Becky Lynch: The Man: Not Your Average Average Girl

by Rebecca Quin

Beauty was my mom’s domain. Pizza was mine.

Wrestling is a funny thing. Once you get into it, you can’t seem to shut up about it. Or at least I couldn’t. The spectacle, the story lines, the conflict and resolution. The athletic maneuvers, the stunts, good prevailing over evil and even if things aren’t going well for our heroes there could be a win around the corner. It had everything: drama, comedy, romance, adrenaline, excitement. Above all, it had hope.

Something I have learned from failing at most things is, take your turn when it seems like the bar is at an all-time low. That way, there’s nowhere to go but up!

Whether it was out of pity or respect for this young girl trying to hold her own with the lads, I felt like we had a connection. It is that connection that would carry me further than I ever could have possibly imagined later in my career.

It was a turf war. A battle for dominance. Like Springfield versus Shelbyville in The Simpsons.

“He got kneecapped, didn’t he?” Andre prompted helpfully. Maybe “kneecapped” means something different in England. Maybe he got cute little hats to keep his knees warm.

I knew I was on the brink of something big. I was terrified but kept thinking, It will either be a great adventure or a great story, but either way, it might make a decent memoir one day.

Looking back now, I can’t imagine the bravery it took for my mom to let her often-reckless daughter go across seas to pursue the unknown. But in regards to raising children she had always said, “Give them roots and give them wings.”

Everything is coming up Becky! I thought in my best Milhouse voice.

A goal of mine (which I still have) is that I want to make anyone I share a ring with look good. That, to me, is the mark of a truly seasoned professional wrestler. It is what all the greats do remarkably well.

I hadn’t changed the business—not yet anyway—but every journey to change starts with small steps in the right direction.

If there is one thing that fires me up more than anything, it’s being told that I can’t do something or I’m not good enough. As much as I doubt myself from time to time, or even most of the time, the rebellious spirit in me thrives on a challenge.

I do try too hard. I so badly want to entertain the people who came to see me, and prove to myself and the world that I am the best. But ultimately, what trying too hard is is a confession that you don’t completely trust yourself to be good enough yet.

One thing about the wrestling business is it has the tendency to forgive.

The wrestling community was abuzz about the Four Horsewomen, as we became known, who would change the landscape of women’s wrestling forever. It felt like wrestling’s version of the Spice Girls, each different, but that was what was great. We could each appeal to a particular demographic. All of us brought something different to the table. Charlotte, her legacy, her athleticism. Bayley, her passion, her technicality. Sasha, her star presence, her finesse. Becky, that Rocky Balboa–like heart.

A good guy. A bad guy. Conflict that is engaging. It is that simple. And in wrestling, we get to tell a story in the most engaging way possible. Through consensual violence!

I love a good shoulder chip. Sometimes I think I just invent them to keep me on my toes. Again, horrible way to live in terms of happiness but works great in wrestling.

No matter how hard you work or how deserving you might be, there will always be people there to negate and dispute your worthiness. The real trick is to let yourself believe in you and silence the negativity in your own mind.

Maybe everyone feels like this? Maybe I wasn’t so out of place. Maybe we’re all battling those demons that tell us we’re not good enough.

I know controversy creates cash, but it also creates resentment and feelings of self-loathing. Proceed with your mean tweets with caution.

We now had a slogan for the movement. It was powerful. Anyone could be The Man. It didn’t matter your background or your gender or what you do. You just needed to claim your greatness and not let anyone tell you differently.

I want to be viewed for the work I do. I want gender out of the picture. And not because I don’t like being a woman, but because it shouldn’t matter if I am one.

“If you bring forth what is within you, what you bring forth will complete you. If you do not bring forth what is within you, what you bring forth will destroy you.”