As noted, RAW Women’s Champion Becky Lynch has been celebrating her “Man-niversary” – one year of being The Man in WWE. She recently spoke with Sports Illustrated to mark the milestone.
Lynch recalled a moment from the past year that still upsets her, from the November 12 RAW episode, which was described as a career-defining milestone. That’s when Lynch took a punch to the face from Nia Jax, less than a week before her planned Survivor Series match with Ronda Rousey. The punch caused broken bones in her face, and a concussion. Lynch recalled how she showed up for SmackDown the next day, planning on holding onto her Survivor Series spot, which ended up going to Charlotte Flair.
“I wasn’t letting that moment slip away,” Lynch said. “So I showed up the next day at TV in St. Louis, concussed out of my mind, begging to work, begging to be cleared. I told anyone who would listen I was fine even though, clearly, I wasn’t.”
This served as another reminder to Lynch that being The Man wasn’t going to be easy. She said there was no way she was letting this setback destroy her plans as she wanted to make pro wrestling the coolest thing on TV once again.
“There have been so many times in my career where I thought I was hot, thought I had momentum, then I was taken off TV and it slipped away,” Lynch said. “But there was no way I was letting this slip past me. I wanted to make wrestling the coolest thing on TV. That was my goal, and I wasn’t going to stop trying to make that a reality.”
Lynch also revealed that she originally wanted to have her big run as a heel. She tried to make that happen, but she credits the fans for the huge year she’s had.
“I certainly tried [to be a heel],” Becky admitted. “But I could hear a wave of disappointment when I’d cut promos on the crowd. I was willing to go without them, but they wouldn’t let me. And the reason I’ve been able to have this phenomenal year is because of the fans.”
Lynch also talked about her relationship with Seth Rollins.
“Nobody gets me like he does. He’s my partner in crime for life. As soon as we started dating, it was pretty obvious that this was it for both of us,” she said. She continued and commented on Rollins proposing to her in August. “I was a little caught off guard. I didn’t expect it right there and then. But as soon we started dating, that was it for us.”
Regarding her future, Lynch said she still wants a singles match with Rousey.
“I’m exactly where I want to be, but there’s always more work to be done,” Lynch said. “The world still needs that one-on-match with Ronda Rousey. Whenever she’s ready, I’ll be here, still holding down the fort in WWE.”
The Man also said she’s really looking for someone in the WWE locker room to step up. She said there are two types of people in that locker room – those who bitch about how she got to the top, and those who are trying to copy her blueprint.
“In our locker room, there are two types of people,” she said. “Those who are bitching about how I got to the top and those who are trying to copy what I did. But you have to go outside of that. You have to be completely different.
“Step up. Make a name for yourself. Do it without doing it the way I did. I see what everyone else is doing, and then I try to do the opposite. Be original. Create the interest I have, put together the matches I’ve had. No one can do what I do. If you can, please step up to the plate.”
