WWE champion Becky Lynch announces pregnancy steps aside

WWE Raw women’s champion Becky Lynch announced during an episode of “WWE Raw” on Monday night that she is pregnant.

The pregnancy, which will force Lynch away from the ring for an extended period of time, ends her run with the title after 399 days as champion. Her reign is the second-longest with the women’s title in modern WWE history behind only Trish Stratus (448 days).

Lynch also announced on the show, to the surprise of new champion Asuka, that the briefcase hoisted above the ring during the women’s Money in the Bank match at Sunday night’s pay-per-view was not for a shot at the title but rather the strap itself.

“You go be a warrior,” Lynch told Asuka, “because I’m going to be a mother.”

Lynch and her fiancee, WWE superstar Seth Rollins, learned of their pregnancy in April, she told People. There were set to marry in May but have postponed their wedding due to the coronavirus pandemic. Lynch said she has no idea when she will return to the ring and is not focused on the next chapter of her career at this time.

Lynch won both the Raw and SmackDown women’s titles at WrestleMania 35, defeating Charlotte Flair and Ronda Rousey in the first women’s match to headline WWE’s annual wrestling extravaganza.

She lost the SmackDown title months later, but continued her record-breaking run as Raw champion until announcing the news of her pregnancy the night after WWE Money in the Bank. She had been off television for multiple weeks and did not wrestle at the pay-per-view.

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Lynch is the first champion in WWE history to forfeit her championship due to a pregnancy. Her last match was a title defense against Shayna Baszler at WrestleMania 36.