Welcome to the first instalment of Luck of the Irish – a look at the Irish contingent currently in WWE. I was tempted to kick things off looking at European wrestlers as a whole in WWE but a) that would be a long commitment as there are quite a few of them and b) wouldn’t let me focus on individuals as much. Who knows, it may appear in the future, but for now we can be happy with the Luck of the Irish and it kicks off with Becky Lynch.
Who is Becky Lynch?
It’s a good question to start at. Many fans will know her from kicking off her career in NXT 2013 but it began back in Ireland, being trained by Finn Balor before heading over to NWA Hammerlock in Kent, England. She learned her skills and moved around different UK promotions before heading off to SuperGirls Wrestling and Shimmer among others in North America. She also competed in Japan in 2005 and 2006. She took a break from wrestling but thankfully returned to the squared circle, much to her fans delight.
What has she done in WWE?
Quite a bit. After appearing in NXT she teamed with Sasha Banks, Bayley and had some outstanding matches there, including an amazing match at NXT: Unstoppable vs Sasha Banks. Seriously, amazing. Stop reading this, go to the WWE Network and watch it, then come back. Back? Good.
After her run in NXT she appeared as part of Team PCB at the start of the (mostly botched) Women’s Revolution. Her matches vs Charlotte saved a lot of embarrassed faces as they saved a lot of credibility of women’s wrestling in WWE, culminating in the spectacular triple threat match of Lynch vs Banks vs Charlotte for the title. It’s clear that without Lynch that the women’s wrestling scene in WWE would have a very different landscape.
How is Becky Lynch doing right now?
Well, quite happy I’d imagine. Breaking out of Team PCB meant that we got more time with Becky Lynch – more time to find out about her, time to make a connection with her as a wrestler and time to understand what she’s all about. That time has paid off absolutely fantastically for us, for Becky and for WWE. Becky becoming the inaugural WWE SmackDown Women’s Champion has helped her solidify her place in the company obviously, but it also shows what she is capable of. It shows that the fans are invested in her and want to her to succeed. Female wrestlers need time to connect with the crowd, to build a relationship and to get themselves over and Becky has been given that time. Charlotte was afforded that, Sasha Banks, Paige, Bayley. All female wrestlers, all coming up to the main roster from NXT, all given the time. Becky is on top of the Cloud 9 right now and rightly so.
Where could she go in the future?
Well initially, a nice long reign as WWE SmackDown Women’s Champion will be a start. Lynch’s potential is limitless right now and at 29 years old, she has a lot of mileage left in the tank. She was meant to compete in an Iron Woman match early in her career which didn’t happen due to injury and I’d quite happily see that happen now. When I think WWE SmackDown Women’s division I see one shining light: Becky Lynch.
Long may she reign!
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