AEW News: Female wrestler responds to Becky Lynch comments, reveals why she turned down NXT
AEW Wrestler Bea Priestly sat down with TalkSport to discuss her career, AEW, turning down NXT UK as well as the recent Becky Lynch's comment. With regards to Lynch, Bea Priestley said she has great charisma but she also says the women's division in AEW is very strong despite a lack of television training and that they have amazing minds backstage helping them.
Why did Bea Priestley turn down NXT UK?
Priestley said that she has a lot of friends in NXT UK like Toni Storm, Piper Niven (Viper) and Kay Lee (Ray). At the same time, she felt that she would only be signed as a mid-carder as NXT UK had signed the two top girls in the UK. She further said,
"At the time when they offered me a contract, I already knew that Piper and Kay Lee had signed. So for me, I didn’t think that I was never going to have a spotlight on me because they had just signed two of the top girls in the UK."
"So I was going to be signed as a mid-carder and it would have taken me a while to get the spotlight on me. So in my head, I was like ‘Ok, if I stay away – I still want to get a lot more experience in Japan – I still have a lot of other things I want to do’, for me, that was the best decision for me."
It should also be noted that Bea Priestley is only signed to a part-time deal with AEW as she is fully committed to Stardom in Japan. This works for her as she gets the experience working with some of the best wrestlers in the world during the weekend and works on the dates that AEW requires her on.
What does Bea Priestley think of Becky Lynch's comments?
For those who are unaware, Becky Lynch tweeted out in a response to Jim Ross that she alone could whoop the whole women's division any time.
Priestley put Becky Lynch over as the most charismatic female wrestlers of all time, but she also felt that people forget that the women in AEW have very limited television training and don't have the advantage of a WWE Performance Centre. For women in AEW, it's sink or swim as they are thrown into the deep end. She further said,
"Oh, I think Becky is one of the most charismatic females ever, but I think what people seem to forget with the women in AEW, we have not had any experience at the WWE Performance Center, we have not had years of training for television that a lot of other girls in the industry have had. We have been thrown right in at the deep end, straight on TV and we’re having to learn it on the spot in front of millions of people watching."
"I’ve been thrown in the deep end my whole wrestling career and I’ve always managed get past it, but it is a lot of pressure. I think as long as the women’s division keeps doing what we’re doing, even though it is early days, we’ll prove that we are talented and that we can hang."
She also said that they have amazing minds backing them behind the scenes and that in time, they wont be viewed as anything else.
What's next?
While nothing has been confirmed, Bea Priestley could be in a match with Britt Baker at AEW Full Gear. Wrestling fans will probably have to tune in to Dynamite to find out.