Becky Lynch Reflects on Beating Ronda Rousey at WrestleMania, Wanting to Wrestle Sasha Banks and More

Becky Lynch is on a roll after headlining WWE’s WrestleMania 35 last month, which led to her becoming the Raw and Smackdown Women’s Champion. Lynch likes to call herself “Becky Two Belts” along with “The Man” and frankly, based on her status in WWE, she has earned the right to be called anything she wants. Lynch has been on an incredible run in the last year and she’s got a lot on her plate moving forward as well.

At Money in the Bank on May 19, Lynch will defend the Raw Women’s Title against Lacey Evans and she’ll defend the Smackdown Women’s Title against Charlotte Flair as well. It’s rare to see a superstar defend two titles on the same show, but Lynch is definitely ready for it.

Lynch was recently interviewed by Sports Illustrated’s Justin Barrasso talking about Ronda Rousey, her current run in WWE and more. Here are some of his highlights.

Lynch on beating Ronda Rousey at WrestleMania:

“Ronda’s shoulders were on the ground, she got pinned one-two-three, she lost her championship, and we haven’t seen her since. My goal wasn’t just to knock Ronda Rousey out, it was to chase her out of the company—and we haven’t seen her since. The way to beat Ronda isn’t through her body, it’s through her mind. Once she feels like she is untouchable, that’s when she is most vulnerable. Ronda enjoyed WWE, as she did in MMA, when she was on top, but she got her jacket and left once she found out she wasn’t infallible.”

Were Ronda’s shoulders really down? Not really, but WWE moved on from it and Lynch isn’t going to say that Ronda’s shoulder was up when the referee started the count.

Lynch on being motivated to be in the main event of WrestleMania this year:

“I remember getting a text at WrestleMania 34 from a friend, and the text read, ‘I heard it’s going to be Charlotte Flair vs. Ronda Rousey in the main event of WrestleMania next year.’ I thought to myself, ‘How dare you not even put me in consideration?’ Even though I was looked at as a mid-card player, I always viewed myself as a top star. I knew it was just a matter of breaking through, but I just had to figure out a way to do it. If you can dream it, you can achieve it. Once I got that opportunity, once I got that ball, I knew I was going to keep running ’til I touched down. I don’t even understand football, but I think that metaphor works.”

Lynch on wanting to face her friend Sasha Banks in a WWE ring again:

“Come fight me, Sasha. At one time, Sasha Banks was the top dog, she was ‘The Boss,’ but Sasha’s fallen from grace. It seems like she can’t hack it. Let’s prove something. I know we’ve had tremendous matches back in NXT, and it’s been an age since we stepped in the ring together, and I would love to again, but this is a whole different kettle of fish. This ain’t ‘The Lasskicker’ anymore, this is ‘The Man.’ I would love to go toe-to-toe, ‘The Man’ vs. ‘The Boss,’ to prove who is the top dog now.”

Lynch on how pro wrestling is a very tough business:

“Conor McGregor can talk about how we’re not tough. This is the toughest line in the world, but we do it because we love it. Ronda Rousey did it for a year but she couldn’t hack it. This is not easy, and no other athlete works as hard as we do. But it’s not so hard when you love it. I refuse to take a second of this for granted. I want to lift both shows, raise both shows, and make WWE must-see TV.”

There’s more in the interview including a story about Finn Balor, who helped train her, thoughts on Lacey Evans and more. Check it out at Sports Illustrated now.