WWE: How Sasha Banks created Becky Lynch’s Man persona

Becky Lynch is the most over Superstar in WWE right now, but there would be no ‘The Man’ if not for The Boss, Sasha Banks.

As of last week, Sasha Banks has finally made her triumphant return to the WWE following a four month hiatus. Immediately, Banks found herself gunning for Becky Lynch and her Raw Women’s Championship. In many ways, The Boss and The Man colliding brings their history as two-fourths of the Four Horsewomen together full circle, especially considering that there would literally be no “The Man” without The Boss.

Bold statement, I know, but I’ll explain. This goes back to their days together in NXT. In some ways, it goes back further than even Becky Lynch’s arrival to NXT. Let’s wind the clocks back to late 2013.

Sasha Banks had just arrived to NXT. In fact, NXT had just arrived itself, debuting as a WWE.com exclusive that same year. When Banks made her in-ring debut, she had no character to speak of. Which isn’t a knock against her. In fact, it’s common for wrestlers just starting out. Most competitors new to wrestling usually focus more on crafting their in-ring work before focusing on the mic or a personality. Banks was in that boat until Summer Rae arrived to her doorstep.

Prior to the biggest match of her career thus far against NXT Women’s Champion Paige, Sasha Banks received some words of encouragement and extra motivation from Summer Rae. After being goaded to unleash her “inner rage,” Banks did just that by attacking Paige after losing to her the following week. Not only did Sasha Banks turn heel, but she aligned herself with Summer Rae and a just as new rookie named Charlotte Flair to form The B.F.Fs: Beautiful Fierce Females.

The Banks character became cockier as she started to rack up wins alongside Flair and Rae. Naturally, Banks herself started to exude a brand new confidence on the mic and personality-wise. This eventually manifested in Banks becoming The Boss. Since her stable partnership did wonders for her, she decided to rub some of her shine onto another rookie one year later: Becky Lynch.

Fast forward to 2014. The B.F.Fs were long done, Charlotte Flair became the second ever NXT Women’s Champion and Becky Lynch had debuted as a happy-go-lucky babyface.

Being happy-go-lucky wasn’t doing Lynch any favors as she was racking up loss after loss after loss. After losing to Charlotte Flair on the Sept. 25 episode of NXT, she was approached by Sasha Banks, who defeated Lynch some weeks prior. Much like Summer Rae gave to her, Banks gave Lynch some much needed words of wisdom. Banks told Lynch that if she wanted to reach the top of NXT’s mountain, then she needed to look in the mirror and ask herself how bad she wanted to reach it.

Those words culminated on the Oct. 23 episode of NXT, when Becky Lynch turned heel on Bayley and formed an alliance with Sasha Banks.

Together, they became Team B.A.E. and while The Boss made it clear from the get-go that their partnership was an alliance and not a friendship, it was an alliance that paid in dividends for both women.

For Banks, it led to her becoming NXT Women’s Champion and, eventually, primed a feud with Lynch that led to a show stealing contest at NXT TakeOver: Unstoppable. For Lynch, working alongside Banks seemed to help her let loose a newfound aggression as a character. The partnership benefited Lynch the same was The B.F.Fs benefited Banks a year prior: Lynch found a killer instinct.

Lynch started to highlight a harder edged character on the mic next to The Boss that can be, in many ways, be considered a prototype version of what we know now as The Man character. Lynch would later perfect that character years later following another heel turn on the main roster at SummerSlam 2018, but it’s hard to say if we ever would have gotten The Man – or at least seen her play as strongly – if Lynch did not start the groundwork in NXT.

All things considered, we have to thank The Boss for laying that groundwork for The Man. Much like we need to thank Summer Rae for crafting The Boss as we know her today.