A former two-time NXT Women’s Champions. Six-time WWE Smackdown and Raw Women’s Champion. The last Divas Champion. Former WWE Tag Team Women’s Champion. The second-generation star has been pegged for greatness ever since arriving on the WWE roster in 2012. Given how much Charlotte Flair has been put in the spotlight, it would be natural to assume that she’s one of the top performers in the company. That’s certainly what WWE wants you to believe; however, the fans don’t particularly view Charlotte Flair at that level. Why? Flair is certainly one of the best women’s wrestlers on that roster and she’s had high-profile feuds with Becky Lynch and Sasha Banks. She has been given more time to grow and develop in front of the WWE universe, but that has seemingly backfired for the company. Charlotte Flair may have never gotten Roman Reigns level of heat, but there’s a clear disdain for the second-generation star.
It’s extremely odd, as Ric Flair is a decorated multi-time world champion who’s beloved by many. However, no offense to Charlotte, but she’s no Ric Flair. She’s definitely not booked better than him. Remember her original debut on the main roster? As the NXT Women’s Champion, Charlotte Flair made her debut on Raw losing a non-title match to Natalya in less than five minutes. It’s insane because Charlotte Flair was booked pretty well in NXT. In fact, it could be argued that the direction of the second-generation star was so much better during her first stint in the developmental brand. Luckily, her career wasn’t killed instantly (unlike Karrion Kross), but her re-debut didn’t exactly set the world on fire. WWE did their women’s revolution segment and it felt more like a marketing plot to get over the company instead of actually introducing exciting new female characters on the roster. It’s hard to put a nice spotlight on one character when four to five are being introduced at the same time.
Charlotte’s career has mostly been plagued with bad booking. She had a lot of hits that balance it out, but arguably the most damaging is the fact that creative has never truly settled on one character for a lengthy period of time. As gifted as she is inside of the ring, she’s not particularly strong on the mic. This is why she’s mostly failed to get over as a babyface as fans just never brought into her act. The WWE star always came across as stoic, bland, and forgettable. She was unable to summon that babyface fire that someone like Becky Lynch has. Flair has definitely worked better as a heel, but the company clearly wants her to be a top face. Last year, her character was barely non-existent. She was working against heel Rhea Ripley, but there was never a clear indication on what she was. That’s all on Vince McMahon and creative, who have seemingly forgotten the importance of character development when it comes to face and heel turns. When character motivations flip and flop as often as they do for most of the roster, it’s hard to be invested in a particular talent because their journey is a muddled mess.
Plus, she’s being shoved down the throats of fans. Does Charlotte Flair deserve to be in the main event? Definitely! But there was no need to insert her in the WrestleMania 35 main event between Ronda Rousey and Becky Lynch. She also should’ve put over Rhea Ripley at WrestleMania 36. At the very least, she could’ve taken the pinfall when she lost the belt to Io Shirai in the triple threat match at NXT TakeOver: In Your House. To be clear, none of this is Flair’s fault. However, the company has made it clear that she’s head and shoulders above 95% of the roster. When was the last time Flair feuded with another talent that wasn’t for a title? Instead of rotating the division by trying to inject fresh bodies in the main event scene, it’s mainly the four horsewomen, and everyone else. Even when Flair was out of action for a lengthy period of time, it felt as if the company was simply waiting for her return as Asuka did absolutely nothing with the belt. Vince McMahon’s obsession with trying to have the second-generation star surpass her father’s record is holding the division back, as it’s stale having Flair at the top of the mountain once again. Charlotte Flair has all the tools necessary to be considered a top star by fans, but an inconsistent character and the constant shoving into the main event scene, holds her back from the fans truly connecting with the WWE Smackdown Women’s Champion.
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