How To Do A Non Title Women’s Feud Correctly
Jessica Wilkins Quick Links
Becky Lynch and Trish Stratus have been embroiled in a feud since shortly after WWE WrestleMania 39. This is an extremely rare case of a non-title feud being focused on and spotlighted within WWE’s women’s division, though it is a great example of how it can work wonders for those involved and the division as a whole. Women’s wrestling in WWE has undergone big changes in recent times, but it is hard to argue that the last couple of years haven't seen a step back in how it's presented. Becky Lynch vs. Trish Stratus is an example of a rivalry done right though, and it should be used to influence more of the same going forwards.
Trish Stratus And Becky Lynch Has Had A Strong Build
One key positive that has ensured that the feud between Trish Stratus and Becky Lynch has worked so well is that it has very clearly been planned out in advance. During Becky Lynch’s feud with Bayley and Damage CTRL, Lita arrived, coming to her aid with the pair going on to shockingly win the Women’s Tag Team Championships. In the lead-up to WrestleMania, with the pair outnumbered, Lita’s best friend Stratus emerged to even the odds. It was clear though that Stratus wasn’t quite on the same page, with some subtle hints in terms of body language and more being apparent.
RELATED: Trish Stratus' Forgotten On-Screen Relationship With Chris Jericho On WWE Raw, Explained
Either way, at WrestleMania 39, the three formed a super team to win the match, standing tall. This provided fans with a happy moment and it gave Lita and Stratus one (perhaps final) big win at WrestleMania before retiring. Two weeks later, Lynch and Lita were set to defend the belts against Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez. Unfortunately, Lita was attacked backstage, which led to Stratus stepping in to fill the gap in the team. However, after losing the match and the belts, Stratus turned heel and attacked Lynch.
As noted, this feud was clearly planned. WWE established a connection and friendship between the pair amidst a separate feud, and used that to help build to and lead towards this one. This made it feel like a natural progression with the division feeling like an authentic organism, as opposed to wrestlers just moving from feud to feud without any logic or clear direction. There was set up, pay-off, and a big shocking moment in the heel turn. All of this was done without a world title in sight.
WWE Doesn’t Often Do Major Non-Title Women’s Feuds
Even during the peak period for women’s wrestling in WWE, which arguably came between 2016 and 2019, the focus was pretty much only on the title belts. The likes of Charlotte Flair, Becky Lynch, Asuka, Bayley, Sasha Banks, and Alexa Bliss were almost always exclusively involved in the title scenes. When they weren’t, they hardly did anything of note and had no memorable feuds or matches without the Raw or SmackDown Women’s Championships on the line.
RELATED: How WWE Women's Roster Helped The Company Achieve A Massive Female Audience
A key issue which can be seen in the current division is a distinct lack of stars and wrestlers with no character or momentum. A big part of this is due to the fact that they are either placed as glorified jobbers to the much bigger stars, or else they are thrown in random tag teams to fill up a lifeless tag team division. This has been the case for years now, and a big reason for it is a lack of non-title feuds. The likes of Tegan Nox, Xia Li, Nikki Cross, Piper Niven and Mia Yim are doing absolutely nothing right now - and even if they are, fans won’t even know about it because the non-title feuds are either nonexistent or so feeble and pointless that it isn’t worth keeping up.
WWE Likely Won’t Use This Feud As A Lesson To Do More
Stratus and Lynch are involved in a storyline which has been given weeks and weeks to build, both individuals have been given substantial promo time, and there has been a good level of physicality too. Both wrestlers have showcased good character work, with motivations explained without it feeling forced. Other non-title feuds don’t get this sort of attention in the women’s division. In truth, it is only due to the fact that the feud involves two big names in Stratus and Lynch, in which lies another issue.
RELATED: 10 Things Everyone Gets Wrong About Becky Lynch
Although Stratus vs. Lynch is a big draw, it could be argued that someone else should be in Lynch’s spot to get the rub from working with Stratus, whereas Lynch is already a made star. Instead, Lynch could feud with another lesser name in a non-title feud to elevate someone else too. It is likely that WWE will go to square one once this rivalry is done with, but they should instead try and do more feuds like this outside the title picture.
