Becky Lynch believes the infamous 2018 punch from Nia Jax that left her bloodied on WWE RAW became the defining turning point of her career.
Speaking on Thursday’s 100th episode of No-Contest Wrestling, part of The Rich Eisen Show, Lynch reflected on the incident from the November 12, 2018 Raw at Kansas City’s Sprint Center.
That night, Lynch led an invasion of the SmackDown women’s roster onto Raw. During the closing brawl, Jax caught her with a flush punch to the face, breaking her nose and causing a severe concussion. Despite the physical damage, Lynch finished the angle with blood smeared across her face, creating one of the most iconic visuals in modern wrestling history.
Lynch admitted having virtually no memory of what transpired after the blow connected. Looking back nearly eight years later, she holds no lingering grudge against Jax and credits the errant strike with cementing her path to the main event of WrestleMania 35:
“If that doesn’t happen, I don’t get to the main event of WrestleMania, honestly. And that’s all thanks to Nia.”
She noted that Jax was visibly shaken backstage by the accident. In hindsight, though, “The Man” considers the moment the best development that could have happened for her career.
The injury forced WWE to alter its immediate creative plans. Lynch had been scheduled to face Ronda Rousey at Survivor Series that year, but after failing to gain medical clearance, Charlotte Flair stepped in to replace her against Rousey.
A few months later, Lynch won the 2019 Women’s Royal Rumble match to secure her spot in the main event of WrestleMania 35 at MetLife Stadium. In the first women’s match to ever headline the show, she defeated Rousey and Flair in a Winner Take All Triple Threat Match to capture both the Raw and SmackDown Women’s Championships.