Big Show on How Becky Lynch Inspires Him, Why The Women’s Division Is Telling Better Stories Than the Men

Speaking with Corey Graves on After the Bell, Big Show discussed how he’s been inspired by Becky Lynch and how the women’s division has become more compelling than the men’s division. Show talked about how the men’s division has lost its aggressiveness to a degree and has been less effective at getting people emotionally invested in their stories as opposed to Lynch and the women of WWE.

Highlights from the discussion, and the full podcast, are below:

On why Becky Lynch inspires him: “I always talk about Becky Lynch, but Becky Lynch has inspired me a lot [more] in the past 10 years than any other athlete that I’ve worked with. Becky, I saw her when she first came up here and we were doing tours in Europe on the road. And I saw Becky – women’s division what it was, I think they were still calling it the Divas division back then maybe? But the one thing about every match that Becky had, I thought ‘Oh, she’s just hustling this hard because we’re in Ireland.’ She was trying to beat her opponent, and every cover was translated desperation of ‘I’m trying to beat this person, this is a contest. This is a story. I’m giving everything I have.’ It wasn’t a spotfest, it was a story that you get emotionally involved in, you pay attention to it.”
On the women’s division becoming more compelling then the men’s division: “I remember thinking right then, ‘If the guys don’t change how they work, these girls are gonna run over them.’ And it’s evident now! It’s evident in how the women’s division has completely changed and [is] respected. If you want to see quality wrestling stories and wrestling psychology, you kinda go to the women’s division if you’re a wrestling purist. Because you’re gonna get better stories, you know? And no offense to the other guys, you know? I have a lot of respect for the guys I work with, a lot of the guys that are there now. But I think the guys need to, I don’t know, shake it off. Wipe off some of the slag. Do something to remember why they’re there and what they’re doing.”

On what needs to happen to change that in the men: “What I think changes that is work ethic, is work ethic. And working smart, and getting invested in your character, and getting invested in the storylines. And creating something, if nothing’s being created for you you can still create a good story with an opponent. You are healthy and I go out there, I can tell a compelling story and get you over in a match. Tell a story.

“I did it with Jinder Mahal to get Jinder his — whether people like Jinder Mahal as a champion or not. Jinder Mahal completely 180 degree turned his work from 3 Man Band to when he became the champion. His aggressiveness, the way he got heat. You know, I had a match with Jinder Mahal a couple of months before that, and I remember saying, ‘Wow, Jinder’s really changed how he works. He’s really stepped up.’ And you could feel it in his work and his aggression, and his attitude. I think that light bulb was really on for them there, and then he was able to manifest that into a pretty good run, you know what I mean? From out of nowhere where no one expected it. You know, we’re used to seeing the same players in the same positions. They flip-flop here and there. When you get someone like Jinder Mahal who comes in out of the blue, that’s a good thing because that shows that it is possible to the rest of the roster. And that should have been a glaring light bulb for the rest of the guys in the locker room.”

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit WWE’s After the Bell with a h/t to 411mania.com for the transcription.