WWE SummerSlam 2019 Results: Becky Lynch Defeats Natalya But Has Hit A Brick Wall As Champion

WWE SummerSlam 2019 Results: Becky Lynch vs Natalya 

Becky Lynch Defeats Natalya But Has Hit A Brick Wall As Champion

It wasn't all that long ago that Becky Lynch was the hottest act in WWE, but despite retaining the Raw Women's Championship at SummerSlam, "The Man's" momentum is slowly but surely fading away.

Although Lynch retained her Raw Women's Championship by defeating hometown hero Natalya, the crowd reaction at the event was really a microcosm of all that's gone wrong with the push of Lynch. 

As expected, the fans in Toronto were in Natalya's corner, not necessarily because they dislike Lynch but more so because Natalya was performing in her home country on a rare occasion that a pay-per-view was held in Canada. 

The crowd audibly booed Lynch when she narrowly escaped a submission attempt by Natalya and, at one point, event chanted, "Becky sucks!" But even though Lynch had her fair share of supporters in Toronto and left the PPV with her title, the event marked her continued struggles to maintain the hot streak that began right around this time last year.

None of the blame for that should be on Lynch, though. The negative crowd reaction to Lynch was a result of the poor booking that has plagued her since WrestleMania 35.

Lynch shocked the world when she became WWE's No. 1 merchandise moverlast fall, but she's since fallen to No. 3behind Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns as the creative team has done her no favors in terms of keeping her popularity going in recent months. 

Of course, Lynch is still one of WWE's most beloved stars, but her lengthy feud with Lacey Evans, who was pushed long before she was ready, really stifled the momentum she had when she was feuding with Ronda Rousey and Charlotte Flair in route to WWE's flagship pay-per-view. 

WWE only exacerbated that problem when it began focusing on Lynch's real-life relationship with Seth Rollins on-screen. 

The portrayal of their relationship on TV came across as forced and contrived, and Rollins only made matters worse for both stars when he said that fans are "jealous" of their relationship.

As Rollins has become very outspoken about those who hate on WWE in any way, shape or form, his now somewhat rocky relationship with the WWE Universe has negatively affected Lynch, who is also turning herself into somewhat of a villain with a portion of WWE's fan base. 

WWE Hall of Famer Mark Henry recently criticized Lynch for being too arrogant as a babyface character, and Lynch responded by essentially saying it's not arrogance because she backed it up. 

But Lynch's changing character—which critics say has transformed from confident to overconfident—has played a role in her once strong relationship with the WWE Universe becoming, well, a little dicey, and when combined with bad booking by the creative team, has caused her to take a step back a bit.

This isn't the same Lynch gimmick that endeared "The Man" to WWE fans across the world last year and into early 2018.

 That version of Lynch was a lovable underdog who had been held back by the WWE machine, forced the company to take notice and manhandled her way into the WrestleMania 35 main event. 

But just as quickly as Lynch rose to the top of WWE, she's finding out how hard it is to stay there.

 It's one thing to work your way up to the main event, but when you take WWE by storm, more is going to be expected from you from that point forward. 

That's why Lynch's rise to the pinnacle of WWE was expected to be a turning point for the company and the way it pushes women's wrestling, but Lynch—despite her undeniable popularity—was unable to elevate the women's division to new heights and keep it there, even with the help of Rousey and Flair.

Her push as a perennial main eventer did nothing to help WWE's rating woes, and in fact, the women's division struggles to make the biggest impact possible has the push of the women's division as a whole in question, according to a May 2019 report from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter (h/t Cageside Seats):