Review of “Becky Lynch: The Man (Not Your Average Average Girl)” by Rebecca Quin

Score: 96/100 (9.6 out of 10)

Becky Lynch: The Man (Not Your Average Average Girl) is an immensely captivating memoir by Rebecca Quin, a multi-time world champion in the WWE who has done it all!

The book follows her from her younger years as a pudgy, insecure, and often-bullied child, then ventures into her first days of wrestling school in a high school gymnasium designated as NWA Ireland, developing under the tutelage of the fellow Irishman who would go on to become Finn Balor. The book then goes on to cover her wild experiences in the pro wrestling business, experiences which could be described as up, down, left, right, forward, back, around, and around—giving truth to the idea that the path to success is rarely linear or straightforward.

There's a beautiful line in this book about how life is like surfing, all the waves are different sizes and just because you catch a big wave once doesn't mean you can stay on that big wave forever.

It's a journey and a path paved with blood, sweat, and tears—of joy, love, sadness, disappointment, gratitude, and hope. It's a story of hoping against all hope, never giving up, believing in yourself, and triumphing against all odds.

Quin, the first and only woman to both main-event and win the main event of a WrestleMania (the Super Bowl of pro wrestling), is an inspiration to people around the world, particularly women and girls. Why wouldn't you want to read more about her? To find out her blueprint for success. To learn about what makes this iron lady “THE MAN.”

The struggles and thoughts that she describes in this book genuinely surprised us because they reflect a Becky Lynch that we don't normally get to see on TV, someone seemingly incompatible with the unbreakable, unstoppable, superhero-like figure who kicks lass and collects arms. She is someone who stood up against much-bigger and stronger women like Ronda Rousey (the Baddest Woman on the Planet), Charlotte Flair, Nia Jax, and Rhea Ripley. You wouldn't expect her to show weakness, vulnerability, and--dare we say—even a bit of doubt and insecurity.

And that's perhaps the aspect of the book that we appreciated the most. This book, while full of some of Becky's greatest hits, is also full of some of her lowest and even most embarrassing moments. The first woman to win the main event in a WrestleMania is also the same woman who was part of arguably the two biggest botches in the history of women's wrestling: one at WrestleMania 35 and the other at NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn (2015), both of which ended prematurely.

This book does a great job at pulling back the curtain on those (and other) incidents—the good, the bad, and the ugly.

It's also spellbinding to read about Becky just being a human, just an “average average girl.” We were both compelled and surprised to read about Becky being considered overweight and out of shape as a kid, being called “Becky with a belly like a sack of potatoes” and even failing PE.

We had a chuckle about Becky saying that she got “sad and pledged to lose weight... then I just got hungry and wanted pizza.” We've all been there and done that.

We may need to provide a TRIGGER WARNING that this book and review do contain discussions of eating disorders.

We were shocked to read about Becky's battles with her weight, fitness, and with an apparent eating disorder that seems to have been some form of bulimia. We learn that she tried to live on a diet of water and bread, popped ephedrine pills, and irreparably damaged her health with things like synthetic thyroid hormone during this time. Some of us, having struggled with our weight, fitness, and/or eating disorders, really empathized with her struggles.

It's also interesting how her obsession with her body-image clashed with her Irish Catholic upbringing in which women were expected to be conservative, modest, and covered-up. Furthermore, we were surprised to learn how this obsession impacted her energy levels, performance, and even pain levels. We actually didn't realize that when you're extremely low in body-fat (lean enough to see your ribs and spine), the bumps you take in a wrestling ring hurt a lot more. That actually makes sense because you have less mass to distribute and cushion your fall. It also affects your ability to perform and function in the ring and on the road.

Becky's tug-a-war relationship with herself is a key theme throughout the book, but what's equally intriguing are the numerous relationships in her life that range in depth and complexity.

Inevitably and unavoidably, one of the biggest selling-points of this book is the hope of learning insider information about her relationships with others in the wrestling world, namely Seth Rollins (her real-life husband), Charlotte Flair (her arch-frenemy, rival, and road partner), Finn Balor (her mentor), Bill DeMott (the now-infamous trainer of FCW/NXT), Ronda Rousey, Dusty Rhodes, Mick Foley, Triple H, Stephanie McMahon, and even he-who-shall-not-be-named. Ok, never mind, this book somewhat heavily features Vince McMahon, the now-disgraced former owner of the WWE who is surrounded in controversy after being ousted from his own company.

Vince is described on both his good and bad days, times when he was surprisingly caring, loving, excited, and accepting like when he learned about Becky's pregnancy, and darker times like when he was furious about Flair kissing her during a match to create a distraction or when she failed to fall after receiving Lacy Evans's finishing move—a part of this book that has already gained infamy online.

What's kinda fascinating is that, despite low times and low moments, it seems as though Becky's relationship with Vince was respectful and professional, even verging on friendly and sentimental at times. One of our favorite moments in this book is when Vince admitted to Becky, “I mess up all the time” after she apologizes to him for a mistake.

It's also interesting to read about times that Vince, rather than being furious, was concerned about her like after the botched ending of her fatal-4-way match with Charlotte, Emma, and Dana Brooke in which it appeared she might have gotten knocked out and concussed.

Speaking of concussions, this book also covers the now-famous incident in which Nia Jax accidentally broke her nose and bloodied her face on TV, creating the image that catapulted “The Man” into superstardom. It's hilarious to read about the text exchange that Nia and Becky had after the incident. But what stood out to us the most about this was Stephanie McMahon. Stephanie, who some of us admittedly hated and/or had a crush on as kids, is like a mother. She's nurturing, compassionate, and caring. When Becky was so concussed that she didn't know where she was and was becoming scared, Stephanie stayed with her and comforted her, rubbing her back and even covering her with her own coat when Becky started shivering in the cold. How beautiful and special is that? That's not the side of Stephanie that we get to see on TV as she usually plays the loud, obnoxious, mean, entitled villain/heel.

Another beautiful moment in this book is when The Rock tells Becky that her dad is “always with you.”

If you're going into this book to dig up or read about dirt, it is possible that you'll be a little disappointed. Becky is generally a positive person with positive things to say about people, even people who've wronged her in the past. With that said, there are times of drama and tension that Becky doesn't shy away from. For example, one of Becky's boyfriends, an MMA fighter, shares a tenuous relationship with her that escalates and results in heartbreak. There's also a lot of drama that pops up with regard to Charlotte, whom Becky flatteringly calls a “terminator” and “indestructible.” She describes a huge car accident that they were both in together. She also describes the time that Charlotte teared up during rehearsals of their WrestleMania match with Ronda.

Seth Rollins eventually becomes her trusted confidant and shoulder to cry on. Seth Rollins doesn't come across like a boyfriend or husband for much of this book. In fact, he seems to almost have a buddy-buddy, man-to-man relationship with Becky. They swear and cuss together often, giving each other tough love. It's almost like they're two burly, manly men with mustaches who just happen to care about each other a lot. That's not to say that we don't get some hot and steamy moments with them, though these moments are equally humorous because of Becky's apprehension and inexperience with deeply romantic relationships. We were reeling about the way that Becky describes Seth as having great thighs and a great “hulking” body. Seth Freakin' Rollins might be a nominee for “Hottest Character”--we never thought we'd say that!

It's funny that Becky says that wrestling gave her an outlet to meet cute boys “and I didn't even have to stalk them!” To think that this Irish bombshell had once felt she had to chase boys to be loved or wanted is pretty sobering. A lot of us devalue ourselves and don't realize how beautiful and wonderful we really are.

Becky really does come across as a little awkward and not great with relationships, especially romantic ones. She's rarely the one who makes the first move, and she's hesitant to proceed when it seems like the bases are loaded and she's at bat. “Dense” is one way to describe her, especially early on in her life. Honestly, though, a lot of us are dense. It just makes Becky more relatable.

Another thing we noticed is that Becky often feels like everyone has the answers that she doesn't—everyone knows something that she doesn't know. It's a familiar and relatable feeling.

One of the key takeaways from this book is to always ask. It doesn't hurt to ask.

Arguably the turning point of this entire book is the moment when Becky went into Bill DeMott's office and asked for a role on the show, however minor. This eventually landed her as a Rosebud (groupie) for Adam Rose. In fact, she became one of the four main Rosebuds who regularly appeared on TV. Several things snowballed from this situation. First of all, she got to appear on Raw (the flagship WWE show), albeit in her minor background role. Surprisingly, this is when she expresses her now-iconic “exhilarating, intoxicating, and I wanted more” line from the book about how it felt going through the curtain for the first time on WWE TV—not as a superstar but as an extra. Second of all, this also led to her meeting Seth Rollins for the very first time, and you can immediately sense the camaraderie and chemistry between the two.

Her other key relationships are with her father and mother. Her mother, a former flight attendant, initially opposes her involvement in pro wrestling, fearing she will become hurt or injured. Becky often had to hide her bruises and injuries from her mother. Her father, it turns out, suffered from lung cancer. So, one of the most beautiful and powerful threads in this book is whether or not he will be able to live long enough and be healthy enough to attend Becky's crowning moment at WrestleMania 35.

Well, we've talked about this book a lot because it really endeared itself to us. Becky really opened her heart and spilled her soul out in the process of making this. What's extra special about this book is that, despite it being credited to a celebrity, Becky actually wrote every word of this book herself, refusing to use a ghost writer. She actually attended writing classes several times a week just to be able to write this book! That's incredible!

Check it out on Amazon!