The Big Picture
There is no rivalry in modern women's wrestling that has defined the era quite like Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair. Their real-life friendship, subsequent fallout, and eventual professional reconciliation have played out in front of millions, creating a timeline of matches that range from all-time classics to overbooked messes.
"People always want to see us beat the bejesus out of each other," Lynch recently noted regarding a potential future WrestleMania clash. Here are the ten moments that built that exact expectation, ranked by their historical weight and sheer violence.
10. The SmackDown Title Exchange Disaster (2021)
Not every memorable moment is a good one. The October 2021 segment on SmackDown where the two awkwardly swapped the Raw and SmackDown championships is infamous for going completely off the rails.
Real-life heat bled into the segment, resulting in a dropped title belt on live television and a visibly uncomfortable Sonya Deville trying desperately to hold the segment together. It was terrible television, devoid of logic, and undermined both championships.
Yet, it remains an unforgettable flashpoint in their history. It proved exactly how volatile their dynamic had become behind the curtain, turning backstage dirt-sheet rumors into undeniable on-screen tension.
9. Fastlane 2019: The Convoluted Build
The road to the WrestleMania 35 main event was a masterclass in overbooking and structural frustration. At Fastlane 2019 in Cleveland, Lynch hobbled to the ring on a heavily taped, damaged knee to face Flair, needing a win just to get back into the main event she had already earned.
Ronda Rousey marched down the ramp and intentionally disqualified Flair by striking Lynch in the midsection, handing Lynch the technical victory. The match itself was a slow, agonizing angle rather than a competitive bout.
It highlighted WWE's awful habit of unnecessarily complicating white-hot feuds. They stripped away the organic momentum Lynch had built months prior, opting instead for a convoluted storyline that tested the patience of the fanbase.
8. TLC 2018: Asuka Steals the Show
The first-ever women's TLC match at the SAP Center in San Jose featured Lynch, Flair, and Asuka tearing each other apart in a brutal three-way dance. Lynch and Flair spent the bulk of the 22-minute match trying to destroy one another with ladders and steel chairs, completely ignoring their third opponent for long stretches.
They took massive bumps, including a spectacular leg drop from Flair through a broadcast table. But the defining image wasn't even a wrestling move.
It was Ronda Rousey marching down the ramp, tipping over the ladder holding both Lynch and Flair, and leaving them in a heap. It was a spectacular car crash that perfectly set up the three-way dynamic for the following spring, while smartly protecting both women in defeat as Asuka climbed to grab the title.
7. Royal Rumble 2019: The Staredown
Lynch wasn't even scheduled for the 2019 Women's Royal Rumble match in Phoenix. After failing to regain the SmackDown Women's Championship from Asuka earlier in the night, she talked her way into replacing an injured Lana at the number 28 spot.
The climax predictably came down to Lynch and Flair, battling fiercely on the ring apron. Flair aggressively targeted Lynch's storyline injured knee, brutalizing it against the ropes.
But Lynch managed to dig deep, sidestepping a big boot to eliminate her rival and secure her ticket to WrestleMania. The crowd reaction to that final elimination inside Chase Field was deafening. It cemented Lynch as the absolute undisputed top star in the company at that exact moment.
6. WrestleMania 32: The Triple Threat
Before "The Man" existed, there was the culmination of the Divas Revolution on the grandest stage. Lynch, Flair, and Sasha Banks debuted the brand new WWE Women's Championship in front of over 100,000 fans inside AT&T Stadium in Dallas.
Flair retained the title by making Lynch submit to the Figure Eight at the 16-minute mark, heavily aided by Ric Flair physically holding Banks back at ringside. It wasn't the clean finish fans desperately wanted.
The interference felt like a cheap out for such a massive match. However, the in-ring work rate blew the entire rest of the WrestleMania 32 card out of the water. They set a completely new, impossible standard for what women's wrestling at WrestleMania could and should be.
5. Hell in a Cell 2018: A Clean Sweep
Following Lynch's heavily praised heel turn at SummerSlam, WWE stubbornly tried to position Flair as the sympathetic babyface victim. The crowd rejected the dynamic entirely, booing Flair out of buildings.
At Hell in a Cell in San Antonio, they locked up in a bruising, hard-hitting contest that ended with a genuine shock. Lynch cleanly pinned Flair with a sudden, brilliant counter to a spear.
There was no cheating, no handful of tights, and no outside interference. It was just the supposedly villainous Lynch definitively beating the golden child in the center of the ring. It forced the creative team to begrudgingly accept the crowd's choice and strap the rocket to Lynch's back.
4. Survivor Series 2021: The Shoot Fight
Coming off the disastrous and highly publicized title exchange segment, expectations for their Champion vs. Champion match at Survivor Series in Brooklyn were incredibly tense. The match delivered a chaotic, stiff, and deeply personal brawl that felt uncomfortably real from the opening bell.
They traded brutal, open-handed slaps and worked with a level of frantic aggression rarely seen on a major premium live event. It wasn't about trading holds; it was about inflicting damage.
Lynch ultimately won the 18-minute war with a dirty pin using the ropes for leverage. The lack of a handshake or any post-match acknowledgment spoke volumes about the genuine, lingering animosity between them at the time.
3. SummerSlam 2018: The Turn That Changed Everything
This is exactly where "The Man" was born. After Flair was inserted into Lynch's one-on-one title match against Carmella and ultimately stole the victory with a Natural Selection, Lynch snapped.
The post-match beatdown on Flair was heavily produced to draw intense heel heat. Instead, the exhausted Brooklyn crowd absolutely exploded, cheering Lynch as a conquering hero for finally taking what she was owed.
It was a complete misread of audience sentiment by the booking committee. But that mistake accidentally created the biggest mainstream star of the decade. Everything that followed in Lynch's career traces directly back to this single, cathartic slap across Flair's face.
2. Evolution 2018: Last Woman Standing
If we are strictly judging pure match quality, this is undeniably their magnum opus. The Last Woman Standing match at the all-women's Evolution pay-per-view in Uniondale was a masterclass in storytelling, pacing, and sheer violence.
They battered each other with kendo sticks, steel chairs, and multiple tables for nearly 30 minutes. Flair moonsaulted off the top rope through a table on the floor, nearly breaking her own ribs.
The finish, with Lynch viciously powerbombing Flair through a table on the arena floor from the top turnbuckle, remains one of the most iconic, replayable spots in WWE history. Flair failed to answer the ten-count, giving Lynch a definitive, undisputed victory in a five-star classic.
1. WrestleMania 35: The Main Event
This is the absolute ceiling of the industry. Lynch, Flair, and Ronda Rousey became the first women to ever main event WrestleMania inside MetLife Stadium.
The build was far too long, dragging out over months and featuring entirely too many arrests and fake police cars. But the sheer historical weight and cultural impact of this match puts it at number one.
Lynch pinned Rousey with a highly controversial crucifix counter to capture both the Raw and SmackDown titles. Flair arrived in a helicopter and lost her championship without factoring into the final pinfall, but her elite presence elevated the bout's overall pedigree. It shattered a glass ceiling that had existed for decades, fundamentally changing the main event scene forever.
Honorable Mentions
Their NXT TakeOver: Unstoppable showcase back in 2015 gave fans the first real, undeniable glimpse of their in-ring chemistry before they ever reached the main roster.
Furthermore, their endless series of television matches on SmackDown in late 2018 consistently kept the blue brand afloat during a severe creative drought. They anchored the television product when the men's main event scene was struggling to find its footing.
