Warring WWE Stars Are Currently On “Good” Terms Backstage

Becky Lynch says she and Charlotte Flair are finally back in a “good” place after years of on/off bickering behind the scenes. Previously, the pair were “like sisters”, but Becky has described how “wrestling came between [them]” and caused a rift that once seemed irreparable.

‘The Man’ told Peter Rosenberg’s ‘Cheap Heat’ show that she doesn’t plan on burying Charlotte in her upcoming book. Becky reckons that’d be senseless, and wouldn’t be fair on Flair anyway because she can’t properly defend herself. That’s a very grown up response from Lynch, although there will be some fans hoping for a little dirt in those pages!

That, rightly or wrongly, is a selling point for pro wrestling memoirs.

Becks said that “life is too short to hold these animosities for too long”. She doesn’t want to let bad blood weigh her down, so the beef with Charlotte has been squashed behind the curtain. Now, both women plan to move on with their lives.

Good for them.

Lynch admits she will broach their fractured friendship in the book, but sees things from Flair’s perspective as well. It’ll be a fair and balanced explanation of everything that happened between them.

Top WWE Star Expected OUT For 9 Months

WWE doesn’t expect injured star Charlotte Flair to be back in action for around nine months.

PWInsider’s Mike Johnson reports that October 2024 is the anticipated return date for the multi-time Women’s Champion, who has been sidelined since suffering a serious knee injury while wrestling Asuka on the 8 December episode of SmackDown.

Flair is understood to have shredded her knee while attempting a Spanish Fly in the Asuka bout. Per Johnson, ‘The Queen’ will undergo surgery in Alabama later this week, having torn her ACL, MCL, and meniscus.

Beyond the horrible injury, December brought better news for Charlotte in the form of a multi-year contract extension. Fightful Select reported on 19 December that before her injury, Flair signed a lucrative new deal with WWE, landing herself one of the highest-paid women’s contracts in the market-leading wrestling promotion’s history – as well as a travel bus.

Alongside Rey and Dominik Mysterio, Flair is understood to be one of the first WWE wrestlers to agree contract extensions since Endeavor’s takeover of the company closed in September.

Kevin Sullivan Believes Former WWE Women’s Champion Is Near The Top

Earlier this year, WWE Hall of Famer Ric Flair dubbed his daughter, Charlotte Flair, as “the best worker in the [wrestling] business right now.” Former WCW booker Kevin Sullivan has now personally elevated Charlotte’s status in the industry even higher, revealing her as one of the names he believes to be in the all-time top tier of professional wrestlers. On a recent episode of “Tuesday with The Taskmaster,” Sullivan spoke his praises for the 14-time world champion.

“I don’t want to sound like I’m in the past completely, but what ‘The Queen’ does now, it’s phenomenal,” Sullivan said. “When you talk about some of the greatest workers of all time, back in my day, when we’re talking about Ray Stevens, and Nick Bockwinkle, and Hulk Hogan and all those guys, you’d have to put [Charlotte] right in there [with them] … You talk about a real athlete. People talk about the salaries of pro wrestlers — if it ever came down that there was a few companies that were solid like Vince [McMahon] and Tony Khan, they’ be paying 12 [to] 17 million dollars for a girl like Charlotte.”

Last week, it was reported that WWE had recently re-signed Charlotte Flair to a multi-year agreement, which is believed to be making her one of the highest-paid women in WWE history. Unfortunately, reports of Charlotte’s contract extension came in the wake of the news that she had sustained a trio of knee injuries (torn ACL, MCL, and meniscus) that will keep her out of action for approximately nine months.

WWE’s Charlotte Flair Out Of Action At Least Nine Months, Possibly Due To Torn ACL

Charlotte Flair will be out of action for a prolonged period of time after suffering a likely knee injury during a match on last week’s “WWE SmackDown” against Asuka. It was announced on this week’s “SmackDown” broadcast that Flair will be out of action for up to nine months.
 
During the match on last week’s “SmackDown,” the 15-time women’s champion slipped from the top rope and landed awkwardly on her leg and also appeared to hit her head. She was pulled from the road and returned to her home in Florida after the injury. PWInsider reported there was talk at “WWE Raw” among talent that Flair could have possibly suffered a torn ACL, but that is not confirmed at this time. The recovery timeline WWE announced would fit the injury, however. If Flair is out upwards of nine months, she will miss not just the Royal Rumble, but WrestleMania and SummerSlam, as well, as she would be set to return in September 2024. WWE has yet to say exactly what type of injury Flair sustained or if she has or will undergo surgery.

Flair missed two months of action earlier this year when she took some time off from her role in the company, and over seven months in 2022 when she took a hiatus to marry her long-time partner, AEW’s Andrade El Idolo. This is the first serious injury of her decade-long career.

WWE Hall Of Famer Molly Holly On What Makes Charlotte Flair Great

The landscape of modern WWE is filled with incredibly successful women such as Charlotte Flair, but none of it would be possible without the performers who paved the way. One such performer is Molly Holly, the groundbreaking WWE Hall of Famer who wrestled in the company full-time from 2000 until 2005. Holly has complimented Flair in the past, and during an exclusive interview with Wrestling Inc., Holly described what qualities Flair has that set her apart.

“She eats, sleeps, breathes this business,” Holly said. “The wrestling is her life. She is a perfectionist. I have had very few conversations about anything other than how she can be better, even though she’s already one of the best.”

According to Holly, Flair is a performer capable of making her opponents look better than they might actually be, and that includes the WWE Hall of Famer herself. Holly began working backstage as a WWE producer a couple of years ago and now finds herself inspired by the women of today’s in-ring generation, which encompasses more than just Flair.

“Now that I’m more connected to the WWE, I do see other people who are also amazing, who are also very dedicated and extraordinary that I’m in awe of,” Holly said. However, she noted that there is a reason why Flair is consistently on top in WWE.

Flair has taken on a lighter schedule in 2023 compared to years past, but the second-generation performer has still wrestled more than 50 matches since January 1. This past Friday on “WWE SmackDown,” Flair unsuccessfully challenged IYO SKY for the WWE Women’s Championship. Had she won, it would have been Flair’s 15th world title victory, bringing her even closer to the record currently held by John Cena and her father, Ric Flair.

WWE Superstar Charlotte Flair Says ‘I’m Breaking The Record’ Of World Title Wins

While different people recognize differing numbers of World Title reigns, when it comes to WWE the company recognizes both Ric Flair and John Cena as 16-time World Champions, which is more than anybody else in the history of the business. However, breaking that record is a goal that Charlotte Flair has her eye on. 

“The Queen” is currently a 14-time World Champion in WWE and she made it clear to Sports Illustrated she has her sights set on winning more by saying, “I’m breaking the record.” 

Flair only needs to win two more titles to draw level with the two men, with a third one leading to her overtaking them. Considering how close she is, it’s a record that Flair is confident of being able to break.

“I’m so close. For so long, I stayed away from discussing it. But I’ve done every single thing there is to do, and this is my next goal,” she said. “I want to keep getting better and see where I can take this character.”

Breaking the record would be a historic moment in wrestling, and it is something that Cena has spoken about, making it clear he’d like to be there to shake her hand the moment that it happens, which “The Nature Boy” intends on doing as well.

Flair hasn’t held gold since losing at WrestleMania 39 to Rhea Ripley, which was followed by a hiatus from the company. However, since returning to WWE, “The Queen” has been immediately back in the title hunt on “WWE SmackDown.” Flair tried and failed to capture the title at WWE SummerSlam, but she has remained in the title scene following that point, which showcases that there could be further title runs for her in the not-so-distant future.

Tiffany Stratton Reveals How Charlotte Flair Has Helped Her

WWE “NXT” Women’s Champion Tiffany Stratton spoke with “TV Insider” about her career and her future endeavors, one of which is to make the switch to Hollywood. 

During the interview, Stratton revealed there is one person on the main roster that has helped her — Charlotte Flair. The champ stated that she has talked to Flair “a couple of times,” and every time, the 14-time Women’s Champion has been a “huge help” for the 24-year-old. The “NXT” star has said that Flair’s guidance has helped her through times of self-doubt.

“Charlotte reminds me I’m doing everything right,” Stratton said. “That I’m so young and it’s okay to make mistakes and learn from them. I made mistakes already being a champion. But I learn from them right away. I’m so new to this. I’m so young and will grow with the title to hopefully be one of the best champions NXT has ever seen.”

Stratton, who signed with WWE in August 2021, made her WWE “NXT” debut on December 28, 2021, a month after she wrestled on “WWE 205 Live.” Even though she’s a champion now, she can still be considered a newbie as she has been a wrestler for just two years.

The current “NXT” Women’s Champion won the then-vacant championship on May 28 at “NXT” Battleground, where she defeated Lyra Valkyria. Since winning the title, she has defended it twice, both of which came against Chase U’s Thea Hail. Hail is once again set to be her opponent at NXT’s next premium live event, The Great American Bash on July 30.

Tiffany Stratton Names Charlotte Flair And Bianca Belair As Her WWE Dream Opponents

As the reigning and defending NXT Women’s Champion, Tiffany Stratton has to worry about the plethora of challengers lining up to face her for her title. That includes Chase University’s Thea Hail, who recently won a battle royal to earn her spot as the number one contender to the championship. 

However, when it comes to opponents that she wants to face, the former gymnast and bodybuilder has her sights set on a pair of former champions.

While speaking to the “WWE NXT” Snapchat, Stratton revealed that Charlotte Flair — who inspired her to become a wrestler in the first place — and Bianca Belair are on her list of dream matches. Rather than facing each of them one-on-one, she has much bigger, potentially WrestleMania-level plans for whenever she takes on “The Queen” and “The EST of WWE.”

“I would have to say a triple threat between me, Charlotte Flair, and Bianca Belair,” she said. “I think we are all highly athletic. We’re all highly competitive, and I honestly believe you will not find a better women’s match in history.”

All three women have taken similar paths to WWE after each succeeded in other sports first before stepping into the WWE ring. They also took NXT by storm after a relatively short amount of time on TV, and as each of them rose to the top of the stacked women’s division, the crowd got behind them and respected their abilities between the ropes. 

Of course, Stratton hasn’t reached “Raw” or “Smackdown” yet, but just like the rest of the achievements in her career so far, it’s only a matter of time.

WWE NXT’s Tiffany Stratton Says Charlotte Flair Inspired Her To Get Into Pro Wrestling

It’d be hard to name another female wrestler who has learned the business as quickly as Tiffany Stratton. Within two years of training to be a pro wrestler, Stratton has already established herself as one of the top performers on the “WWE NXT” brand. 

In fact, there were murmurs of Stratton being called up to WWE’s main roster at the recently-concluded Draft — another sign of the former gymnast wowing her coaches at WWE’s Performance Center. Stratton — who competed at national-level Gymnastics meets before crossing over to pro wrestling — has credited Charlotte Flair, another former gymnast, for inspiring her to join the business.

“One day, I was watching TV with my family,” Stratton recalled in an interview with “Stick To Wrestling” podcast. “We’re flipping through the channels and come across wrestling — I believe it was Friday Night SmackDown. It was Charlotte Flair that I saw on the TV screen. My mother was like, ‘You can totally do that.’ 

“I was taken aback a little bit because I saw Charlotte, someone who was jacked and could do all these cool moves. She was a gymnast like I was. She’s blonde and gorgeous. I just connected with it right off the bat — because I saw a little bit of me in Charlotte.”

Despite being taken by Charlotte, Stratton was hesitant to pursue the business right away. At the time, she still had her hands full with gymnastics, bodybuilding, CrossFit, and her other passions. Eventually, she contacted Greg Gagne, who helped her get a tryout with WWE. Gagne also trained Stratton on wrestling fundamentals before she got accepted at the WWE PC.

“The rest is history,” Stratton added.

So, does Stratton dream of a future match against the woman who inspired her journey? “For sure. She [Charlotte] is someone I would have a match with,” Stratton concluded.

Charlotte Flair Discusses Challenges Of Her WWE WrestleMania Match With Rhea Ripley

The “Flair” family name is almost synonymous with being the “bad guy” in pro wrestling. No one would know better than Charlotte Flair, who watched her father’s dastardly actions in the ring as a kid, only to later adopt his wit and mannerisms to build a Hall of Fame-worthy legacy of her own.

But at WrestleMania 39 this past April, the 14-time women’s world champion found herself needing to adjust, as she was playing “a different role” than she’s used to, in her match against Rhea Ripley.

In a new interview with “Boardroom,” Flair said she found playing a babyface, who needed to put Ripley over as WWE’s next unstoppable force, to be “a challenge.”

“I find it as a challenge — and that’s what I was so invested in, the challenge — because it’s easy for me to just go out there, be an arrogant you-know-what,” Flair said. “Rhea’s character isn’t necessarily arrogant; it’s edgy. It’s cool. She’s not a heel. You want to portray her as a star; you don’t want to label her as a good or bad guy.”

Flair said that trying to give Ripley the rub was a great challenge for her. “Knowing that I could make that come to life was such a great challenge for me as a performer and where I’m at.”

“The Queen,” though, stated that she relishes new challenges and said that she had to change a few things up for her clash with Ripley at “The Show of Shows.” 

“That’s when it gets fun,” she continued. “I’m outta my head just changing some of the things up that I would naturally do in a match. It was a great challenge; I don’t know how else to put it without giving away the magic.”