The Irish Lass Kicker, Becky Lynch

For WWE Superstar Becky Lynch, September 11, 2016 is a date which will be indelibly inked on her mind long after she hangs up her wrestling boots. You see, on that night, at Virginia’s Richmond Coliseum during their Backlash pay per view, she fended off five other women to be crowned the first ever Smackdown Women’s Champion. Needless to say, in the words of Ron Burgundy, “it’s kind of a big deal” in the bone crunching, body-slamming world of professional wrestling. So much so in fact, that it made global news as millions tuned in to watch Becky have her own Rocky Balboa moment after many years of false starts both in her storylines and real life. In music terms, the self proclaimed “Lass-Kicker” is akin to Joshua Tree-era U2.

“It hasn’t really sunk in yet,” beams the grappler born Rebecca Quin when we catch up with her 48 hours after her historic moment. “I did take a little bit of time to think about it all and write some things down, although I always write everything down. Today, I did a children’s hospital visit, and when the kids saw the title they got so excited. That made it all a little bit more real for me.”

Founded by the McMahon family, WWE is a billion dollar corporation and Lynch is one of its brightest stars. Regarded as something of a role model, Becky is regularly mobbed by fans who dress like her and she tells us she’s thrilled to inspire the next generation.

“It melts my heart,” she enthuses. “The little girls who come to the shows wearing orange wigs, goggles and the ‘Lass Kicker’ shirts are just incredible to see. Knowing that you’re making an impact and inspiring them makes you remember you’re a role model and I want to be a good one for them.”

Dubbed as the world’s second oldest profession, wrestling is an evergreen sub culture which continues to dazzle, delight and excite multiple generations worldwide. It’s not without its risks though, and Becky has received her fair share of set-backs over the years, including a head injury which threatened to end her career in ‘06.

“When I got injured ten years ago, for a while at least, I thought that was the end of my dream,” she confesses. “It was a pretty shocking thing to deal with as I was only 19 at the time. I ended up spending a few years doing jobs which offered me a fraction of the thrill that wrestling did. I acted, became a flight attendant, did stunt work – but nothing came close to the buzz I got from wrestling. Even though I was earning scraps wrestling on the independent circuit, I loved it.”

Deciding to get back in the ring in 2011, the Dubliner’s story is a true rags to riches tale, as she ended up being signed by the WWE two years later. In the time since, she has become a huge fan favourite. Known for her technical skills and daredevil antics, the performer has had a hell of a year and one of her highlights was competing in front of a record 101,763 people at Wrestlemania in Dallas, Texas on April 3.

“Wrestlemania was insanely emotional for me,” she reflects. “Having given wrestling up for so long, and worked jobs trying to make ends meet, performing at the biggest Wrestlemania of them all was beyond my wildest dreams. In fact I never dreamt about anything as big as this, as I never thought it would happen. It really was the childhood dream come true.”

Part of a group named “The Four Horsewomen” who are currently changing the perception of female wrestling for the better, Lynch says she’s proud to be spearheading this new revolution.

“When I started wrestling, this change was something that I’ve always wanted to see happening,” she says. “The fact that I’ve helped that and I’m a cog in the machine of this revolution is amazing. This is the impact I’ve always wanted to make. When I stopped wrestling, one of the reasons was because I never thought something like this was possible. But now, here I am with the incredible women on the roster at the moment and we’re changing the game and changing the way everybody looks at us.”

Out on the road for 300 days of the year, Becky revealed that while it took some time to adjust, she’s loving her life performing across the globe.

“You know, maybe I miss being in my bed more often, but I love the road life so I can’t complain,” she says. “I definitely think there’s more demand put on women though (laughs). The lads probably wouldn’t say so, but you gotta get your hair done and your eyelashes on and look relatively presentable all the time. That can be a pain, because sometimes you just want to roll out of bed and go to the gym and not worry about make-up.

“When I’m not in the ring I keep a fairly low profile – outside of wrestling I don’t like to be the centre of attention. I never have birthday parties or anything like that, I like the quiet life.”

Becky, alongside former WWE champions Sheamus and Finn Balor, is part of what will be eventually be regarded as a golden generation for Irish wrestling. Considering the company has yearned for competitors from the Emerald Isle since its inception (fun fact – Terry Bollea was called Hulk Hogan because former owner Vince McMahon Senior wanted his champ to have an Irish name and even tried to convince him to dye his hair red), expect the Lass-Kicker to be a superstar for years to come.

“I do feel pressure now I’m the champion, but it’s a good pressure,” she notes. “It means a lot that I’m the first Smackdown Women’s Champion and I go down in the history books. My next challenge is to keep it around my waist.”