WWE ‘Raw’ Champion Becky Lynch on Changing the Game & More to Come
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Becky Lynch is on top of the world coming off a history-making 2019 in WWE. In one year, she won the Royal Rumble, was part of the first-ever women’s main event at WrestleMania, and solidified “The Man” moniker by leaving MetLife Stadium as “Becky 2 Belts.” But even with all of that success, the longest reigning Raw women’s champ remains driven as ever.
“I can sit back on my laurels, but I just love this, I love this game. I love being the best at something, and right now I’m proving that. I’m riding high. It’s a great feeling,” she said. “Nobody wants to give that up. Nobody wants to come down the mountain when they see the view and scenery. It’s beautiful up there. That keeps me motivated.”
Lynch exudes confidence every time the “Irish Lass Kicker” walks through the curtain. However, there were times when uncertainty seeped through, and the 33-year-old has battled through those moments.
“It was a doubt. I doubted how good I was. Maybe I wasn’t as good as I thought I was,” Lynch said, staying true to her character inside and outside the ring. “Maybe all the haters were right? Maybe I was a flash in the pan. Maybe I’ve just been lucky every single match in an entire year? That’s just bulls**t that I can’t believe I’m saying it. But I had that doubt. I was walking around with my head down contemplating if I was good enough. I needed something to slap me out of it.”
Helping get out of the funk was victory at the Royal Rumble against Asuka, avenging a loss from the same event a year prior. Lynch enjoys testing her skills sharing the squared circle with the “Empress of Tomorrow.”
“She was the best. She is not the best anymore because I beat her. Now I’m the best. I’m better than the best. Now I’m the GOAT,” Lynch said. “Asuka does have the style not many have trained in. Luckily, I have trained in the art of Japanese wrestling, having done tours and matches and main eventing at Korakuen Hall at the young age of only 18. [Asuka] was an opponent that brought a style that I haven’t really used in a while, so that was the trickier part. I finally overcame my white whale at the Royal Rumble.”
The two rivals meet once again on Raw with the title on the line — a challenge Lynch doesn’t take lightly. The story playing out is it being a risky move to accept such a championship defense this close to WrestleMania.
“Why did I do it? Because I needed to prove that beating her wasn’t a fluke. No, I’m lying. I don’t need to prove anything to anybody. I am ‘The Man.’ I am the greatest of all time. But you know what? I like a good risk. I like a good challenge… If you’re not scared to fail, you can achieve anything or do anything really. I think that has been my motto the whole time. I’ve risked it all and come out successful and better than I have before,” she reasoned.
Being in such a high-profile position has brought added pressure for Lynch. It’s a spot that can make an easy target for detractors and critics but she welcomes it all, even recent comments made by SmackDown commentator Corey Graves that fans may be tiring of her.
“I love that we are giving energy to that when I went out there at Royal Rumble and the crowd went mad,” Lynch said. “I had the best match of the night and the crowd went mad … No matter whether I’ve been given two minutes or 10 minutes, I evoke interest. I get people invested.
“No matter who my opponent is or what my story is, I have been on top longer than maybe anybody else in the last decade — maybe beyond that. To have somebody who sits on the sidelines talk about me like that, that’s fine. I’m like the stock market, sometimes I’m up and sometimes I’m down, but I am always money,” she concluded.
Lynch’s contract negotiations and a new deal with WWE couldn’t have come at a better time. It’s a likely increase that moves her up the earners ladder.
“I should be making more in that whole company, everybody — Vince McMahon included,” she said. “I want to change the game. I want to prove that it doesn’t matter your gender, your race, your background, if you are doing the job and keeping people invested, if you are keeping people interested, then you deserve to be paid at a level higher than anybody else.
“Or as high as anybody else. As high as the best of them. I look around the arenas and the majority of the people are in my shirts. The majority of people hold signs for me, so pay me as such and that will be the way it will be,” she added.
The trailblazer has the same mentality when it comes to WWE programming — rewarding TV time and exposure based on merit rather than filling a quota.
“It’s about what is most interesting. If that’s the case, then let’s put that there,” she explained. “We need to get out of the old thinking of, ‘Oh, we’ve already seen a women’s segment or two women’s segments.’ We can leave that back in the ’80s … We’re all doing our thing and entertaining the fans because that’s all that matters at the end of the day.”
A passion for pro wrestling is one of the things she has in common with fiancé Seth Rollins. The two WWE superstars set social media on fire and announced their engagement late last summer.
“I think the thing is you always push each other to what is true. Find your truth,” Lynch said, commenting on how they motivate each other. “Thinking, ‘How are you actually feeling about this? Oh, you know you’re the best. I think you’re the best, too. Let’s both go and freakin’ take over the world.’”
With the road to WrestleMania in full-swing, fans are already pulling out their crystal ball. Among the opponents people are predicting for Lynch is Shayna Baszler. The two last tangled at Survivor Series as part of a triple-threat match with Bayley.
“If she wants to come back, that’s fine. But as far as I know she has been hiding in NXT,” Lynch said. “I don’t make my whereabouts hidden. Everyone knows where I am at all times. I’m at Raw every single Monday.
“I’m at every single live event like a real champ, so if she wants to come find me, she certainly can…Whoever wants to come make some money, they know I’m the big match. Whoever wants to be better than they were before, come find me.”
The popular performer has never forgotten where she came from, as demonstrated by her interactions with fans.
“When it comes to you being the reason they watch wrestling or you’re the reason they achieved something — that when they think of your journey, they push forward — that’s what it’s all about. That’s quite a responsibility, and one I don’t take lightly,” Lynch said.
“Use your strength and don’t be scared of your weaknesses. Just keep moving forward. That really is, at the end of the day, when people come up to me and tell me I help them by just doing my thing and what I love. It’s an amazing feeling,” she concluded.
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