fact, Elias’ younger brother Ezekiel.

The segment was so stupid that it was actually entertaining. The follow-up the next week with Tommaso Ciampa joining in on the fun backstage was equally entertaining along with the lie detector test Owens conducted on Ezekiel this past week on Raw with the help of Chad Gable.

With almost anyone else involved, this storyline wouldn’t work nearly as well. However, because Owens is a comedic genius and Elias shines in these sorts of situations, it’s been a blast.

Of course, with no endgame in sight, there’s no telling how much longer WWE will be able to prolong the program out for. It could wear out its welcome next week for all we know, which is why it’s important to enjoy angles of this nature while they last.

Raw has been known to feature a terrific match or two every now and again, but a storyline that is more entertainment-based than sports-based is always appreciated when done right. WWE has struck gold with Ezekiel and Owens and should keep finding ways to maintain its momentum before it inevitably runs its course.

   

Graham Mirmina, aka Graham “GSM” Matthews, has specialized in sports and entertainment writing since 2010. Visit his website, WrestleRant, and subscribe to his YouTube channel for more wrestling-related content.