WWE is truly approaching the end of an era as another massive name has hinted at their retirement.
John Cena called time on his unrivalled professional wrestling run in December, while beloved veteran AJ Styles is set to hang up his boots in 2026, with his career on the line at the Royal Rumble on January 31.
Now, current Women’s Intercontinental Champion Becky Lynch, 38, has revealed her time in WWE is also nearing its end.
In the new season of Netflix docu-series WWE Unreal, The Man’s WrestleMania return in April 2025 is highlighted, and she revealed a major detail about her contract.
‘This is probably it, this is the final run, this is the final contract,’ she says in the first episode of season 2. ‘So I suppose it’s a matter of knowing that, understanding that, enjoying that the best I can.’
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Lynch made her comeback to wrestling in April last year, having stepped away in June 2024 for a prolonged break, which saw her explore opportunities in acting.
She also enjoyed spending time with five-year-old daughter Roux, who she shared with husband and fellow WWE superstar Seth Rollins.
However, in Unreal she admits: ‘I love working, I love getting out in front of a crowd, I love wrestling. But there’s also that hard part of, “Now mum’s gotta go to work.”‘
Roux can be seen crying as she hugs her mum before her return, and Becky felt like her daughter was ‘angry’ and that she ‘hadn’t had enough time with her.’.
Is Becky Lynch retiring from WWE?
After Becky Lynch’s comments, Metro’s WWE expert Alistair McGeorge looks to the future…
Becky Lynch has caused a stir online after WWE Unreal dropped on Netflix, particularly with a reference to her current contract.
She’s said it’ll be her ‘last’, which has led to fans thinking retirement is coming for The Man, who is regarded by many to be one of the greatest WWE superstars of all time.
The first thing to say is, don’t expect Becky to go imminently – it’s said she signed a new deal just over a year ago, and there haven’t been any rumblings of that contract coming up just yet.
When that does happen, fans could see her take on a reduced schedule like John Cena, Brock Lesnar, Roman Reigns and others – stepping away full-time, but still being part of the major events, letting her spend more time with Roux.
Like AJ Styles and recently-retired Cena, there will come a time when WWE does have to look to the future without Big Time Becks, and there will be a huge gap in the roster.
On the mic, in-ring and in the media, she’s one of the best and most creative in the company, with a selfless streak to make new stars, like Lyra Valkyria and Maxxine Dupri.
Becky, along with Charlotte Flair and Ronda Rousey, was part of the first ever women’s main event in WrestleMania history, and she has played a huge role in helping the female roster get the respect they deserve.
‘The time off, it was maybe gonna be forever, I don’t think I knew. I was so content,’ she adds.
Lynch started her wrestling career in 2002, before signing with WWE in 2013 on the NXT brand, going onto debut on Raw two years later.
While she hasn’t revealed the timeline on her contract running out, appears she is ready to step away from life as a full-time wrestler when the time comes.
She recently insisted her last match isn’t something she’s thought about ‘yet’, but her comments in Unreal have got fans talking.
‘I’m not ready. It’s never gonna be the same when she retires,’ wrote @air956 on X, while other fans admitted they weren’t ‘happy at all’ about the prospect of WWE without The Man.
However, as fan @bradleyMutsigwa pointed out, Lynch – who is a seven-time world champion and Royal Rumble winner – seems ready to focus on her family, while the ‘next generation’ is coming through the ranks.
Whatever the next year or so holds, WWE fans are still reeling after it was made clear AJ Styles’ retirement could come much sooner than previously thought.
The Phenomenal One made it clear his last match will be this year, but on Monday’s episode of Raw he agreed to put his career on the line against GUNTHER, the man who retired John Cena in December.
If he loses to the Ring General at the Rumble in a week and a half, that will be it for the decorated former champion.
‘I don’t want to do it anymore. And it’s not because – of course I want to wrestle,’ he exclusively told Metro in April 2024. ‘But my body, it’s like, “Please stop. Please stop.” I think this would be a good place to end my career, in the WWE.’
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