10 Moments Legendary WWE Careers Almost Died

5. Becky Lynch Reaches For The Skies

Becky Lynch
instagram.com/beckylynchwwe

As Rebecca Knox, the future 'Irish Lass Kicker' was one of the hottest prospects on an ice cold women's independent circuit throughout much of the 2000s, but whilst WWE were offering a disparate and desperate Divas division, Shimmer and other splinter companies weren't bridging the chasm between the two sides.

With opportunities not emerging at the pace she'd hoped for, Lynch walked away from the industry entirely to retrain as - amongst other things - an air steward for Aer Lingus. Acting and stunt work had also factored in, and ultimately kept her body in wrestling shape enough to facilitate a surprising return to the fold in 2011.

Working again with Shimmer, she finally caught WWE's attention in 2013 and reported to NXT & the Performance Center ahead of a televised debut in 2014. As polished then as she still is now, it took an entire landscape to shift as it did rather than Lynch herself drastically adjust as a performer despite the changes her persona underwent between arriving in Full Sail and making it to Raw the following year.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. Within the podcasting space, he also co-hosts Benno & Hamflett, In Your House! and Podcast Horseman: The BoJack Horseman Podcast. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, Fightful, POST Wrestling, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett