Charlotte Flair On Wanting Paul Heyman To Manager Her, What Heyman Told Her At WrestleMania, Reid
It's no secret, of course, that Charlotte is a second-generation wrestler — her father, after all, is the legendary "Nature Boy" Ric Flair. But it wasn't always Charlotte who was meant to be the next generation of Flairs to enter the ring — that title was, presumably, going to go to Ric's son, and Charlotte's brother, Reid Flair. Unfortunately, however, before Reid could realize his full potential, he died of a drug overdose, thereby making the room for Charlotte to gain — and keep — her footing.
And, when Charlotte stopped by Busted Open with hosts Dave Lagreca, Bully Ray, and Larry Dallas to promote "Second Nature" — her new book co-written with her father, Ric — she opened up about losing her brother, and what that loss meant to her, for the first time, especially after she stole the show.
"I wanted to be champ. I wanted to be the new woman's champ — that is all I was thinking. When I won the Divas title from Nikki, I felt like I wasn't ready. But that night, I was ready. But the other part of that weekend was about my brother, and him not being there," she said.
"I wouldn't have a career in wrestling without him. And I kept thinking to myself, 'how am I at WrestleMania? How am I at the center of the AT&T Stage, and my brother isn't here to watch me?'," she said. "And I just couldn't get past that."
Fighting back tears, Charlotte then got emotional as she recounted the "unfairness" of the situation — how her brother wasn't able to see her wrestle, nor have the ability to see all what she was doing, but she'd become the heir apparent to her father's wrestling throne. However, she also said that both she and her father agree that, were it not for Reid's passing, she would not be the wrestler that she is today.
"When my brother passed, I said, 'I've got to do this,'" she said. "And I know he's happy."
Most interestingly of all, however, is that she got advice from the most unexpected of sources: Paul Heyman, who is — as of late — known as the mouthpiece for Brock Lesnar, who has previously gone on record to sing the praises of Charlotte.
"I would love Paul to manage me," said Charlotte. "I do this: at WrestleMania 32, when I was so nervous, and had so much other pressure on me, it was Paul who said, 'go out there and prove to them why you're the center of that poster.'"
Charlotte is currently promoting her new book, "Second Nature," which she co-wrote with her father.
Busted Open with hosts Dave Lagreca, Bully Ray & Larry Dallas can be heard weekdays from 2p-4p Eastern Time only on SiriusXM Rush Channel 93 and is available anytime on demand on the SiriusXM App.
Source: Busted Open