Charlotte On Which Of Her Matches Has Been "Extremely Overlooked", Her NXT Return This Year
As we celebrate the fifth-year anniversary of the Women's Evolution, there are so many female Superstars on the roster now who are shattering the glass ceiling on what women in this business can do. For Charlotte Flair, she is a target to most in-ring competitors, not only because of her name but also for her championship accolades. Her and Becky Lynch have cemented a strong future legacy that will forever change how women performers are looked at in this industry.
Back in 2018, Charlotte and Lynch had what many consider to be the best match at Evolution, prior to their triple threat match at WrestleMania 35. Looking back at their Last Woman Standing match from two years ago, Charlotte said that her and Lynch's goal was to make that their most memorable match yet.
"It's hard to say which match is the best match of my career because I feel like I play different roles in different matches," Charlotte commented. "Like with Becky, I play one role, and then when I was wrestling, say Trish [Stratus] or Asuka, I play another role.
"I think what made this match so special was [that] we were on a show with all the women from the past, who have helped develop women of the present and future. We wanted to prove that she was 'The Man' of the division, and I was 'The Queen' of the division. No matter what, we just wanted to have the best match on an all-female show."
Charlotte was surprised when panelist Ryan Pappolla brought up her match against Ronda Rousey from Survivor Series in 2018. She was glad that Pappolla brought that match up because she believes that's one match in her career that's been overlooked.
"I do feel like people talk about my matches, but that one doesn't get brought up as much," she said surprisingly. "I was on SmackDown and I was told, 'We need you to wrestle Ronda this weekend because Becky is hurt.' I was like, 'My dream match! There's going to be a story built-in.'
"For three days, I sat in L.A. thinking to myself, 'How do I prove that this is my spot?' You're going to see two athletes go out there and make it a main event without a story. I really had to think about how I was going to approach my rivalry with Becky, and how I was going to approach the match with Ronda. My match with her reminded me that I'm big, I'm fast and I'm strong. I think that match is extremely overlooked."
After dethroning Rhea Ripley from her NXT Women's Championship at WrestleMania 36, Charlotte only kept the title up until NXT TakeOver: In Your House last month, before Io Shirai took home her first championship in the company. She mentioned in her interview that she wishes she could have had more time in NXT to compete against these talented women on the black-and-gold brand.
"I felt like an outsider," she laughed. "It's incredible what they've done. For NXT being the third brand, I couldn't be more proud of them. I wish I had more time to develop more stories with all of these stars."
Now that she's at home recuperating from surgery, Charlotte admits that she's going stir-crazy.
"I'm going crazy sitting at home," she admitted. "[I sit there thinking], 'Should I have done this better, should I have done that better.' I don't do well with downtime. I love being in the mix."
From her initial arrival on the main roster as part of the Four Horsewomen to all the championships she's won so far in her eight-year career, Charlotte concluded her interview by saying that if there's one thing she wants the WWE Universe to take away from her overall career, it's that she wants to set an example of overcoming obstacles that may seem impossible to achieve.
"I guess the easy answer would be that I want to be remembered as the greatest of all time. But, I don't think it's that. I think I want to be known for my work ethic, and for breaking down doors for women in a male-dominated industry. I want people to be inspired by my passion in the ring."
You can watch Charlotte Flair's full interview here. If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit WWE's The Bump with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.