Charlotte Flair Talks Wins & Losses, Creative Freedom In WWE

Charlotte Flair is a 14-time main roster world champion, but in the last year, after returning from a knee injury that kept her sidelined for over 12 months, her goals seem very different than ever before. She's aligned herself with Alexa Bliss, and the pair even held tag gold, and it feels like Flair has reinvented herself in the eyes of many fans.

"The Queen" recently appeared on "Power Hour with Ilona Maher" and spoke about where she is in her career, as well as her beginnings in WWE. When asked how she balanced the athleticism and storytelling in WWE, Flair said she relied heavily on her athletic ability early on, because her character wasn't immediately all there.

"The entertainment side, charisma did not come natural at all," she said. "Like, at all. Now that I'm like, what, 13 years in, being Flair's kid, I want the fans to like me because I work really hard, but it could have been easier, character-wise to be like, 'I'm Ric Flair's daughter, I get everything handed to me.'"

As to why she's always been so disliked, she said that it's because fans want the underdog to win, and she's always been in the main title picture. Flair said being away from those titles, which she had become synonymous with, has helped her career, as well as sharing what she's gone through behind-the-scenes in her own life.

"Me showing my flaws and stuff that I've gone through in my personal life, and actually being like, 'It's okay not to be that perfect [picture] of what you think is a champion,' has been like what's allowed me to have a fresh layer of paint for the character," Flair explained.

Flair, who played volleyball at the collegiate level before starting her wrestling journey in "WWE NXT" in 2012, also spoke about the difficulties of wanting to win in a scripted sport. She said it's tough, as a lot of people she works with haven't played sports and don't understand. She said she's learned so much over the last year, however.

"You kind of have to let down your ego as an athlete and go, 'We are here to tell stories and we're here to elicit emotion,' and if that's what's best for the story, you have to just like, eat it," she said. "Because, what I've learned over the last year, and I was guilty of this, all I could attach my emotions to was winning, winning, winning, when it was like, 'Wait. Hold on. This still isn't real. Your losses are making you win as a business woman.' So, for me as an athlete, being able to understand that has been such growth."

After so many years in the business, Flair explained that she has freedom to put matches together, though she doesn't have a say in the outcome. She said that she's told who's winning, and how before a match, but "in terms of the dance," WWE has always allowed her to put things together.

If you use any quotes from this article, please credit "Power Hour with Ilona Maher" and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.