Becky Lynch is one of WWE’s biggest stars. But as a heel — pro wrestling parlance for “bad guy” — her status as a living legend often finds itself at odds with her on-screen character.
As such, Lynch often relies on “cheap heat,” insulting the audience in a way that’s so oddly specific that they’ll have no choice but to boo her. But on Monday’s episode of WWE Raw, “The Man” might have taken things too far as she referenced Ozzy Osbourne’s recent death in a promo that even led to a response from his own daughter.
Lynch’s comments came during a promo in the Prince of Darkness’ hometown of Birmingham, England. In explaining that she wouldn’t be wrestling a match in the U.K. city, the 7-time world champion cited Osbourne’s passing, which occurred on July 22.
“I am not wrestling in Birmingham. The only good thing that came out of here died a month ago,” Lynch said in reference to Osbourne. “But in fairness to Ozzy Osbourne, he had the good sense to move to L.A., a proper city. Because if I lived in Birmingham, I’d die too.”
Even in real time, Lynch’s comment elicited an audible gasp from those in attendance at the Utilita Arena. It also caught the attention of Osbourne’s daughter, Kelly Osborne, who criticized both Lynch and WWE for the comment in a post on her Instagram story.
“You are a disrespectful dirtbag!” Kelly wrote on the post while mistakenly tagging a fan account dedicated to Lynch. “Birmingham would not p*ss on you if you were on fire. #birminghamforever. Shame on @wwe for allowing such things to be said about my father and his home!!!”
On the one hand, Lynch certainly accomplished her goal of getting booed. On the other, it’s fair to wonder whether this was the type of mainstream response that she and/or WWE had in mind.
About Ben Axelrod
Ben Axelrod is a veteran of the sports media landscape, having most recently worked for NBC's Cleveland affiliate, WKYC. Prior to his time in Cleveland, he covered Ohio State football and the Big Ten for outlets including Cox Media Group, Bleacher Report, Scout and Rivals.