Charlotte On Having Ric Flair's Mannerisms, Which SmackDown Star Greatly Helped Her Career, More
Recently on Heated Conversations: Hosted By Booker T, WWE RAW Women's Champion Charlotte talked about having her father, professional wrestling great, Ric Flair's mannerisms, having a chip on her shoulder being Flair's daughter, whether she believes she is the best female talent in WWE, and the importance of working with Natalya at NXT: TakeOver to her professional wrestling career.
According to Charlotte, she does not study film on her father to pick up his nuances or gestures. Rather, Charlotte claimed that she just happens to have his mannerisms. The 'Nature Girl' went on to say that professional wrestling is "second nature".
"My whole life, I've been told, 'gosh, you walk like your dad and you have his mannerisms' and it's funny because people actually ask me, 'do you watch tape to pick up subtle movements like him?' And I'm like, 'no.' This is going to sound so corny, but it's so second nature. Someone told me, the match with Sasha [Banks], her first time winning the Women's Championship, and I'm walking up the ramp and I look back at her, and someone was like, 'your expression, you look just like your father, every aspect.' I don't know."
While Charlotte does not watch tape on 'Naitch' to learn his mannerisms, she admitted that she has a chip on her shoulder for being the daughter of 'The Dirtiest Player In The Game'.
"There is never a perfect match and I know I have a little chip on my shoulder with the whole 'Ric Flair's daughter' thing. Because I played sports my whole life, I didn't get the fans saying, 'she's only on the main roster because she's Ric Flair's daughter'. It's hard when you come from a sports background because you're not paying the coach, well, I don't know about these days, but it was just like, 'why don't these people like me? I work so hard!' So I'm always trying to prove them wrong."
As Booker T alluded to on RAW Talk, when asked if she's the best female performer in WWE, Charlotte responded "100%," but with one proviso: the person behind the villainous 'Queen' of WWE Monday Night RAW admitted that you are only as good as your opponent in the squared circle. Additionally, Charlotte said that being in developmental with the other Horsewomen pushed her learn quickly and step up her game.
"100%. Okay, so Charlotte Flair would say, '100%'. Ashley Fliehr would say, 'you're only as good as your opponent'. And I think what has gotten me to where I am today is because I was in developmental with three girls and I didn't want to be left behind. You had Becky Lynch, my best friend in the entire world, Bayley, and Sasha Banks. Three girls who traveled the world, had done this before. And here I am, some second generation kid that just shows up, and I was playing volleyball in college, and they weren't getting these opportunities. Obviously, Becky came later. Bayley came later. Sasha and I started together. But I was like, 'I can't be left behind. I need to catch up real quick or I'm going to be sitting in developmental,' so being able to wrestle with them and them carry me until I started to figure things out, and I took pieces from each girl because all three of them has a completely different style."
Also, Charlotte acknowledged that she would not be where she is today if she did not have the opportunity to work with Natalya in NXT.
"I say it to this day, I don't think I would be where I am today had I not had that breakout moment with Nattie in NXT because I really still wasn't sure of myself at that time. But Nattie gave me that confidence that I needed and I still tell her to this day, like, 'Nat, I don't think I'd be here if you hadn't given back to NXT and was a general and showed me the ropes.' I still think that."
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