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.”

Trish Stratus Worked WWE WrestleMania 39 Match With A Partially Torn Hamstring

WWE Hall of Famer Trish Stratus competed in her first WrestleMania match in over a decade earlier this month when she teamed with Becky Lynch and Lita in victory over Damage CTRL. Although her team emerged victorious, it wasn’t a completely smooth event for Stratus.

“I had a few obstacles. I had a partially torn hamstring, by the way. Nobody knew about that,” Stratus revealed during a recent appearance on “Busted Open Radio.” “It was just like, WrestleMania, let’s just go… This time, I had this injury, so I was a little unsure going in, but man, there’s something about feeling at home. It’s like riding a bike, as you guys know when we get back in there, your body’s like, ‘I got this, just do your thing,’ and it just flows.”

Stratus added that she benefited from always keeping up with her fitness, although she did do extra training every night after putting her kids to bed to prepare for the tag match. She also explained how she thrives under pressure and wanted to prove to herself and the other women in the match that she still belonged.

That sentiment was shared recently in Stratus’ first heel promo in years on this week’s “WWE Raw,” although it was delivered with a bit more attitude. Following WrestleMania 39, Stratus seemingly attacked Lita backstage and then turned on Becky Lynch in the ring. The 47-year-old made it known that she is “the single most important figure in the history of WWE” after believing that Lynch was ungrateful.

New SmackDown Women’s Champion Crowned At WWE WrestleMania 39

Rhea Ripley is your new SmackDown Women’s Champion, successfully parlaying her Royal Rumble victory into a title by defeating Charlotte Flair at WrestleMania 39 Saturday night.

The Judgment Day’s Eradicator had what could be termed an instant classic with Flair as the two slowly ramped up the intensity during their semi-main match. Both women swung for the fences, both with strikes and with high-impact moves. Ripley constantly avoided Charlotte’s Figure Four and kicked out of a spear and Natural Selection, while Flair kicked out of a Riptide.

It took an avalanche Riptide from Rhea to finally end Charlotte’s three-month title reign and capture her second singles title on the main roster.

For Ripley, the match was an absolute statement of how good she really is and that her work reinventing herself as a part of the Judgment Day has paid off. For Charlotte, a match of this quality was sorely needed after a string of subpar performances that had critics and fans alike wondering if something was off with the Queen.

The intensity with which both women approached the match made you wonder if we had a WrestleMania 23 situation, where Batista and Undertaker were upset their World Heavyweight Championship match wasn’t main-eventing the PPV, so they went out and killed it to make the WWE brass regret their decision.

Sami Zayn And Kevin Owens Win The Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship

Friendship has prevailed over a powerful bloodline in a historic main event.

WrestleMania 39 Night One was headlined by a WWE Tag Team Championship match for the first time ever when The Usos put their record-breaking reign on the line against the familiar duo of Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens. After a lengthy battle that took fans on an emotional rollercoaster — much like the entire journey to this point — Owens hit Jimmy Uso with a stunner, while Zayn managed to hit one last Helluva Kick on Jey Uso to score the three-count.

Zayn and Owens are now WWE Tag Team Champions for the first time in their careers, individually and as a team. It also marks the end of a championship drought for Owens, who hasn’t held gold in six years, despite now being a back-to-back WrestleMania headliner. Zayn and Owens formerly held the PWG and Ring of Honor tag team titles in their past lives, but had not won WWE gold together despite their on and off friendship. Notably, they teamed up at WrestleMania 34 against Daniel Bryan and Shane McMahon.

For The Usos, they became the first Undisputed “Raw” and “SmackDown” Tag Team Champions last May after initially winning the “SmackDown” title in July 2021. That specific reign led to them surpassing The New Day to become the longest-reigning tag team champions in WWE history at 622 days. The Usos are now championship-less for the first time in nearly two years after being eight-time champions since 2014.

Chelsea Green Discusses Aspirations For WrestleMania 39 And WWE Career

Following her return to WWE at the 2023 Royal Rumble, Chelsea Green has been on a mission. With her character aimed at being a “comedic Karen,” Green has become a thorn in the side of prominent WWE official, Adam Pearce. In a new interview with “WWE Deutschland,” Green was asked if she considered campaigning for an authority role herself, specifically, for the General Manager position on “WWE Raw.”

“I have thought about it. I’ve been thinking about it for a few weeks now,” Green admitted. “I did, again, put in a formal request with the WWE management team. Adam [Pearce], maybe he just needs a little bit more help. Maybe he’s in over his head, he could use a little help. I can do that. If he wants to stick to SmackDown, I’ve got RAW. I’ll take care of that.”

In addition to taking over Raw management, Green also offered to assist this year’s WrestleMania host, The Miz, by co-hosting the two-night spectacle beside him. With their expansive followings, combined with their strong outfit games, Green believes she and The Miz would gel well together on the grand stage.

Touting herself as a “jill of many trades,” Green also revealed her plans to win the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships. In recent weeks, the former “Hot Mess” aligned herself with former “SmackDown” Women’s Champion Carmella, but when Carmella disappeared from “Raw” last week, she quickly wrangled in a new partner – Piper Niven. When asked who she’d prefer to win the titles with, Green said she couldn’t choose. Regardless of who she teams with, Green is confident that she will capture the gold someday.

Trish Stratus Set For Sensational WWE Heel Turn?

Twitter account @WRKDWrestling is reporting that WWE plans to turn Trish Stratus heel soon and have her feud with Becky Lynch heading into this year’s SummerSlam event.

This is obviously one some fans are taking with a pinch of salt, but the account did accurately call Stratus’ company comeback and several other things in the past. Now, they’re claiming that Trish will turn on Becky and then go one-on-one with her on the second biggest pay-per-view of the year (sorry, Royal Rumble fans!).

SummerSlam 2023 could be huge, if true.

Currently, Trish is set to team with Lynch and old pal Lita at WrestleMania 39 – there, they’ll combine to take on Damage CTRL trio Bayley, Dakota Kai and IYO SKY. Lita and Becky are also scheduled to defend their newly-won Women’s Tag-Team Titles (possibly against Ronda Rousey and Shayna Baszler) that weekend too.

Could the heel turn cost Becky and Lita the belts, or will WWE wait a bit longer to pull the trigger on Trish’s heel run. The fact they’re even considering turning Stratus rogue in 2023 has some fans buzzing. It’d certainly be a cool use of the legend.

Major WWE WrestleMania 39 Plans For Gunther

Having impressed in his record-setting outing in the men’s Royal Rumble last weekend, it looks as if Gunther is set for a major role at WrestleMania 39.

As per the ever-reliable @WrestleVotes, plans are afoot to have the Ring General defend the Intercontinental Title in a triple threat bout against Sheamus and Drew McIntyre at this year’s Showcase of the Immortals.

I’m told while not decided 100%, there are plans to feature an Intercontinental Championship 3 way match at WrestleMania: Gunther v Sheamus v Drew McIntyre. There are a number of supporters within creative that not only want the match, but they want it towards the top. TBD.

— WrestleVotes (@WrestleVotes) February 2, 2023

Of course, this report notes how Gunther vs. Sheamus vs. McIntyre is not set in stone right now, but that match would certainly have many wrestling fans purring in anticipation.

Given their brutal, brilliant rivalry in 2022 – including a Match of the Year candidate at Clash at the Castle – some had speculated that Gunther and Sheamus would do battle one more time at WrestleMania 39. While it does indeed appear that these fierce adversaries will be facing off at the Grandaddy of Them All, it could well be that the Scottish Warrior joins the Celtic Warrior in trying to dethrone the current Intercontinental Champion.

This past December saw it reported that the idea had been floated of having Gunther battle Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 39, and the Imperium man himself has billed that potential match-up as “fantastic”. While such a contest doesn’t look like taking place in the immediate future, we did at least see these two big beefy boys briefly throw down at the Royal Rumble last Saturday.

In terms of Lesnar, right now it looks as if the Beast Incarnate is on track to have a rubber match with Bobby Lashley at ‘Mania 39 this April.

Becky Lynch On What Ronda Rousey Needs To Do To Get Another WWE WrestleMania Match

Becky Lynch is making it crystal clear that “The Man” is back. Lynch switched things up with her character after taking time off for her pregnancy. She returned at SummerSlam 2021 and blindsided Bianca Belair in under 30 seconds to become the “SmackDown” Women’s Champion.

Lynch took on a heel persona, but fans continued to cheer for her and clamored for the return of “The Man.” The WWE Universe got its wish after Belair pinned Lynch in the opener at SummerSlam 2022. Bayley, Dakota Kai, and IYO SKY made a surprise appearance and looked to be planning to attack Belair. Lynch got up and was by Belair’s side, causing Bayley’s faction to leave the ring.

Now that Lynch has returned to her most popular persona, many believe she will finally get a one-on-one match with Ronda Rousey at WrestleMania 39. Speaking to Ryan Satin on the “Out of Character” podcast, Lynch responded to the speculation.

“Maybe if she starts training a little bit more,” Lynch said. “Maybe if she gets a little better.”

Lynch went on to say that she enjoys being a babyface again despite not being able to soak it in due to her shoulder injury. She detailed a meeting with Paul “Triple H” Levesque, WWE’s Chief Content Officer, who expressed his belief that Lynch should be back in a babyface role. Lynch was all for it and said she’s happy that Levesque has taken over the reins of creative.

For Lynch, it’s now a matter of her recovery process. For now, she seems confident that she will be able to wrestle on WWE’s biggest show of 2023.

Huge Match ALREADY Rumoured For WWE’s WrestleMania 39

The Wrestling Observer is reporting that Becky Lynch vs. Ronda Rousey has been pencilled in as one possible main event for WWE’s WrestleMania 39 weekend next year.

That event, which is subtitled “WrestleMania Hollywood”, is currently scheduled to happen between 1-2 April in California’s SoFi Stadium. Dave Meltzer claims that a showdown between ‘Big Time Becks’ and Rousey could be on the cards for either night.

Vince McMahon is reportedly very keen to book Ronda vs. Becky as the final chapter between the pair – previously, Lynch and Rousey were the main story heading into ‘Mania 35. Then, WWE added Charlotte Flair to the mix and booked that headliner as a three-way instead.

Ronda lost to Flair at this year’s ‘Mania 38 before getting revenge in an “I Quit” bout at WrestleMania Backlash. The new SmackDown Women’s Champion is expected to hold that belt a while, but will WWE stretch her reign all the way through until next spring?

Stranger things have happened.

Becky vs. Ronda would have box office appeal if the feud was handled correctly. Lynch isn’t the same hard-nosed character she was back in 2019, so creative would need to go another route with the story.

Eric Bischoff Talks Hulk Hogan And Vince McMahon’s “Dysfunctional” Relationship

On a recent episode of the 83 Weeks Podcast, Eric Bischoff talked about the relationship between Hulk Hogan and Vince McMahon. Bischoff, being great friends with Hogan for many many years, says Hogan and Vince have had one of the more dysfunctional relationships he’s ever seen. He also discussed Hogan talking to Vince while he was with WCW during the Monday Night Wars about a possible return to WWE, and stated that he was never worried about Hogan leaving.

“Hulk and Vince, they’re like the most dysfunctional married couple in the world,” Bischoff said. “To this day, look up love/hate relationships and those are the two names that are going to pop up. Even when Hulk was with WCW, he would tell me if he had a conversation with Vince. We were in Denver one night and he said he was going to meet Vince for a drink in his hotel room. I was aware and I was also very much aware that Hulk was a master negotiator, he loved to keep his options open, he loved to have his leverage.

“By that point, Hulk and I became pretty good friends, beyond just work friends. Just based on the conversations he and I had, real casual conversations, the things he said led me to believe there was no way he was going to leave the relatively comfortable environment in WCW and jump back into the shark pool that was WWE. I was aware they were speaking but I really wasn’t concerned.”

Bischoff also discussed Hogan’s fractured with Jesse Ventura, and noted the two were at odds after Hogan told Vince that Ventura was trying to get wrestlers to unionize.

“My recall on that was it went back to the time Jesse Ventura was trying to get the talent in WWE to unionize,” Bischoff said. “Word got back to Vince through Hulk and that created a bit of a s–t show and that’s where Jesse harbored a lot of his resentment towards Hulk. I always assumed that was the source of the issue, if there was something more to it I’m not sure what it was.”

WWE announced WrestleMania dates and locations for the next 3 years last week. Bischoff said he was surprised to hear about them being able to have a crowd for the coming show in April.

“That was odd wasn’t it?” Bischoff asked. “You know who I’m happy for the most? The performers. I can’t imagine how difficult it is to go out there and have a match without a crowd. Especially for experienced talent who have worked in front of a crowd for 10-15 years and developed that direct connection. They affect your timing as well as your energy as a performer. For week, after week, after week to go out there and perform in front of no crowd has got to be challenging. I can only imagine. They won’t work for free, but they’ll feel like offering too, it’s going to be great.”

Bischoff also said he recently saw Hogan and talked to him about his appearance on Monday Night RAW earlier this month. He said he felt bad for Hogan because he wasn’t able to be around the talent.

“When he told me he was going to do it, I was really excited for him,” Bischoff said. “Hulk misses [wrestling], it’s his life. He’s a little bit like Ric Flair in that respect, wrestling has become so much a part of who he is, he’s not just Terry Bollea playing Hulk Hogan in this wrestling show, he’s Hulk Hogan just like Ric Flair is kind of Ric Flair.

“I asked Hulk, it must have been exciting to be backstage and seeing everybody not thinking. But you can’t hang out backstage, everyone is in COVID gear. You’re over here in this bubble and they are over here in that bubble and you can’t go back and forth and visit. So I was really disappointed for him and I can’t imagine what that’s like for the other talent, it’s got to be rough.”