Facts About Becky Lynch Only Hardcore Fans Know
Becky Lynch has scratched and clawed her way to the very top of WWE. From humble beginnings, Lynch was able rise through the ranks of WWE and has become one of the most successful female wrestlers of all time. Lynch harnessed the support of the WWE fans with the creation of The Man character and was able to force her way higher and higher up the card. Becky Lynch has won countless accolades on her road to the top, including numerous Women's Championship reigns, a Royal Rumble win as well as a victory in the main event of Wrestlemania.
Lynch helped solidify women's wrestling as equal to the men in WWE (if not better) and along the way, Lynch has cultivated a huge fan following. She is now one of WWE's top stars, male or female, and her fan base has only grown with each incredible performance. Becky Lynch has an amazing story of how she reached the top and these are some facts that newer fans may not be aware of.
Becky Lynch was trained to wrestle by Finn Balor
In an interview with Times Now (via Fightful) Becky Lynch spoke about how she first got into the wrestling business. Lynch said she used to love watching wrestling as a child with her brother, and when she decided she wanted to try out wrestling for herself, it just so happened that the only wrestling school in Ireland was owned by one Finn Balor. Lynch said, "If you wanted to be a wrestler, you'd have to go off to England or America to train. It was only at Finn Balor's school that I got the opportunity to learn. We wrestled for three months on just six blue mats on the floor in this tiny little hall at Saint Andrew's national school. We'd go down there every Sunday and that's how we learned, on the mats. We'd go across to England and do these summer camps where you'd train eight or nine hours a day in a gym."
Becky Lynch has always gotten emotional when talking about much Finn Balor means to her. In an "NXT" video package for Finn Balor, Lynch broke down in tears as she recalled the quote, "Imagine how your life would be if you didn't meet the one that changed everything." For her, that person was Finn Balor.
Becky Lynch credits wrestling for quitting drinking and getting her life back in order
Early in her life, Becky Lynch has admitted she was going down a dark path. In her youth, Lynch confessed she was drinking, doing drugs, and hanging out with the wrong crowd. There have been many wrestlers who have fallen down these similar dark paths, but Becky Lynch in fact credits wrestling as the reason for getting off that path and putting her life back together.
All the way back in 2005, Becky Lynch gave an interview to Lady Sports at just 18 years old where she said, "Wrestling didn't change my life ... it SAVED my life! I'm telling you, I started really young, but I was going down a bad path before I started ... But then I started wrestling, and I gave up everything. I started working out, eating a good diet, and just did everything I could that I thought would benefit me ... Lord, I don't know where I'd be now if I didn't start wrestling, and to tell you the truth, I wouldn't want to know."
Becky Lynch quit wrestling in 2006 and battled depression because of it
Becky Lynch began wrestling in 2002 and wrestled consistently on the independent scene until 2006. After she suffered a bad concussion at an indy event in September 2006, Lynch heartbreakingly decided to step away from wrestling.
Speaking to ESPN in 2016, Becky said, "I quit wrestling in 2006 because I just got lost. My mom didn't want me wrestling, I was wondering if I was going to make it in wrestling, I got injured in a match, I was 19, I was away from home, living in Florida and I just got lost. I couldn't face it, so I stepped away. It was like a death for me, and that is not an exaggeration. I struggled for years to find what I wanted to do. I was away for seven years. I always kept journals, and it's crazy to go back and read these journals because it seemed like I had unfinished business. I always felt like it was something I was meant to do, but I just didn't know how to get back in. So I ended up just trying to do something to fill the void."
Speaking to People (via WrestleZone) years later, Lynch said she suffered from depression during those years. On reflection, however, Lynch says she is grateful for those years away because she wouldn't be where she is now without having had the break from wrestling.
Becky Lynch worked as a flight attendant
After stepping away from wrestling once and for all (or so she thought), Becky Lynch was convinced to take a job as a flight attendant at Aer Lingus by her mother. Lynch's mother had worked the same job for years and was gently trying to nudge Lynch away from wrestling.
Lynch worked at Aer Lingus for four years but she absolutely hated it. Speaking to Sky Sports, Lynch said, "I knew it wasn't what I wanted to do with my life, I didn't know how to get out, so it was a tough time for me." Being away from wrestling during that time was a real struggle for Becky Lynch. She continued, "It was all encompassing and so hard for me to do any classes or take up any hobbies — I'd wake up with this gnawing feeling in my stomach that I wasn't doing what I was meant to do."
Becky Lynch went to Clown College
While Lynch was away from wrestling, she knew she still loved the business and tried to transfer that love into other things she could do as a hobby. This, strangely, included training as a clown.
Speaking on "Talk is Jericho," Lynch discussed going to clown college and how she related it to wrestling, "What I loved about wrestling was just being foolish, so I studied clown ... I actually did my thesis on clown, I feel like you just become very vulnerable and it's very honest. Well, everybody thinks that you just do tricks and learn to juggle and this, that, and whatever, but no! It's actually a really powerful acting technique because you put on this little red nose and it's like an arrow to your eyes and they say that the eyes are the windows to the soul. It's like people can see through you or you feel like that. There's just this thing that comes over you when you have that little red nose on you."
Lynch studied the art of clown for three years before concluding that the whole thing was "nonsense." Lynch revealed on the "Not Sam Podcast" that clown college was a waste of time.
Becky Lynch suffered from body issues
Becky Lynch has shared in many interviews that she has always suffered from body issues and still does to this day. Lynch revealed that growing up, she didn't even want to join WWE because of the implications of the "Diva" label of the time. Lynch told ESPN, "When I was younger, I didn't want to come to WWE because I didn't fit into the mould. I couldn't identify myself with the term 'Diva.' The divas brand was meant to put a spotlight on the women, but the term to me felt more glamorous than me."
In spite of these doubts, Lynch spoke on Lilian Garcia's "Making Their Way To the Ring" podcast about how she still tried to fit the Diva mould during that time just in case WWE ever came knocking. Lynch even said it was a reason she developed an eating disorder. "I was like 'Well, if I look a certain way they're gonna want me.' So that's when I started getting into bodybuilding and then that was my downward spiral. I started eating far too little. I remember going off to Japan four weeks before I was supposed to do a competition. Every bump hurt. I had no protection on me. I didn't have the energy."
Becky Lynch's first gimmick in WWE was embarrassing
After stepping away from wrestling for six years, Becky Lynch made her triumphant return to wrestling by signing a two year developmental deal with WWE. Not too long after, Becky Lynch made her TV debut on an episode of "NXT" in an interesting fashion. While fans now know Becky Lynch as one of the best and most badass female performers around, Becky Lynch's "NXT" debut was about as far from that as one can possibly get. Lynch made her debut with the character of an Irish dancer — she would do an Irish jig all the way down to the ring and would continue to dance throughout the match. In her WWE Network collection, "Becky Lynch: Straight Fire," Lynch said of the gimmick, "For me, it was just wanting to be in there so bad, and thinking, 'Oh, well, I'm Irish. Let's not ignore the fact ... But of course, we didn't have to display the fact."
Thankfully the Irish dancer gimmick didn't last very long as Becky Lynch soon started achieving success by bringing more of her own personality into her character.
Now Becky Lynch is at the top of the mountain, she can look back on the gimmick and laugh. On the eight year anniversary of her "NXT" debut, Becky Lynch tweeted, "8 years ago I had possibly the most shameful debut in NXT/ WWE history. Today I have accomplished nearly everything I could have ever dreamed of. And tonight I will main event like I always do at #wwehidalgo . Where you've been doesn't have to indicate where you'll go."
WWE originally didn't want to push Becky Lynch because of her accent
Becky Lynch has always been proud of her Irish heritage and her thick Irish accent has been ever present with her throughout her career. However, when first joining the WWE main roster, Bryan Alvarez reported on Wrestling Observer Radio (via Sportskeeda) that Kevin Dunn, WWE's Executive Vice President of Television Production, hated Becky Lynch's accent and didn't want to hear it anymore. Dave Meltzer also claimed that Vince McMahon didn't want her cutting promos, as he thought nobody would be able to understand her because of her accent.
Becky Lynch made fun of these reports in 2016 during her feud with Alexa Bliss, tweeting, "For those who didn't understand my accent what I said was, 'Smackdown.' Alexa. Glasgow. Face. Slapped. Off. Her."
It was, quite frankly, ridiculous, and Becky Lynch proved them both wrong by becoming one of the best promos in WWE.
Becky Lynch was best friends with Charlotte Flair until they had a huge bust up
During their time in "NXT," Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair became best friends. Their close relationship was plain to see across all of social media and both women often posted photos and videos of themselves together. They even did an episode of "WWE Ride Along" together for the WWE Network and their close relationship really shone through. This friendship lasted for many years, although somewhere along the way, the relationship broke down.
Their now fractured relationship was visible during the infamous Championship Exchange segment on "SmackDown" in October 2021. Speaking on the "SI Media Podcast," Becky Lynch admitted she didn't know what went wrong: "I don't know, man. We don't talk anymore. We don't talk. So all I'll say is the locker room needs a hero sometimes. And sometimes somebody's gotta be a hero. I'm all right being that hero. That's what I'll say on that matter."
Charlotte Flair described their current relationship on Steve Austin's "Broken Skull Sessions," "We were each other's crutches at one point. But now, she wants to be the best. I want to be the best. You have two alphas who don't see eye-to-eye ... We grew up together on TV, and you see that. People didn't know how close we were."
Becky Lynch considers Nia Jax breaking her nose a blessing in disguise
After her heel turn in 2018, Becky Lynch was on fire. Becky Lynch was becoming The Man and her career was skyrocketing. An unfortunate road block on that journey, however, came when "SmackDown" invaded "Raw" in the lead up to Survivor Series 2018. During the invasion, Nia Jax hit Lynch with an errant forearm, breaking Lynch's nose and giving her a concussion. During the wild brawl, Becky Lynch still came out on top and victoriously stood in the crowd with blood pouring down her face in a now legendary star making moment.
The injury would force Becky Lynch out a big match with Ronda Rousey at Survivor Series 2018, though Becky Lynch says it was all for the best. Speaking to GiveMeSport, Lynch said, "I think that in retrospect, I need to buy Nia Jax a bouquet of flowers because I think, without that image, you know, myself covered in blood on top of the stands with my arms out, like my career, it may not have gotten to the place that it's gotten now. So yeah, 100% it was a blessing in disguise. I don't know what would have happened otherwise. We would have had our match, I probably would have won. Who knows? Who knows what would have happened? It's so hard to tell, but I am very grateful for everything that happened along the way."
Becky Lynch was friends with Seth Rollins for years before they got together
In 2019, Becky Lynch and Seth Rollins shocked the wrestling world when they shared a picture of themselves kissing backstage at a WWE event. Becky Lynch spoke to Ariel Helwani on ESPN to give the details of how they got together. She said, "We've been friends for years and years, and just immediately the first conversation that I ever had with him ... we just hit it off. I think I just ended up telling him my life story. And that was it, we were just friends, and there was never really anything. But then, we were both single at the same time, and then we were like, 'Why not?'"
WWE attempted to use their off screen chemistry and turn it into an onscreen partnership in a feud with Baron Corbin and Lacey Evans. However, for some reason, their onscreen chemistry didn't click and the whole thing was slightly awkward. Seth Rollins spoke to "Sports Media With Richard Deitsch" about why it didn't work: "We tried to make the best of it, but I don't think either of us were terribly comfortable with it. Even though we have incredible chemistry as people, as performers, our characters never really vibed on-screen."
That mattered not, however, as Becky Lynch and Seth Rollins are now happily married and have a child together.
Becky Lynch and Ronda Rousey really don't like each other
Becky Lynch and Ronda Rousey first crossed paths just as Becky Lynch was rising up the ranks. It seemed like they were building to a huge one on one match at WrestleMania 35. That isn't exactly the way it turned out as Charlotte Flair was (rather awkwardly) added to the match. In the build up to WrestleMania however, Becky Lynch and Ronda Rousey would go scorched earth on each other on social media, with insulting back and forth tweets that would just bury each other (and in Rousey's case, bury the entire wrestling business). Their very non-PG tweets cut close to the bone and left fans feeling like there was an element of truth to their rivalry.
In the build up to WrestleMania 35, Slice Wrestling (via Sportskeeda) reported that Ronda Rousey didn't want be pinned or submitted by Becky Lynch in the main event of WrestleMania because of the real life heat between the two women. This might contribute to the rather strange rollup victory Lynch got on Rousey.