Tuesday, July 21, 2015

Becky Lynch and Paige Have History

Lynch (c) and Paige (r) have a longer history than what their current partnership suggests
Photo Credit: WWE.com
The NXT Women's Invasion on RAW has started off pretty nicely. Becky Lynch, Charlotte, and Sasha Banks all got to be introduced with great fanfare. Charlotte holds two tapout victories over Brie Bella, and women within this feud framework have gotten to have a lengthy pay-per-view match and two double-segger wrestling contests on RAW within the span of two days. Of course, the whole thing isn't without its problematic elements, but so far, the sailing has been mostly smooth. However, many people were surprised that Lynch got the call-up despite her relative recent debut in the NXT women's division. Of course, Bayley might have been in that slot had she not suffered an arm injury, but at the same time, Lynch's call-up to be aligned with Paige makes all the sense in the world, and not just because she has the potential to be the best of the nine current wrestlers involved in this feud in the ring given her storied history.

Once upon a time, before Paige was Paige and when Becky's surname was Knox and not Lynch, the two were familiar with each other in the land of SHIMMER. In fact, they were best buds. Knox, for whatever reason at the time, was managing Britani Knight and her mum, the cantankerous Sweet Saraya Knight. The Knight Dynasty had come to American shores to take SHIMMER by storm, although only one of the members of the group was out to take things seriously. I'll leave you to figure out which one of that trio fit that description from the video below:



As it turns out, Lynch and Paige have always had that unspoken bond with each other, and that bond was forged in the desire to party the F down, my brothers and sisters. The juxtaposition of them dancing and carrying on against Mama Knight's trademark yelling at random fans at ringside was just fantastic, and of course, it was the spark that led to the Knights turning against each other. Of course, the turn and subsequent feud wasn't happenstance; it was a great way to bid farewell to the younger Knight as she was off to join the WWE via its developmental program. Knox would follow some time after and become Becky Lynch. As for Mama Knight, she'd go from whipping her daughter around the ring to settling old scores with Cheerleader Melissa and capturing the SHIMMER World Championship.

Of course, Paige and Lynch recreating the above scene might not work within the context of their ongoing tripartite feud against Team Bella and Team BAD, but it provides a keen look into how far the roots of pro wrestling can reach. Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens can be destined to do this forever based on a recognized but explicitly unspoken history. Maybe WWE should call up Dave Prazak and see about using some of that footage to show that Lynch and Paige have always been the best of buds.

A tip of the hat to Jen Logsdon for sharing this video on Twitter!