Becky Lynch comments on how far women’s professional wrestling has come. Nothing in pro wrestling has evolved and devolved as many times in the history of wrestling as how the business and fans see women wrestlers. Women have gone from having must-see matches to bikini competitions to main eventing RAW then back to the bottom of the card, only to main event premium live events.
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Becky Lynch is a prime example that women’s wrestling has come a long way and that women can be amazing wrestlers and can draw a lot of money. Lynch was recently a guest on Under The Ring: Pro Wrestling Conversations and talked about how women’s wrestling was treated in the past. She stated the following:
“It was relegated to these short time slots, to the token gesture, ‘Here is the side attraction of the women’s match. It was an attraction and I hated that. And there was limitations on what women could do. Like, you couldn’t punch or you couldn’t throw somebody into the stairs, because that was seen as too violent. ‘Nobody wants to see women be violent.’
“They do, because this is wrestling, and they want to see them wrestle, and they want to see stories, and they want to see ideas and characters and formations. And I don’t think anybody cares what the gender is. So we needed to get rid of that thinking.”
H/T to Wrestling Inc. for transcription
Becky Lynch Evaluates the Progress of Women’s Wrestling
Women’s wrestling tended to ebb and flow in its prominence in pro wrestling, especially in WWE. Sometimes their storylines were good and given a lot of time to tell that story in the ring and other times they were given one-minute matches.
The WWE’s use, and in a lot of cases misuse, of women wrestlers turned a lot of women off from entering wrestling or joining WWE. Becky Lynch initially wanted to join TNA when she first moved to the US because of how WWE was treating and booking their women’s division and how well TNA was booking it.
Lynch did eventually join WWE and helped to usher in a new age of women’s wrestling. She is known as one of the Four Horsewomen of professional wrestling. The unofficial group is known as the key group for igniting the women’s revolution in WWE.
Lynch has won every championship available to women in WWE including being a four-time SmackDown Women’s champion. Even though how women’s wrestling is viewed today has made vast strides forward, she still believes it can make even more progress. She believes there is still a bias ingrained in fans for women’s wrestling and thinks that it needs to be removed. Lynch continued:
“I think there tends to still be some of that bias there because it’s ingrained. It’s kind of almost like a sort of historically ingrained thing, that we just need to scrape away the layers of. And we’re getting there…and we have gotten to where, if I main event a RAW, it’s not a big deal. ‘Of course I main event a RAW, I’m awesome.’ Or I main event a PPV. ‘Of course I main event a PPV. It’s not a big deal, because I’m the Man.’
“But also, Rhea Ripley just main evented in Australia. Of course she should’ve main evented in Australia. She’s their biggest star. So it’s all of these things where it’s…of course, why not? Whereas before it was like ‘Whoa.’ I like that it’s not a big deal, and I want it to continue to not be a big deal, because it shouldn’t be a big deal. It should be a meritocracy, where your position is based on the merit, not on your gender.”
H/T to Wrestling Inc. for transcription
The legacy Becky Lynch and others have built-in WWE for women is still going strong. Even after the Four Horsewomen retire the groundwork they built is still strong for the next generation of women to build upon further. WWE is in good hands with Rhea Ripley going strong on RAW and Tiffany Stratton’s star rising on SmackDown among other women waiting in the wings.
Becky Lynch will face one of those next generational stars this Saturday, April 6 at WrestleMania XL. She will challenge the Women’s World Champion Rhea Ripley for her championship. Lynch earned the opportunity to challenge Ripley after winning or maybe I should say surviving the Elimination Chamber match in February.
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Both days of WrestleMania XL go down at the Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The two-day event will be broadcast live on Peacock.
About WrestleMania XL
When: April 6-7, 2024
Where: Lincoln Financial Field (One Lincoln Financial Field Way, Philadelphia, PA 19148)
Pricing: Tickets available now at Ticketmaster
Broadcast Distribution: Peacock
About: WrestleMania returns to Philadelphia for the first time in 25 years and the very first time at Lincoln Financial Field on April 6th and 7th, 2024, for this 2-day event! Witness your favorite Superstars from Monday Night RAW and Friday Night SmackDown as they take the stage at the showcase of the immortals!
Do you agree with Becky Lynch that these big accomplishments should be downplayed and treated like they are not a big deal? What do you think is the number one thing that needs to happen to make women’s wrestling to be viewed the same way as male wrestlers? Which promotion do you think has the highest level of women’s wrestling currently? Let us know on social media who you think will be the “Becky Lynch” of the next generation of women Superstars.
SOURCE: Under The Ring: Pro Wrestling Conversations, Wrestling Inc.
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