Becky Lynch is once again the women's intercontinental champion for the third time after finally defeating AJ Lee for the first time at WWE WrestleMania 42 on Saturday, April 18, 2026.
Let's break down everything that led to this point, what went down, and what the future might have in store for this title and Lynch's third run!
How We Got Here:
Becky Lynch and AJ Lee have been at odds with each other from the moment Lee returned to WWE, wherein she teamed with her husband (CM Punk) against Lynch and her husband (Seth Rollins) at Wrestlepalooza. Lee scored the win for her team by making The Man tap out to her Black Widow submission.
Lynch then lost the Women's Intercontinental Championship to Maxxine Dupri on the November 17, 2025 episode of Raw due to a distraction by Lee, furthering their feud. They were on opposite sides of the Women's WarGames match at WWE Survivor Series last year, which again saw Lee victorious.
After Lynch won the title back from Dupri, she would go on to lose it to Lee at Elimination Chamber in Chicago. Lee had one title defense after (against Bayley) before being attacked by Lynch, who has consistently crashed out over her inability to best Lee and prove she's the better of the two. While there was no reason for her to do it (save for the reality that WWE Creative just couldn't come up with anything more logical and compelling), Lee decided to just give Lynch another shot at winning back the belt at WrestleMania.
Match Details:
Lynch was able to score the victory through some dubious means, having a few moments throughout where she pulled Lee's hair and more importantly, removed one of the turnbuckle pads. Lynch has had issues with referee Jessika Carr, who she pulled in between the two of them to open up a moment to take advantage of and slam Lee's head into the exposed turnbuckle. She followed that up with a Manhandle Slam for the win.
Personal Reactions & What Happens Next?:
Frankly, I'm disappointed. That's not a dig at Lynch, but at WWE Creative for how bland this all was. If this match had been given some kind of stipulation or gimmick, or if Lee hadn't definitively proven herself the better of the two beforehand just to arbitrarily give Lynch another match and lose, it would have been better. Having this just be a rematch a few weeks after Elimination Chamber, all for Lynch to regain the belt makes me think Lee is going to sit on the sidelines and not pop up again for months, while Lynch will drone on with the same promo about how great she is for the coming weeks. Hopefully, at least someone like Sol Ruca can come in and win the belt to freshen things up, but as someone who was hoping Lee would drop the title to Roxanne Perez, it's already annoying that that won't be happening any time soon. As good as Lynch is, WWE will need to give me something interesting to hook me more than just "she's great, so you should like this by default."
Tell us what you think about this title change by leaving a comment below! Who do you think will be the next in line to challenge for the title, or possibly even win the belt next? Keep the discussion going!