According to reports, Becky Lynch was booked to win the Raw and Smackdown titles, but not in the way it happened at WrestleMania 35 on Sunday night. At the climax of the historic first all-women's WrestleMania main event, Ronda Rousey hit the Piper's Pit manuever on Lynch with the latter turning the move into a backslide pin that resulted in the pinfall victory.
You can see the results, grades, and highlights from the show here.
Becky Lynch PINS Ronda Rousey to become the Raw AND SmackDown Women's Champion! #WrestleMania
Not the ending anyone expected and Ronda's shoulders weren't on the mat for the whole three count, but who cares, right?
Why couldn't we see Ronda get tapped out though? pic.twitter.com/gFU3T9IAdL
— GiveMeSport - WWE (@GMS_WWE) April 8, 2019
Rousey looked to legitimately protest the ruling with the referee before storming out of the ring. The ending looked a little odd for such a big match, but sometimes it's hard to tell when something hasn't gone quite as planned. Yahoo Sports' Senior Producer Lindsay Foltin was one of the more high-profile WWE fans who noticed the strange ending:
Awesome #WrestleMania, def my favorite in years. Only gripes are Triple H - Batista was WAY too long & the finish of the main event was sketchy. I didn’t even realize the ref was counting when they rung the bell for Becky
— Lindsey Foltin (@LindseyBaseball) April 8, 2019
Reports began to surface shortly after the event concluded suggesting the ending was botched. Kristen Ashly tweeted the following, citing Pro Wrestling Torch's Tom Colohue:
According to @Colohue w/sources inside WWE:
Becky should have tapped out Charlotte.
"I've been told by different people, in different positions within WWE, that that was the plan. It sure looks like they've just botched the main event of WrestleMania."#WrestleMania
— Kristen Ashly (@KristenAshly) April 8, 2019
More from @colohue:
Match ended too abruptly, Becky was still meant to win.
"Accident's happen. The ref's continued a count after a kick out. He hasn't delayed between the 2 and 3 like they're supposed to and Becky hasn't let go in time for Ronda to kick out."#WrestleMania
— Kristen Ashly (@KristenAshly) April 8, 2019
Sean Ross Sapp, the Managing Editor of Fightful supported the concept of a botch ending to the main event. He tweeted:
The finish didn't happen as planned. Rousey wasn't happy after, either. Thought the situation made her look bad, apparently.
— Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful.com (@SeanRossSapp) April 8, 2019
Others speculated that the referee may have been instructed to execute the three count against Rousey's wishes. There have been rumors of the former UFC champion being reluctant to accept a pinfall or tap out loss to Lynch because there may have been some legitimacy to their backstage feud.
Traditionally, this is not the kind of ending you'd see in a match of this magnitude. WrestleMania main events almost never end in reversal pins and without a finisher applied. Because of the absence of these elements, the thought that the ending was botched or changed without all parties being informed isn't unfathomable.
In any case, the history has still been made and the debate about the finish will only add to the story of the first-ever all-women's WrestleMania main event.
