Becky Lynch is the greatest of all time

For the first time since 2013, Becky Lynch is a free agent. Her contract with WWE expired on June 1. She’s now free to do whatever she wants, and there are reports that her desire is to take an extended break from wrestling. She deserves it – no one can deny that. Lynch’s name screams star in every sense of the word. She’s achieved a lot, but those accolades are just a small part of what makes her the greatest of all time.

It's easy to write about why Lynch if the GOAT. Her resume speaks for itself. There are several moments that one could pick out and put together a 400–500-word piece as it being yet another example where she’s stood head-and-shoulders above all. But what makes Lynch so deserving of that position in wrestling is that she’s achieved this position despite the hurdles and landmines thrown her way.

Lynch was never supposed to make it. Even though she is a card-carrying member of the Four Horsewomen, she is the individual who wasn’t supposed to reach this moment. In many ways, Charlotte Flair was supposed to be the star to emerge from that behind-the-scenes faction. And emerge she did. Mercedes Mone clawed her way to iconic status. Bayley has always had fan support since blossoming in WWE NXT. That leaves Lynch, who was in the odd place of being one of the performers with a stock of experience and the downhome roots in wrestling. But that didn’t seem like it would be enough to help push her through to the limelight. Yet, she continued to overcome.

Seven times she’d held a women’s championship on the WWE main roster. She’d grab the Women’s Tag Team Championship and NXT Championship once along the way as well. Still, it was what she did for others along the way that established her as the best.

The 2019 victory at WrestleMania 35 that led to Becky 2-belts is the one that stands out on the list as being “for her.” Lynch established herself with this victory, setting a historic mark that could never be matched and would never feel as big in other organizations. She didn’t do it on her own. Flair and Ronda Rousey played key roles in that WrestleMania main event, but it was Lynch’s moment – her moment to culminate a push that was as organic and as deserved as they come.

Every other title victory though, seemed like it was for the roster. For the other women that needed the elevation. She’s helped push individuals like Bianca Belair, Lyra Valkyria, and Liv Morgan to statuses they’ve hit today. She even tried to get an individual like Teagan Nox back on television. Lynch has not only stood on the business that women’s wrestling needed the push but she’s openly talked about it when given the platform to do so.

“I need people to come up,” Lynch said back in 2023. “I need people on this level. But if nobody’s getting any TV time. If nobody’s getting any story time then they can’t rise up because nobody knows who the hell they are. It’s hard to gain momentum if you don’t get no TV time and it’s hard to get TV time if there is nothing to fight for.”

She would double down on that stance in 2024.

“That’s what women’s wrestling needs [non-title stories],” Lynch said in March of 2024. “We should all be focused on the future of the industry. That’s bigger than me. I don’t need a title. The title doesn’t make me-I make the title. I have enough stories that I don’t need the title. NXT, that’s a place that does a great job with multiple stories with women that don’t all revolve around a title. That’s what our division needs, more stories that don’t revolve around a title.”

Those are powerful words. Words that not only ring true in WWE but ring true across all professional wrestling. Women deserve a position at the table, and in many ways, they are showing that they are the true Heads of the Table. Becky Lynch is an iconic figure in that group and deserves the praise of being so.

It’s hard to see this as the potential last time fans will get to see Lynch in the ring. Could that be a possibility? Sure. She’s going to go home and get to enjoy time with her daughter and husband, Seth Rollins, who is also out due to an injury and deserves a break as well. Perhaps she’ll get that fire to return. Maybe not. But if this is the final stanza is Becky Lynch’s song about professional wrestling then the chorus needs to be that she’s the greatest of all time.