Becky’s Raw open challenge made more sense before WWE changed plans

Becky Lynch brought her freshly won NXT Women’s title to Raw last night (Sept. 18). She wasn’t just there to flash the gold and remind us she would be on USA again tonight. As WWE told us leading up her segment, The Man was there to issue an open challenge (and flub a line in her promo, but these things happen and she owned up to it).

Lynch’s challenge was answered by Natalya, which led to a solid sub-ten minute match between the two veterans and the champ’s first successful defense.

It also led to some confusion among fans. The promotion of this segment and the wording of Becky’s promo had many expecting someone who’s never been given a push on the main roster, like Candice LeRae or Tegan Nox (it also created some unsubstantiated hope for a quick Jade Cargill debut). In fact, outlets that report on pre-show plans for Raw had Nox pencilled in as Lynch’s opponent earlier in the day on Monday.

So what happened?

Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful reminded followers on X that his site recently reported WWE officials were very appreciative of how Natalya stepped up and volunteered to wrestle twice at Superstar Spectacle after Lynch unexpectedly couldn’t make the trip to India.

That lines up with what insider account BWE shared about the change, which also revealed that Becky originally requested Nox as her opponent:

Natty’s situation was a creative board decision. A token of appreciation for her recent hardwork. Becky chose Tegan, but they felt it was not best. Hope this clear the mud

It’s a nice gesture on WWE’s part, and it’s not as if Nat hasn’t earned spots like this one many times over with her commitment to the company and its fans. They did a good job with a storyline explanation for how the two-time Women’s champ and future Hall of Famer counted as someone who hasn’t gotten an opportunity, too.

But someone like Tegan Nox, who’s done virtually nothing since being brought back last year. would have made more sense given the way this was set up.

Right?