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Diva Dirt presents its sixth annual Writers’ Choice Awards, as decided by the Diva Dirt team. As we come to the end of 2016, we have picked the best of the best to be awarded our Writers’ Choice trophies.
Best Babyface: Becky Lynch
Becky Lynch made this the year of the Lass Kicker. After being called up to the main roster in 2015, Lynch took it upon herself to make this her year.
Becky unsuccessfully chased the Divas title in January (though the match was a good one), and then quickly found herself in the biggest women’s match of all time at Wrestlemania 32. Not only was this a match that many fans will agree was one of the best of the year, but it was also the match that retired both the Divas title and the term ‘Divas’. Becky, though unsuccessful in her fight to become the first Women’s champion, was – arguably – the star of the match. She had an impressive move set and kept each of us watching on our toes. The crowd was rooting for her, and despite losing, she had the most to gain.
Following this, Lynch would form an alliance with Natalya as the two looked to take down the unstoppable force of Charlotte Flair and Dana Brooke. The two become the true baby faces of the division, but Lynch soon fell victim to a betrayal as Natalya attacked her, leaving her defenseless and vulnerable, but still hearing the tune of the crowd chanting her name.
The pair would then be the first two women to be drafted to SmackDown Live, making them the somewhat leaders of the division. They would then square off at Battleground, in a match that Natalya would leave victorious. But despite losing the match, Lynch was still the crowd favourite, and the one woman on the blue brand that everyone wanted to see.
On August 23rd, SmackDown Live would announce two new titles. Amongst the new pair of gold was the SmackDown Women’s championship. Fans made it very clear that they wanted the Lass Kicker to win as her name was loudly chanted during the announcement. And, what the fans wanted, the fans got! After a very competitive and intense Six Pack Challenge at Backlash, Lynch was crowned the inaugural SmackDown Women’s champion – cue the “you deserve it” chants.
Becky would then have a successful title reign for a few months. She would have a couple of successful matches and, though she did lose she was the last remaining woman on the SmackDown team at Survivor Series – a team fans campaigned for her to be the captain of. Lynch would constantly come out to an uproar of cheers from the crowd, and even after fairly losing her title at TLC, the audience still stuck by her side.
2016 was the year of the Lass Kicker. She may not have been in the first women’s pay-per-view main event or Hell in a Cell match, but she stood tall at the end of the day. Lynch was in some of the greatest women’s matches of the year and helped to build a fresh and untapped women’s division into one of the strongest the company has ever had.
Becky Lynch is a firecracker, and there is a reason that the fans have stuck by her throughout this year. She has all of the talent and personality necessary to sore into legend status, and 2016 was just a hint at what is yet to come.
Stay tuned for more Writers’ Choice Award reveals throughout the day.
