While the WWE women’s division has gotten a big shot in the arm lately thanks to Damage CTRL, one major player who’s still on the shelf due to injury is Becky Lynch. Last seen in an unsuccessful attempt to wrest the Raw Women’s Championship from Bianca Belair at SummerSlam, Lynch had been the subject of rumors suggesting she might be ready to return from her shoulder injury before the end of September, but as we’re currently more than halfway through October, that obviously wasn’t the case.
According to a new report from Fightful Select, that was always no more than wishful thinking. The outlet’s sources say that WWE hadn’t even discussed a timetable for her when the rumors started circulating, and that Lynch “was never slated for a September return.”
The news actually gets worse from there, with Fightful Select adding that there is “no definitive timetable” for her to resume her in-ring work:
Those that we spoke to within WWE creative said they were hopeful to have Becky Lynch back by the end of the year, but that wasn’t guaranteed, and was more being optimistic in the hope that she wouldn’t have surgery.
In the not too distant past, having both Lynch and Charlotte Flair (who hasn’t wrestled since May) out of action at the same time would have been a major blow to the women’s division. But even though having them back would clearly be better than not, WWE has been able to put on compelling programs without them, thanks to a strong championship reign by Belair, the continuing mass appeal of Ronda Rousey, the underdog run of Liv Morgan and the aforementioned spark provided by Damage CTRL.
On top of that, if Lynch is ready to go in early 2023, there couldn’t be a better time for it, with Royal Rumble always looming large as a platform for prominent returns. WWE can afford to wait and give Big Time Becks a big time reintroduction, and that could very well be worth the wait.