Sol Ruca has identified Becky Lynch as one of the most influential opponents and collaborators of her young WWE career, saying the veteran star helped teach her how to advocate for herself when she does not agree with creative direction.
Ruca, who began training at the WWE Performance Center in 2022 and has rapidly become one of the company’s newer main-roster talents, defeated Lynch to win the WWE Intercontinental Championship. The match placed Ruca opposite one of WWE’s most accomplished performers, and she says the experience gave her a close look at how Lynch approaches every aspect of television wrestling beyond the action in the ring.
In discussing what she took away from working with Lynch, Ruca praised her opponent’s command of character development, promos and segments. She described Lynch as a wrestler who understands how to shape material around her personality while also recognizing what will connect with an audience.
“She is one of the greatest of all time for a reason. She is so good at what she does and the character work,” Ruca said. “I’ve learned a lot from her, especially in the character aspect of it. Seeing how her brain works, seeing how she’s able to take these promos and segments and make it her own and know what the fans are going to bite on and enjoy.”
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That perspective is particularly meaningful for Ruca as she continues to establish her identity on WWE television. Athletic ability and memorable in-ring highlights can create an immediate impression, but Ruca emphasized that Lynch showed her the importance of making every promo, segment and storyline feel specific to the performer delivering it.
For an emerging talent, that is a major part of the transition from simply being featured on a show to becoming a recognizable character with a clear connection to the audience. Ruca’s comments suggest that her lessons from Lynch extended well beyond their championship match. They also involved observing how an experienced top-level wrestler evaluates material and looks for ways to elevate it.
Learning how to make the most of every segment
Ruca singled out Lynch’s ability to find value in material that may not initially appear substantial. In WWE, performers often have to communicate a character’s motivations in limited time, whether through a short backstage interaction, an in-ring interview, a confrontation or a match built around a developing rivalry. The ability to make those moments matter is a skill that usually comes with experience.
“Being able to turn nothing into something,” Ruca said of Lynch. “She’s really good at that.”
Lynch has built a reputation over the course of her WWE career for treating character presentation as a vital part of the overall performance. Ruca’s observations point to an approach centered on detail: assessing the purpose of a segment, considering the reaction it is designed to create and finding a way to present it in an authentic voice.
That does not mean a wrestler has unlimited control over every element of a program. WWE television is a collaborative environment involving creative planning, production, opponents and multiple performers whose stories may overlap. Still, Ruca said Lynch demonstrated that a wrestler can actively participate in that process and work to make the final product stronger.
Ruca specifically credited Lynch for questioning creative when necessary, not as a matter of conflict but as a means of improving the work. The distinction was central to Ruca’s takeaway. She did not frame advocacy as refusing direction or trying to take control away from others. Instead, she described learning how to address concerns respectfully while remaining focused on performance and the fans.
“She’s really good at questioning creative and trying to make everything the best that it can be,” Ruca said. “I definitely learned to be able to stick up for myself a little bit when I disagree with certain things. She’s really good at doing that in a respectful way and being able to perform at the best of her ability and giving the fans what they want.”
A valuable lesson for a newer main-roster talent
Ruca has not spent nearly as long in professional wrestling as Lynch, which makes that guidance especially notable. She entered WWE through the Performance Center in 2022, and her rise has already included championships and appearances on major premium live events. Winning the WWE Intercontinental Championship from Lynch marked her first title on the main roster and provided a defining accomplishment in her progression.
There is a difference between being confident in the ring and being comfortable enough to voice a creative concern in a professional setting. Ruca’s comments indicate that Lynch offered an example of how to bridge that gap. The lesson was not simply to disagree more often; it was to understand why a particular choice may or may not serve a character, a segment or the intended audience response.
That kind of thinking can be crucial as a wrestler gains more responsibility on television. A performer who understands their character’s voice is better equipped to make promos feel natural, react convincingly to unexpected developments and maintain continuity from one week to the next. In Ruca’s case, the experience of working directly with Lynch gave her an opportunity to see how one of WWE’s leading performers handles that responsibility.
It also reflects the broader value of high-profile rivalries for developing talent. Championship programs and premium live event appearances provide exposure, but they can also be educational when a newer wrestler shares the ring and screen with an established name. Ruca’s praise made clear that she was paying attention to Lynch’s work in the build to their match as much as to the match itself.
Ruca’s WWE status after Money in the Bank
Ruca’s most recent televised WWE appearance came at Money in the Bank, where she competed in the women’s Money in the Bank ladder match. She has not wrestled on television since that event.
Her absence from television does not change the importance of the momentum she had established through her championship victory and her participation in one of WWE’s signature ladder matches. The comments about Lynch also provide a window into how Ruca is approaching the next stage of her career: not only by focusing on the physical side of the sport, but by learning how to develop and protect the character she presents to fans.
Ruca did not offer a timetable for another televised match or discuss what her next storyline might be. Her remarks were instead centered on the professional lessons she has taken from one of the most decorated wrestlers of the current era.
For Lynch, the next confirmed in-ring assignment is a match against Stephanie Vaquer on Monday’s WWE Raw. The bout gives Lynch another major opponent on a program that continues to feature prominent women’s division matches.
Ruca’s assessment of Lynch underscores the respect between the two competitors following their Intercontinental Championship encounter. While their match was defined by the stakes of the title, Ruca now views the rivalry as a meaningful learning experience. She praised Lynch’s ability to understand what fans respond to, turn small moments into compelling television and challenge creative decisions in a constructive manner.
Those are lessons Ruca can carry into every future title defense, promo and rivalry. As her main-roster career continues, the ability to pair her in-ring strengths with a deeper command of character work and creative communication could be as important as any single victory. For Ruca, working with Becky Lynch appears to have supplied a firsthand model for doing exactly that.
Darryl Polo
Darryl Polo is a passionate wrestling fan covering WWE, AEW, TNA and beyond. He loves great rivalries, breakout stars and the moments that keep fans talking long after the bell. How we work.