Charlotte On Asuka Not Being Included In The WrestleMania Main Event, What Ric Flair Tells Her Daily
Charlotte Flair recently spoke with Sporting News to promote her "Winner Takes All" Triple Threat main event of WrestleMania 35 with Becky Lynch and RAW Women's Champion Ronda Rousey. Flair said she was overcome with emotions after being told that she would be in the main event of the biggest show of the year.
"It's one of those things that I had been saying during a couple of interviews that I'm going to main event WrestleMania ? whether it's in five years, this year, next year ? so, when I found out, it was just a rush of emotions," Flair said. "You're saying something and you've proven it to the universe and it finally happened. All I wanted to do is text everyone who had been a part of my journey and who helped me get to where I am. I was emotional and I wanted to text [trainers from the WWE Performance Center] Sara del Rey, Fit Finlay and Norman Smiley and the production crew. This has been a collective effort from all the women from the past and the present and we're hopefully paving the way for the future of the rising stars of NXT. This means absolutely the world to me and I feel like it truly is my destiny."
How did WWE Hall of Famer Ric Flair react when he heard about his daughter headlining WrestleMania? Charlotte said The Nature Boy told her she deserves it and she did it all on her own, something he emphasizes every single day.
"My dad is my biggest fan, my biggest supporter, my best friend," Charlotte said. "He truly understands what it has been like in the journey, with the ups and downs and helping me every day in how to get better, what I need to do to get better, what I did to get here. He's been so connected with what it has taken me to get here that ? he just said, 'You deserve it and you did it all on your own.' He emphasizes that every single day that 'You did this all on your own. This has nothing to do with me.' And just, 'I'm proud of you.'"
Flair captured her title from Asuka just a few weeks from WrestleMania, out of nowhere. Asuka is now working the 2nd Annual WrestleMania Women's Battle Royal while Flair is defending the title in the main event. This has led to many fans complaining about Asuka not being a part of the main event. Flair was asked if she feels the same way about Asuka not being included.
"Here's the thing ? last year, when I wrestled Asuka to break her streak at WrestleMania 34, all I could think about is making her proud," Flair said. "I mean, she's wrestled all over the world. She had this incredible streak that no one had seen in the history of the business. So, for me, wrestling her ? everyone had so much hype for this match, so it was really living up to the expectations and cementing my legacy. And then, obviously, having the title match out of nowhere with her [on SmackDown last month], in my opinion, will only open up more doors for people to see the magic that Asuka and I could make and that's the bigger picture.
"People will regard [Asuka's omission from the main event] as a negative, but no. This is a story. People want better. This just has the opportunity just to get better for people to see just how much further Asuka and I could take each other in the ring and entertainment-wise. There's no other woman that I'd rather do that with than Asuka because people have already seen us have two ? well, three now ? matches and I know what we could do."
When asked what has Rousey's presence meant for WWE and also for Flair's own career, going up against her, Flair praised Rousey for really catching on. Flair also said Rousey forced her to step it up with their Survivor Series 2018 match.
"Being in a heated storyline [laughing], I guess I'll tell you from the perspective of taking you out of the storyline. When Ronda Rousey was signed, I knew it was a big deal," Flair said. "For someone like her, who is a household name, to want to be a part of our division and someone who could have credibility with some who aren't familiar with the WWE women's division, that's what I knew she was bringing to the table. But just because she was an Olympic athlete, didn't mean she was going to catch on ? and she has. That's not something everyone could do and that's a testament to how talented she is. And then when I wrestled her at Survivor Series, obviously, it was out of nowhere again. I said, 'You know what? When I leave that arena, I need to know that people would pay to see this again and that our story would continue.' And I truly believe that she made me hit another gear change and I had to prove that there's only one queen."