Becky Lynch

Rebecca Quin (born 30 January 1987) is an Irish professional wrestler and actress. She is signed to WWE under the ring name Becky Lynch where she performs on the SmackDown brand and is the current SmackDown Women’s Champion in her fourth reign. Lynch is one of WWE’s most recognizable and highest paid stars.[a] Twitter named her sixth on their list of Top Female Athletes Worldwide in 2019.[10][11]

Quin began training as a professional wrestler in 2002. Initially working in Ireland, and occasionally teaming with her brother using the ring name Rebecca Knox, she soon began wrestling across Europe and North America on the independent circuit for various promotions. She most notably competed in Elite Canadian Championship Wrestling and became the inaugural SuperGirls Champion in 2005. In 2006, Quin suffered a severe head injury during a match which kept her away from wrestling for several years. She returned 2012 and signed a contract with WWE in 2013, assigned to the developmental territory at NXT. Following her push to WWE’s main roster, she became the inaugural SmackDown Women’s Champion at Backlash 2016 and has held the title three times.

In 2018, Lynch transitioned to a more aggressive character starting at SummerSlam, when she attacked Charlotte Flair, presenting herself as an unfairly-treated underdog and dubbing herself “The Man”, resulting in a large increase in her popularity. In 2019, she won a Royal Rumble match, and at WrestleMania 35 won both the Raw Women’s Championship and SmackDown Women’s Championship, making her the first woman to hold both titles simultaneously and a four-time WWE women’s champion. She lost the SmackDown title the following month but then set the record for the longest reign as Raw Women’s Champion at 399 days until going on a hiatus due to pregnancy in May 2020.[12] In August 2021, Lynch returned at SummerSlam to confront SmackDown Women’s Champion Bianca Belair, whom she would defeat seconds later to become a four-time SmackDown Women’s Champion.

Knox joined the Canadian promotion SuperGirls Wrestling, an all-female offshoot of Extreme Canadian Championship Wrestling (ECCW) in May 2005. Following her arrival at an ECCW show in Surrey, British Columbia, Knox feuded with Miss Chevius and defeated her, but lost to her in Port Coquitlam a month later.[22][23] The following night, Knox teamed with Calum Macbeth to defeat Miss Chevius and Tony Tisoy in a mixed tag team match in Vancouver.[23] On 24 June, Knox defeated Miss Chevius at an ECCW show in Surrey to become the inaugural SuperGirls Champion.[24][25] Knox successfully defended the championship on several occasions[26][27][23] before eventually losing it to Lisa Moretti in April 2006.[24][28]

In late 2005, Knox participated in All Pro Wrestling (APW)’s third ChickFight tournament in Hayward, California; she defeated Morgan in the first round, but was eliminated by eventual winner Mariko Yoshida.[29] Knox then won an eighteen-person battle royal at an event in Tokyo, Japan.[30]

Knox began working for the all-female promotion Shimmer Women Athletes in early 2006. In her debut match for the promotion, she defeated Allison Danger, and established herself as a heel (villain) by faking an injury.[31] Following that, she began feuding with Daizee Haze; Knox lost the first match between them,[31] but won the rematch of two-out-of-three falls.[32][33]

In June 2006, Knox defeated Sweet Saraya to win the vacated World Queens of Chaos Championship at an event in Chouilly, France.[34] She held the championship for few months before dropping it to Saraya in September.[35]

In September 2006, while wrestling in Germany, Knox sustained a legit head injury, following which she claimed to have been “suffering from extremely painful headaches, loud buzzing in her left ear and vision as a result,” and was also diagnosed with possible damage to her eighth cranial nerve.[36] A 60-minute Iron Woman match against Haze at Shimmer’s Volume 7 taping was cancelled as a result.[37]

Following her injury, Quin took a six-year hiatus, wrestling only on three occasions for Irish promotion Fight Factory Pro Wrestling (FFPW) in 2008,[38] 2012[39] and 2013.[40] She also reappeared in Shimmer in 2011, managing Saraya and Britani Knight for four shows.