At WrestleMania 41, Tiffany Stratton faced Charlotte Flair for the WWE Women’s Championship. Stratton ended up winning the match, meaning Flair would have to wait for another opportunity at championship gold. On the May 9, 2025 episode of Friday Night SmackDown, Flair returned for the first time since WrestleMania.
She got in the ring and was immediately met with a chorus of boos. Instantly, she got mad and wanted to know why she wasn’t getting a warm reception. She wondered why people were booing the greatest of all time and threatened to walk out.
The booing was too much for her, as she walked out, but not before Jade Cargill told her to move to the back of the line. It seems like her new character is threatened by fading popularity. Given her career so far, that’s the perfect character for her to portray right now.
Charlotte Flair is Having an Identity Crisis
It’s no secret that Charlotte Flair’s character is arrogant and demanding. However, her career speaks for itself. She has won 14 world championships in WWE and is the only woman to have won the Royal Rumble twice.
It’s clear that she is going to be in the WWE Hall of Fame at some point. However, she’s used to challenging for and winning championships. When she doesn’t get her way, she starts melting down.
As everyone saw on Friday, the loss against Stratton really affected her. Normally, she takes down talent with ease. But at WrestleMania, Stratton had her beat, something that doesn’t normally happen.
When a sudden change happens in life, people can change for the worse. That’s what’s happening with Charlotte Flair at this point in time. She’s no longer the dominant champion she once was, so she’s taking her anger out on the fans instead of herself.
The Women’s Divisions are Always Changing
Before Charlotte Flair returned at the Royal Rumble in February, she last appeared on SmackDown in December 2023. The Raw and SmackDown women’s divisions have drastically changed in that time frame.
Jade Cargill debuted, Tiffany Stratton got called up, among other moves. Giulia, Roxanne Perez, and Stephanie Vaquer are super close to joining the main roster. There are a lot of women that she hasn’t worked with that are younger than her.
She’s no longer the main attraction like she was years ago. With the draft coming up this year, there might be a chance that she’ll switch to Monday Night Raw. That’s where her new character comes in.
She’s realizing that there are new women who are popular with the fans. Their attention isn’t solely towards her anymore. She either has to accept that or try to win back the fans by climbing to the top once again.
Flair’s New Character Will Help Her in the Long Run
One of the biggest complaints about Charlotte Flair by fans is the fact that she is always in the title picture. They say that she is handed opportunities, and she doesn’t have to work for them. Based on Friday’s events, that will no longer be the case.
She’ll have to earn her title shots instead of automatically being inserted as the challenger. She’s used to being a star with preferential treatment. However, she’s no longer one of the top women anymore.
In the year she’s been out, several women have cemented their place as top stars in WWE, with many coming up in the next few months. Having a heroic rise to a title shot will help her greatly.
Going from rock bottom to champion once again will make the whole arena cheer. When that happens, Charlotte Flair’s character switch will have paid off in a great way.
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