Becky Lynch
Photo Credit: Bill Pritchard

Becky Lynch On Getting ‘Elected’ To WrestleMania, What Brought Her Into Wrestling

Becky Lynch was a recent guest on The Moment with Brian Koppelman, and she talked about the movement to push her to the WrestleMania 35 main event was like getting getting elected. “The Man” said some people might be handed an opportunity like that, but without the support she got leading into the show, she wasn’t getting the ‘gift’ of a main event spot:

“I don’t know where the line is anymore. That struggle is real, whether it’s on TV or not. Going to WrestleMania was like a campaign where I had to get the people to elect me into the main event. If I didn’t, I wasn’t going to be handed that opportunity. Some people are handed that opportunity, they become the guy. Some people, you have to get the people to make you the guy. It’s such a minute to minute business. It’s one thing to have a great match on the pay-per-view, but if you’re not entertaining the people in between, there is so much content out there. You’re going to get left behind. It’s a matter of just constantly entertaining people and keeping people invested. What will they care about? What stories can we tell?”

Lynch also talked about what drew her into wrestling, saying there was something about the toughness, and that she didn’t want to fail at wrestling. She said wrestling gave her something to identify with, and she didn’t want to fail and be “Becky the chubby girl who failed PE”, but instead found a sense of belonging in the sport. Additionally, Lynch explained how Mick Foley’s promos drew her into wrestling and it started as a bonding experience between herself and her brother, who were going through the divorce of their parents. She said was going through a tough time as a teen, but ended up pursuing wrestling and wanted to prove herself.

“Mick Foley’s promos were the thing that brought me in. My parents were separated from a young age and me and my brother would really bond over wrestling. We’d go for walks with all of our teen angst and talk about happenings. At the time, I was going down a bad path, around 13, 14, 15. I was drinking and I was also failing PE. I would just refuse to do anything, just like… do you remember Daria? The clips of her in gym class and she’d barely put her hand out when the ball came her way. I was just like that. I would refuse to do anything, I was so apathetic.

I’m not a gifted athlete at all. I’ve worked very hard to become athletic, but I have no natural skill, maybe at anything. My brother is online and he’s looking at wrestling schools in England. I remember the email he wrote, he said he wasn’t a dreamer and he genuinely wanted to give this a try. They got back to him saying that a new school was opening up nearby run by Fergal Devitt (Finn Balor). I technically had to be 16 to wrestle there, but I just lied and got in anyway.

The first season of Tough Enough had just aired, so I knew what wrestling school was all about. You just expected this hardass lifestyle, and you were ready for it. You wanted to be put through the wringer. You wanted to prove your mettle. You’d look at the people who quit, and you’d know you didn’t want to be like them.”

Becky talked about her training with Finn, saying he had a presence orconfidence about himself, and in hindsight can say he had a star-like quality from the beginning. Check out the full interview below:

Related: Becky Lynch Talks Being Nominated For MTV Movie Award, Headlining WrestleMania

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