Charlotte Flair Discusses 'Mixed Emotions' On WWE Return At Royal Rumble 2025

In 2025, after rehabbing a torn ACL, MCL, and meniscus, Charlotte Flair returned to WWE during the 2025 Royal Rumble, eliminating Roxanne Perez to win the event. Flair would then go on to challenge Tiffany Stratton at Night 1 of WrestleMania 41 for the WWE Women's Championship, failing to capture the title after a heated feud.

"I have a lot of mixed emotions that I don't know if I'm allowed to say about 2025," Flair stated during an appearance on the WWE Vault. 

"When I left, I was like a full-blown babyface. I was getting, like, some of the loudest reactions of my entire career." Flair expressed that she had wanted to come back to the same pop at 2025's Rumble, and stated that she wished her return was a surprise.

Flair also explained that her injury journey wasn't shown, and because she lost a lot of weight during her time away, she felt nervous returning. 

"I felt a hundred percent, but I was like, I don't know [but] when my music goes out, and those lights turn on, I gotta be 'Charlotte Flair,'" she expressed. "To me, it was like, just knowing that there were things that hadn't come out in the media yet that, like, I was hiding? So, getting past that, showing up with a smile on my face, and not letting that overshadow the win."

"I won [The Royal Rumble], but there was nowhere to go from it," Flair admitted, proclaiming that winning the Women's Tag Team Championships with Alexa Bliss felt more pure and like a bigger victory after WM 41. "I don't know if I'm ever going to win the world title again; I just don't know."

Flair will get that chance, as she will compete at SummerSlam in a match to determine the Interim WWE Women's Champion.

If you use any quotes from this article, please credit the "WWE Vault," and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.