World Wrestling Entertainment, Becky Lynch and the Irish media

In 2013, Becky Lynch, an Irish professional wrestler, was signed by WWE, marking the beginning of her rise to superstardom. By 2020, Lynch had become a major WWE star, participating in the first women’s Wrestlemania main event with Charlotte Flair and Ronda Rousey. While not the first Irish wrestler in WWE, Lynch is the first to reach superstar status. This article focuses on her portrayal in Irish media, which often finds itself in a unique position between sport and entertainment. Despite her popularity, professional wrestling’s blend of sport and entertainment leads to its coverage primarily in entertainment sections, occasionally crossing into sports biographies. Through an analysis of Lynch’s media portrayal from 2013 to her 2020 maternity leave, this piece explores the tension between her self-presentation and media representation, arguing that the wrestling’s ambiguous status and traditional gender biases in sports reporting downplay Lynch’s athletic achievements by emphasizing her femininity.