The Women’s division has not exactly been setting the WWE on fire since the new title was introduced back at Wrestlemania. The Charlotte vs. Natalya feud has failed to garner any real heat and both of their title matches have failed to steal the show like the triple-threat in Dallas did. But, with Charlotte cutting ties with her father, two time WWE Hall of Famer “Nature Boy” Ric Flair, on last night’s Raw, WWE might have just taken a very small step in the right direction.
Charlotte, her dad, and new ally Dana Brooke appeared on Raw‘s 1200th episode last night to deliver the state of the Women’s Championship. What we actually got, however, was the champ cutting an absolutely scathing promo on her father. Ravaging him for never being around during her childhood, she boldly proclaimed she did not need the former 16 time world champion around anymore. The usually emotional Ric Flair stood there in tears, not believing what his own daughter was saying to him.
The segment itself was almost ruined by the obligatory “What” chants by the fans in Baltimore, but Charlotte worked through them and conveyed genuine emotion in a heel promo, something so lacking in WWE today. Going even deeper, it was a heel act, with justification. Charlotte never had her father around when she was a child and she finally has the power now to punish him for it. Much like Kevin Owens justifying his actions with his desire to provide for his family, Charlotte was a heel with purpose.
Regardless if the promo was even good or not, Ric Flair simply had to leave the picture. His few words before handing over the mic to Charlotte last night were evidence of that fact. He continually fumbled through his words, a common trend for him as of late. He’s simply past his prime in every regard, including on the mic – completely coherent promos from him have become few and far between. His mere presence does not really add anything to his daughter’s character, in fact it detracts from it. Too many times, Charlotte has come across as Ric Flair in a woman’s body, from the lavish robes, to the music, to the wooing, and her father’s constant presence only furthered this notion. Like she mentioned last night, with Flair gone, she can finally do it on her own and move away from her father’s shadow. She is too good to have the Flair connection, she does not need it. Her great in-ring ability and improving promo skills are a recipe for a great top heel for years to come, without the crutch of being Flair 2.0.
Could this have been executed better? Absolutely. There was little to no teasing of this break up happening at all. It had the potential to really be a huge angle that could have given WWE some longevity. Instead, they seemed to just randomly pull the trigger on it, not to mention the curious Dana Brooke addition and the odd comparison to “Uncle Arn”. It has yet to be answered why she is even aligned with Charlotte and what her role would be. She barely said anything in the segment last night. As of now, it seems like an odd pairing, but in time hopefully her involvement will be explained.
In spite of those detriments, the break up was definitely the right move on creative’s part. Ric Flair, as much as we love and respect him, needed to go, if only for his daughter’s sake.
(Main Photo: WWE.com)
