John Laurinaitis recently gave WWE legend three weeks' notice before their first singles match in 10 years

Lita has revealed that she was asked to face Becky Lynch in a first-time-ever match just moments after appearing in the 2022 WWE Royal Rumble.

The Hall of Famer lasted 10 minutes and 21 seconds in the 30-woman contest before being eliminated by Charlotte Flair. Following the match, WWE Head of Talent Relations John Laurinaitis asked if she would be interested in facing Lynch at Elimination Chamber 21 days later.

Speaking on Steve Austin’s Broken Skull Sessions show, Lita recalled how Laurinaitis’ question caught her by surprise:

“Johnny Ace [Laurinaitis] just calls me over literally as I’m leaving Gorilla [WWE’s backstage area] from the Rumble and asked if I wanted to do it. I’m still high on adrenaline, like this is the perfect time. I’m like, ‘Yeah.’ He’s like, ‘Do you wanna fight Becky?’ I’m like, ‘You know I do!’ He’s like, ‘All right, a couple of weeks from now?’ I’m like, ‘Yes…’”

Lita went on to lose against Lynch in a RAW Women’s Championship match that lasted 12 minutes and 10 seconds. Lynch grew up idolizing her opponent, which made the match even more special for both women.

Before Elimination Chamber, Lita’s last singles match took place on July 23, 2012, when she defeated Heath Slater on RAW’s 1,000th episode.

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Why Lita disliked her previous WWE Royal Rumble appearance

In 2018, WWE brought back several legends to compete in the first women’s Royal Rumble match. While Lita was honored to be a participant, she was hardly given any time to prepare for the history-making moment.

Comparing her two Rumble experiences, the 46-year-old said she was happy to receive more preparation time ahead of her recent appearance:

“They’d given us a heads-up on the [2022] Rumble and I’d been training because I’d only done the first Rumble, and that was on a 24-hour heads-up. [I’d] not been training [in 2018], not been in the ring, and I had to get cleared medically.” Lita continued, “So I touched the ring live when the fans saw me for the first time since the last time I touched a ring.”

Lita did not enjoy her 2018 Royal Rumble experience, adding that she felt “the wrong kind of nervous” before her six-minute appearance. The four-time women’s champion eliminated Mandy Rose and Tamina before being thrown over the top rope by Becky Lynch.

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Please credit Broken Skull Sessions and give a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription if you use quotes from this article.