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Becky Lynch on pregnancy, SummerSlam surprise, heel turn | "Out of Character"
By Ryan Satin
FOX Sports WWE Analyst
"The Man" has come around to "Out of Character" – and she’s the show’s first in-studio guest!
SmackDown Women’s champ Becky Lynch dropped her kayfabe guard for a revealing 45-minute chat covering everything from pregnancy and taking time off at the height of her career to returning at SummerSlam and now playing the role of a heel.
This conversation shows a side of Becky not often seen by the public.
Subscribe to the "Out of Character with Ryan Satin" podcast feed on Apple Podcasts or Spotify for more weekly candid conversations with your favorite Superstars, legends and on-air talent!
As one might expect from a new parent, though, Lynch beamed with delight at first mention of her daughter, Roux, who was born in December – even going as far as to say she and husband Seth Rollins might have created the greatest child of all-time.
RS: First and foremost, what was it like having a baby? Did you enjoy the pregnancy?
BECKY: "No.
"Look, she's the light of my life, the best thing that's ever happened to me, but I was not one of those women that's just like, ‘Oh, this is so amazing. I get to sit back and eat whatever!’ No.
"I love working. So, being away from the ring for that length of time was painful for me. It was really painful. And, you know, I got into things.
I wrote a book."
RS: So, you did write the book? Because I wasn’t sure if it was a joke when you tweeted about it or if you were serious.
BECKY: "At least five chapters about toast!
"No, I did write a book, and I got the first draft done. I haven't gotten my second or the third done. I've written a bit in the second half. But I did those things, and I love that. That was an artistic outlet for me.
"And I shot a documentary – myself and [Seth Rollins] did a lot of it ourselves. I don't know if it'll air or not, but we did those things. So that at least helped me feel like I was working and doing stuff.
"Yeah, I missed [being in the ring]. I missed it so much. I was jonesing to get back, but one thing that was a bit helpful was the audience was gone. They're such a key part of what we do and, God, fair play to everybody who worked their ass off through that pandemic without the audience there.
"It's like missing a scene member. Everything you do is directed to them, and all their reactions help influence your match and your performance. Without them, you're missing a big piece.
"So, I was lucky that I missed that … but, yeah, the baby's amazing. Look, I know everybody thinks their kids are the best, but I think I did make the G.O.A.T. baby. Like, she's perfect. She's a full night's sleep away from the perfect human."
Big Time Becks also spoke openly about stepping away from WWE to have a child last year and if she worried about whether doing so would affect her spot on the card once she was ready to return.
As you’ll recall, Lynch’s Raw Women’s title reign came to an end at 399 days after she relinquished the belt and announced she was pregnant.
While the decision wasn’t necessarily easy to make, Becky admits she was always up for the challenge of regaining her top position once it was time to come back.
RS: You were at the highest point in your career when you got pregnant. Was it difficult for you at all to step away from that?
BECKY: "Yeah, of course. Of course! In this business, you're on the go, really, 24-7. Your mind's always racing, you're always thinking about what you have to do. What’s the next story? What's the next match? What's the next appearance?"
"So, when you go from that to doing nothing – and then the whole world was changing at the same time – it was … yeah, it was, it was a lot. It was hard to step away, but at the same time, the world was changing. So, if you were going to step away, it was probably a good time to step away. You know what I mean?"
RS: Yes, absolutely, but were you worried that it would affect your place on the card should you ever make the decision to return?
BECKY: "Sometimes I think I'm a glutton for punishment, because I love a challenge. So, stepping away, I knew that I'd be losing my top spot, but then it was a challenge!
"And I think I envision everything as a ‘Rocky’ montage, right? So, coming back, I'm just always like, ‘How can this be a ‘Rocky’ movie?’
"So, I like that challenge of going away, being away for a year and a half, then coming back and wondering if I was still going to be able to go. If I still wanted to go. If everything was going to change and maybe I would just want to be at home.
"I didn't know. I didn't know how anything was going to go, but I think if anything, it just made me hungrier."
RS: So, then, you genuinely weren't sure when you left if you were ever going to come back?
BECKY: "Yeah, probably. I was probably 60 percent sure that I was going to come back. But, you know, there is that 40 percent.
"I don't know how I'm going to be as a mother. I know how I am as a single woman, with no other real priorities – but as a mom, and as a person who's in charge of this tiny little baby, I didn't know how I was going to be.
"I didn't know if it was going to change me so much that I was like, ‘You know what? Maybe I just want to be at home now.’
"I do not just want to be at home now."
That’s precisely why the 34 year-old WWE Superstar dove head-first into training for her return just days after giving birth.
Then, in August, she made a surprise return at SummerSlam in Las Vegas by replacing Sasha Banks in the SmackDown Women’s title match and defeating Bianca Belair in seconds to once again become champ.
Fans were happy for her return, but confused by the short match and heelish tone being used by their beloved babyface.
From Becky’s perspective, however, things are going exactly to plan.
RS: When did you internally decide that you were going to come back? Was it fairly early into your pregnancy since you were bored and wanting to work?
BECKY: "Yeah, and so – not that I was completely bored – but I was just itching to get back in the ring. I just missed it.
"I was like, I want to go back, but I just didn't know how I was going to feel once I had the baby. But then I wanted to get back in shape and was excited to get back in the ring once I had her."
"It wasn't really until two months after she was born that I was like, ‘Okay, I'm ready to go back on the road now.’
RS: Rewinding a little bit here, when you were going to start coming back, from the few interviews you’ve done it sounded like there were multiple plans along the way when it came to your return.
Now that it’s happened, though, are you happy with the way your return has come about up to this point?
BECKY: "Yeahhh! [shows off SmackDown Women’s title].
I mean, look, it was very last minute. I mean, very last minute."
"It’s so hard, especially when you’ve been a babyface for so long – and the crowd likes you and they’re endeared to you and you’ve gone away – and they’ve seen some of the stuff that I went through in the year. I’m a new mom, and I’m coming back, and they’re excited. And there's this girl who's been doing awesome.
"That's a great rivalry. We like both these guys. How do we make them not like one of them? She's a company girl. Like let's do this quick, you know?
"So, I know a lot of people were upset. Like, ‘Well, if they were going to do this, then they should have had a long match!’
"Well, if we had a long match and then I beat her, then I just beat her. That's not good. That's not good for her!
"But if she's robbed, and we take something from her, and she doesn't expect it … then we want to see her succeed? Oh, we want to see her succeed! We don't want the person with it to have it anymore. We want that person to succeed. We want that more. I think we're doing just fine."
RS: Yeah, I feel like a lot of people were getting so worked up on social media, not realizing that that was the point.
BECKY: "It's such a weird thing, you know? It's like, ‘I don't like Becky as a heel! She's so annoying.’ What? OK? I think that's the point, bro. Or, ‘Why would they do this to Bianca?! I wanted her to win!’ Yeah, good, good. This is what we want."
RS: You mean you want to see the good guy come up on the bad guy? Which is the whole point?
BECKY: "This is what we want, so I think we’re doing a good job with it."
RS: Is it a fun challenge for you to try to get people to boo you now?
BECKY: "Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. It’s fun. I’m just having fun with it. Like I said, it’s trial and error. See what works. See what doesn’t.
"Because the last time, I was an underdog overcoming the top guy, and people wanted to cheer me – so there was no point in trying to get them to boo me. But now I'm the top guy talking down to everybody, and I’ve reached the mountaintop.
"People will want to see me be overturned, eventually."
Watch Big Time Becks face-off against Sasha Banks this Friday night on a Supersized SmackDown airing LIVE on FS1 at 8pm Eastern.
For more with Becky Lynch, watch this week’s full "Out of Character."
Ryan Satin is a WWE analyst for FOX Sports. Satin previously appeared on FS1's "WWE Backstage" and founded Pro Wrestling Sheet, where he broke countless news stories as editor-in-chief.
