One of the most controversial moments of Becky Lynch's career occurred at the 2016 WWE Royal Rumble.
The penultimate match of the night saw Lynch challenge her former best friend Charlotte Flair for the Divas Championship. At the time, The Queen's famous father Ric Flair often caused distractions at ringside in an attempt to help his daughter win matches.
In the early stages of the bout, the two women took their battle outside the ring. With Lynch gaining the upper hand, Ric Flair turned the title challenger around and kissed her on the lips.
Can’t they just kiss again & make up? @RicFlairNatrBoy 😘 💋 @BeckyLynchWWE #TheMan pic.twitter.com/qLE1unbNYL
— A-N-T ⚡️ (@ANTwontstop) September 5, 2019
The Nature Boy laughed and performed his signature "Woo!" taunt before Lynch slapped him in the face. Seconds later, Charlotte Flair threw her opponent back into the ring as the match continued.
Charlotte won the 12-minute encounter with a Spear after yet another distraction from Ric on the ring apron. Following the match, Sasha Banks attacked the then-Divas Champion to kick-start a storyline that went on to last throughout 2016.
How WWE altered footage of Ric Flair kissing Becky Lynch
While the kiss aired live during the Royal Rumble, it no longer features on replays on the WWE Network. Instead, the incident has been edited to make it look like Ric Flair simply turned Becky Lynch around to save Charlotte.
WWE uploaded the match to its YouTube channel in 2021. The video below (4:05 to 4:20) shows the edited version of the kiss:
The memorable moment took place several years before Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair famously fell out. The rift between the two WWE stars also involved Ric Flair, who had major issues with Lynch referring to herself as The Man.
After years of animosity, the 16-time world champion apologized to Lynch backstage at the 30th-anniversary episode of RAW. He also shook hands with the WrestleMania 35 main-eventer's husband, fellow WWE star Seth Rollins.