Becky Lynch says kayfabe is dead, but fans still want to believe what they’re watching.
During a recent interview with Richard Deitsch of Sports Media Podcast, multi-time women’s champion Becky Lynch discussed what it’s like navigating being in character versus being her true self in media interviews.
“I think it’s walking a fine line, right? People say that kayfabe is dead, and to a certain extent, it is. But people want to believe it,” Lynch said. “That’s the thing. People want to believe what we’re doing, and I want to believe it. When we’re invested in it, you want people to have that emotional hook, but there’s also the thing where we tell them, ‘This is a story,’ and it’s actually being driven more and more that people are getting into, ‘Oh, this is the story, the storytelling.’
“So I think there is a way of leaning into both sides where it’s yes, this is the professional side of the business and let’s talk about this because we’ve already laid all of our cards out on the deck, but also what’s real. Because in every single good story, this is a layer of truth and many layers of truth, quite often. So how do we bring them in? With the layers of truth that are unkind, that are unforgiving. We harness them so that more people get invested in the story because there’s always an element of truth and conflict. Because it is a competitive business.
“We’re not all holding hands backstage going, ‘Kumbaya,’ and if we are, we’re not being honest with each other. Because I wanna be the top dog. And whoever else is on top wants to be the top dog. Sometimes you’re gonna butt heads. Yes, there is room for multiple people at the top, but you always wanna be the best. And so you’re always trying to find a way to get that so you’re always trying to get the better of somebody else. Always. That’s just the nature of the business and you have to accept that and move on.
“There’s a way that you do it. You can get people involved, you can get people invested, and you can bring everybody else up. Because if I’m talking about how much I dislike Trish Stratus, but she’s saying how great I am, that’s not interesting. We want the conflict. ‘Yeah, tell me how much you hate me because I hate you.’ I was never a fan of Trish Stratus, for example. So being opposite of her and bringing those truths out, I think helps everything because we are doing both. It is both competition and a symbiotic where we’re all working together. It’s interesting. It’s a business like no other, really.”
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If you use any quotes from this article, please credit Sports Media Podcast with a h/t to WrestleZone for the transcription.
