Becky Lynch Almost Didn’t Return, High Hopes For Ridge Holland

In something that seems almost impossible to imagine, Becky Lynch almost didn’t return to WWE after having her first child last year. And, now that he’s heading to SmackDown, we are learning there are high hopes for Ridge Holland.

Becky Lynch Almost Didn’t Return

Can you imagine RAW without The Man? Turns out, it almost happened-Becky Lynch almost didn’t return to WWE after having her first child.

Considering how good Lynch was and is, the notion of her not returning as quickly as she did seems almost incomprehensible.

However, while speaking to Ryan Satin’s podcast, that is exactly what was getting heavy debate for a bit.

Lynch revealed that, while she did spend quite a bit of time thinking about her return…she also considered not returning.

Per the interview, Lynch almost didn’t return. She said at one point, she was about 50/50 whether or not she would come back.

The reality is, for new parents-especially the mothers-life changes in unexpected ways with the arrival of a baby.

Before you have one, it is very easy to insist on life returning to exactly how it was before. The reality is often very different, because life-and your priorities-change.

It sounds like Becky Lynch spent a good bit of time debating things, hence why she almost didn’t return.

Considering how good a run she had prior to maternity leave, and how fast she got back into the groove, fans are surely happy she is back.

However, it seems safe to say her life and priorities may have been adjusted. Whether that impacts her schedule moving forward remains to be seen.

In fairness, WWE as a whole probably could benefit from some more flexibility there. Many wrestlers have gone to AEW and raved about a more flexible schedule, for example.

Plus, just months removed from over a year where basically only worked in Florida…Becky Lynch might not be the only Superstar who has taken the time to re-evaluate the work/life balance.

High Hopes For Ridge Holland

Now that we’ve seen him drafted, it is safe to say that WWE has high hopes for Ridge Holland.

In fact, the Wrestling Observer confirmed as much.

How high are the hopes for Ridge Holland? Well, according to Meltzer, the company sees him as a future top champion.

Holding the WWE or Universal Championship would indeed be high hopes for Ridge Holland.

My thoughts? He has the size, and the former rugby player is certainly strong and athletic.

Holland had shown early promise within NXT, before suffering a gruesome and rather freak injury.

He has come back well from that, and has obviously impressed enough to be a named draft selection during the live portion of the event.

However, when I saw Holland’s name called, over someone I felt was more “main roster ready”, I was surprised.

Now, this is when I give some color to it. I felt similarly when names like Alexa Bliss and Carmella got moved up, as both had not done a great deal on NXT.

As in, both were more known (or, more known to me) as valet-types for tag teams, having not yet stood out in what was the NXT Women’s Division at the time.

Clearly, I was wrong on those two, as both of them remain in WWE, and their tag teams from NXT are long gone.

Will the same hold true for Holland? Perhaps.

There is probably some concern, considering how other more recent call-ups were handled. However, I could see WWE easing him in (like, say, a brawling tag team alongside Sheamus to start), and letting him grow more on the blue brand.

Time will tell, but at least for now, there seems to be high hopes for Ridge Holland.