As we saw on the December 20 episode of SmackDown Live , La Luchadora and Becky Lynch were one and the same, as it was part of Lynch’s plan to get into the head of SmackDown Women’s Champion Alexa Bliss. However, the female wrestler in a purple mask and blue bodysuit was back again on this Tuesday’s episode, and it obviously wasn’t Becky this time around, as she helped Bliss defeat Lynch and hold on to her title to close out the year. Could La Luchadora be someone who’s expected to return to WWE programming for the first time in quite a while, or could she be a new NXT call-up promoted to add more depth to SmackDown Live ‘s women’s roster?
The storyline began last week on SmackDown Live , when Alexa Bliss, who had been complaining about a lack of quality competition, was booked against “La Luchadora,” the purported granddaughter of Mexican wrestling legend Mil Mascaras. Although many fans had expected La Luchadora to be Becky Lynch all along, the “Irish Lass Kicker” did, to her credit, try to wrestle in a different style, with the only serious hint at her real identity being the use of her finisher, the Disarm-Her, to make Bliss tap out in the non-title match.
As Becky removed her mask to reveal her identity to an irate Bliss, what was obvious to many was officially confirmed, but it was quite the surprise when La Luchadora returned on the December 27 SmackDown Live , this time giving an assist to Alexa and helping her retain her SmackDown Women’s Championship. And that started what has become an interesting guessing game, a whodunit of sorts, for wrestling fans.
With people divided on the possible identity of La Luchadora, and unsure of why she cost Becky Lynch a chance to regain the SmackDown Women’s Championship, Cageside Seats took a look at the three most likely “suspects” at this point.
As The Inquisitr has reported, Mickie James is on her way back to WWE after a long absence from the company, and she is expected to be signed to SmackDown Live and make her return in January. And since it may have made more sense to bring her back as a babyface challenger to Bliss’ title, Cageside Seats wrote that it would be “weird” to have Mickie team up with Alexa rather than fight her for the SmackDown Women’s Championship in a veteran vs. youngster feud. Still, having James tease her re-debut with appearances as a masked wrestler wouldn’t be entirely surprising, should she be the woman behind the La Luchadora mask.
Tamina Snuka is another woman expected to make her return to WWE programming after a long absence, though unlike James, she hadn’t left the company – Tamina has been recovering from a knee injury that has taken her out of action since May, and has been rumored to be close to a return.
As Bliss is one of WWE’s smaller female wrestlers at 5’1?, it’s plausible to pair her up with the 5’9? Tamina, though Cageside Seats noted that she’s expected to return as part of the Monday Night RAW roster. Brian Zane of the Wrestling with Wregret YouTube channel likewise expressed his doubts that Tamina is La Luchadora, saying that he “doesn’t think the height was there.”
#LaLuchadora @BeckyLynchWWE may wanna check @DeonnaPurrazzo thinking the identity confirmed in the face #SmackDownLIVE @AlexaBliss_WWE pic.twitter.com/7kReSnGR8u
— Gabrielle mcknight (@wishmama82) December 28, 2016
A third name mentioned has been that of Deonna Purrazzo, who is expected to debut for Japanese women’s wrestling promotion Stardom in January 2017. Earlier this month, Purrazzo was the “local talent” scheduled to face Alexa Bliss, but the match never took place, as Bliss mocked her opponent, calling her “Jane Ellsworth” —a reference to how James Ellsworth was also introduced as a local jobber – and beat her up before the match could begin.
While Purrazzo may seem like an unlikely suspect in this SmackDown Live whodunit, several Twitter users have pointed out how she and the masked La Luchadora seem to have matching features.
Just who is La Luchadora, and what’s her beef with Becky Lynch? It’s a question that boggles the minds of wrestling fans as 2016 draws to a close, and one that should make for some interesting storylines on SmackDown Live ‘s Women’s Division once 2017 kicks off.
[Featured Image by WWE]