Becky Lynch, Bayley, Sasha Banks and Charlotte Flair were the four pillars of WWE's Women's Revolution. Dubbed the Four Horsewomen, they led the charge in 2015 to level the playing field with their male counterparts. The concept of calling the women's division "Divas" soon vanished as they raised the bar for in-ring performance and brought their unique, undeniable charisma.
The Four Horsewomen share 29 combined world championships, multiple WrestleMania main events and record-length title reigns. Two of them -- Lynch and Bayley -- will challenge for world titles at WrestleMania 40 this weekend. But as a new generation of stars in the division emerge, some wonder if these warhorses should still hold the frontlines.
"That's funny, 'Do I still have it?' Damn straight I still have it," Lynch told CBS Sports while discussing her new memoir, Becky Lynch: The Man: Not Your Average Average Girl. "I am it, been it and don't need a championship to prove I'm it."
Check out the full interview with Becky Lynch below.
Lynch will challenge Rhea Ripley for the women's world championship at Philadelphia's Lincoln Financial Field. Their rivalry revolves around whether Lynch can overcome a younger, more powerful foe in her athletic prime. It's a feeling that clings to her fellow horsewomen as well. Flair, the most decorated of the four, has been plagued with injuries in recent years. Bayley, despite winning the 2024 Royal Rumble, has only partially salvaged a middle-of-the-road two-year run with and against the Damage CTRL faction. Banks is being positioned as a cornerstone act but not in WWE. She signed with All Elite Wrestling this year after a falling out with WWE in 2022.
New female superstars are cluttering the field. Ripley, Belair and Iyo Sky are fundamental acts. Jade Cargill and Tiffany Stratton are poised for big breakouts in 2024. But Lynch will tell you this workhorse is still kicking and running laps around her competitors.
"I think she tends to take the easy way out," Lynch said of Ripley. "She's not at all the live events. She's not doing the schedule that I am. She's not doing the media that I am. She's not wrestling like I am.
"In the last few weeks -- what am I talking about -- the last few years when I've had banger after banger. I've been the heartbeat and the pulse of the women's division. I've been the one moving it forward. She's been hovering backstage talking to the lads and holding the championship. I've been the one doing the hard work."
Lynch was always a reliable wrestler, but there was a ceiling to her initial "Irish Lass Kicker" gimmick. Her self-appointed moniker "The Man" -- accompanied by a confident new swagger -- catapulted her career in 2018.
"I have never been protected," Lynch said. "I have never, ever, ever been seen as that person to strap a rocket to and let them go. I worked for it. I earned it. I fought my way to it. Once I got there, I didn't want to let it go and I constantly fight for it.
"[Ripley] is the golden girl of yesteryear," she added. "Let's put a rocket on her back and send her to the moon. Look, she is good and she has that particular presence about her. But she's been protected."
Professional wrestling is a cyclical business where the star power of the old transfer to the new. Lynch isn't shy about helping others the same way she was helped. Last year, the six-time women's world champion had a stint on the NXT developmental brand, working with up-and-coming talent. Lynch captured the NXT women's championship, becoming the sixth women's Grand Slam champion in WWE history, before losing the title to Lyra Valkyria. Lynch is a surefire WWE Hall of Famer but she won't let anyone take her ambition away.
"I'm the first woman to win the main event of WrestleMania. I've won every single match there is to win in WWE. I have won every championship there is to win in WWE," Lynch said. "I continue to break down barriers and to break through glass ceilings all while being a mother. All while being a best-selling author.
"If I quit tomorrow, I am still the greatest woman to have ever done it. But I'm not quitting tomorrow. I have a WrestleMania match that needs to happen... I'm going to take that title from her. Do I need to prove that I still have it? Okay, good. I did plant that seed of doubt. That seed grew into a tree but what's great is that when people believe in me I'm good. But when people doubt me I am great. In fact, I'm not just great, I am an unstoppable monster."
