Sol Ruca beat Becky Lynch on Sunday at Clash in Italy to win the WWE Women's Intercontinental Championship, landing the Sol Snatcher to end Lynch’s reign and claim her first career main roster championship.
The finish gave Ruca the kind of breakthrough that had been building since a few weeks ago, when Lynch interrupted her Raw contract signing after Ruca had been called up from NXT. Raw general manager Adam Pearce said Lynch had not been robbed of celebration time, but the exchange turned ugly fast: Lynch tried to punch Ruca and hit Pearce instead, and Ruca answered with a Sol Snatcher before pushing for a match. Lynch agreed to face her at Saturday Night's Main Event, though she refused to put the championship on the line.
That match last weekend ended in a disqualification victory for Ruca after Lynch pulled referee Jessika Carr into harm’s way to avoid another Sol Snatcher. Lynch had used every trick in the book to keep the title, then attacked Ruca with punches and multiple Manhandle Slams after the bell. Pearce responded by ordering Lynch to defend the championship at Clash in Italy, and Lynch took solace in the idea that Ruca would not be at full strength when Sunday arrived.
Instead, Ruca still finished the job. She beat Lynch despite the attack from the night before, and the win matters because it ends one of the more contentious short title runs in recent memory while giving Ruca her first title since joining the main roster. The only real question left is whether Lynch uses the disputed buildup and the postmatch punishment to force her way into another shot, or whether Ruca’s next defense comes against someone else entirely.
For now, the new champion is Ruca, and the title changed hands in Italy rather than staying tied up in the chaos that had followed her call-up from NXT.
