How WWE Unexpectdly Hit The Jackpot W/Becky Lynch (ESPN)
Apr 5, 2019 14:14:58 GMT -5
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Post by Captain Stud Muffin (BLM) on Apr 5, 2019 14:14:58 GMT -5
WWE FANS INSIDE Barclays Center exploded from their seats at SummerSlam 2018. It was the epitome of real life striking the performance art of professional wrestling at just the right angle to create lightning in a bottle. Becky Lynch had turned on her longtime friend, Charlotte Flair, and in that moment -- one of shock and elation for wrestling fans -- "The Man" had finally arrived.
Lynch was the fans' choice who had been pushed aside one too many times. Even as WWE scrambled to figure out how best to harness her energy and momentum, Lynch was already well on her way to seizing the opportunity she long felt she deserved: a history-making match to close out the biggest wrestling show of the year.
WWE had stumbled into a generational star in this Irishwoman -- a former teenage prodigy whose immeasurable drive traces back to watching her childhood dreams slip away for seven years. Given the chance to reclaim them, Lynch fought with every fiber of her being and ultimately clawed her way to the top of the WWE.
"This girl that was failing P.E. at 15 years old has somehow become the best sports entertainer in the world," Lynch said. "So much so that they couldn't deny her the main event of WrestleMania."
LYNCH, BORN REBECCA Quin on Jan. 30, 1987, in Limerick, Ireland, and raised in Dublin, was a rambunctious child whose early memories include wrestling-inspired scraps with her brother. She can trace her love of wrestling to the WWE's meteoric rise in popularity during the "attitude era" and the underdog narrative of Mick Foley -- one that bears more than a passing resemblance to her own WWE journey.
At a time when everything else seemed to be going sideways, wrestling became a consistent joy in her life.
"I was completely out of shape. I had no drive. I was drinking. I was smoking things you shouldn't be smoking," Lynch recalled. "And I [thought], 'This is ridiculous. I'm 15 years old -- I need to get it together.'"
She and her older brother, Richy, who was also a lifelong fan with a deep connection to wrestling, talked about making pro wrestling more than just a passion and a hobby. When Richy considered attending a wrestling school based out of England, Becky was only 15 at the time.
Almost serendipitously, word spread that a couple of Irish wrestlers, who were students of that English wrestling school, were opening their own camp far closer to home. Becky knew she had to see it.
On an otherwise unremarkable day in 2002, two of the most popular stars in the WWE today met for the first time with little idea of everything that was to come.
"I show up to this little gymnasium in a school hall," Lynch recalled. "There's six blue padded mats on the ground. Finn [Balor], at the time, was skinny as a rake, big smiley head on him. 'How are you, lads?' And I walked in.
"That was my introduction to wrestling."
Lynch had expected to walk into a giant warehouse with WWE-ready stars battling for a chance at the big time, a la "Tough Enough," the reality show that debuted in 2001 and offered WWE hopefuls a chance to compete for a contract to become a wrestler. Instead, the small gym wouldn't even have a ring for the first three months. Regardless, Lynch was hooked.
"She wanted it so bad that she actually lied to join the school, because she was underage," Balor recalled. "I think she was 15 and she might have lied about her age and told us she was 16, because you had to be 16 to train at the time."
There was also the small matter of walking in off the street without a shred of physical fitness or a clue of how big a task lay ahead.
"I was terrible. It was so foreign to me," Lynch said. "I wasn't an athlete, and I was a chilled-out kid, you know? I was tough, I had never done anything like this but I just wanted to work. I remember at one stage crying to [Finn] and being like, 'I just want to be as good as any of the guys.' And he was like, 'Well, that's what I'm trying to make you do.'"
"We had something special in Becky -- even if she wasn't as aware of it as everyone else. She was the only girl out of about 40 guys, [and] she outworked every single one of them, every single day at training," Balor said. "I think Becky gives me too much credit. I think she says that I trained her, but really, Becky, in my opinion, trained herself. She just needed a little guidance and a little motivation with regards to where to go and what to do."
Lynch made her pro wrestling debut on Nov. 11, 2002, and in February 2004, at age 17, had her first one-on-one match. She spent as much time as she could working toward her wrestling goals while juggling her schoolwork and other responsibilities. She had limited wrestling opportunities and in an attempt to build her profile, she rebranded herself as Rebecca Knox as she expanded her reach to England and France.
"I was just like, 'Give me as much wrestling as I can, because I love this and I just want to get as good as possible,'" Lynch said. "There's nothing in my life that I've ever felt like that about."
The dream was to find a way to get to the WWE, but there wasn't a clear path in that era. At the same time, wrestling outside of WWE was starting to grow in North America with a handful of all-women's promotions starting to pop up. It was worlds ahead of where European wrestling was at the time and so, at 18 years old with $2,000 in the bank and no real plan for what she'd do once she arrived, Lynch applied for a visa and then moved her entire life to western Canada -- searching for that big break.
Lynch was the fans' choice who had been pushed aside one too many times. Even as WWE scrambled to figure out how best to harness her energy and momentum, Lynch was already well on her way to seizing the opportunity she long felt she deserved: a history-making match to close out the biggest wrestling show of the year.
WWE had stumbled into a generational star in this Irishwoman -- a former teenage prodigy whose immeasurable drive traces back to watching her childhood dreams slip away for seven years. Given the chance to reclaim them, Lynch fought with every fiber of her being and ultimately clawed her way to the top of the WWE.
"This girl that was failing P.E. at 15 years old has somehow become the best sports entertainer in the world," Lynch said. "So much so that they couldn't deny her the main event of WrestleMania."
LYNCH, BORN REBECCA Quin on Jan. 30, 1987, in Limerick, Ireland, and raised in Dublin, was a rambunctious child whose early memories include wrestling-inspired scraps with her brother. She can trace her love of wrestling to the WWE's meteoric rise in popularity during the "attitude era" and the underdog narrative of Mick Foley -- one that bears more than a passing resemblance to her own WWE journey.
At a time when everything else seemed to be going sideways, wrestling became a consistent joy in her life.
"I was completely out of shape. I had no drive. I was drinking. I was smoking things you shouldn't be smoking," Lynch recalled. "And I [thought], 'This is ridiculous. I'm 15 years old -- I need to get it together.'"
She and her older brother, Richy, who was also a lifelong fan with a deep connection to wrestling, talked about making pro wrestling more than just a passion and a hobby. When Richy considered attending a wrestling school based out of England, Becky was only 15 at the time.
Almost serendipitously, word spread that a couple of Irish wrestlers, who were students of that English wrestling school, were opening their own camp far closer to home. Becky knew she had to see it.
On an otherwise unremarkable day in 2002, two of the most popular stars in the WWE today met for the first time with little idea of everything that was to come.
"I show up to this little gymnasium in a school hall," Lynch recalled. "There's six blue padded mats on the ground. Finn [Balor], at the time, was skinny as a rake, big smiley head on him. 'How are you, lads?' And I walked in.
"That was my introduction to wrestling."
Lynch had expected to walk into a giant warehouse with WWE-ready stars battling for a chance at the big time, a la "Tough Enough," the reality show that debuted in 2001 and offered WWE hopefuls a chance to compete for a contract to become a wrestler. Instead, the small gym wouldn't even have a ring for the first three months. Regardless, Lynch was hooked.
"She wanted it so bad that she actually lied to join the school, because she was underage," Balor recalled. "I think she was 15 and she might have lied about her age and told us she was 16, because you had to be 16 to train at the time."
There was also the small matter of walking in off the street without a shred of physical fitness or a clue of how big a task lay ahead.
"I was terrible. It was so foreign to me," Lynch said. "I wasn't an athlete, and I was a chilled-out kid, you know? I was tough, I had never done anything like this but I just wanted to work. I remember at one stage crying to [Finn] and being like, 'I just want to be as good as any of the guys.' And he was like, 'Well, that's what I'm trying to make you do.'"
"We had something special in Becky -- even if she wasn't as aware of it as everyone else. She was the only girl out of about 40 guys, [and] she outworked every single one of them, every single day at training," Balor said. "I think Becky gives me too much credit. I think she says that I trained her, but really, Becky, in my opinion, trained herself. She just needed a little guidance and a little motivation with regards to where to go and what to do."
Lynch made her pro wrestling debut on Nov. 11, 2002, and in February 2004, at age 17, had her first one-on-one match. She spent as much time as she could working toward her wrestling goals while juggling her schoolwork and other responsibilities. She had limited wrestling opportunities and in an attempt to build her profile, she rebranded herself as Rebecca Knox as she expanded her reach to England and France.
"I was just like, 'Give me as much wrestling as I can, because I love this and I just want to get as good as possible,'" Lynch said. "There's nothing in my life that I've ever felt like that about."
The dream was to find a way to get to the WWE, but there wasn't a clear path in that era. At the same time, wrestling outside of WWE was starting to grow in North America with a handful of all-women's promotions starting to pop up. It was worlds ahead of where European wrestling was at the time and so, at 18 years old with $2,000 in the bank and no real plan for what she'd do once she arrived, Lynch applied for a visa and then moved her entire life to western Canada -- searching for that big break.
There is more to read cause it is a long one and it's on the front page. That's f***ing dope for her and WWE has a big star on their hands if they play this right.
