It is Tiffy time in the WWE, but that may be a good thing. What started as a spoiled and entitled heel gimmick moved to Ms. Money in the Bank. Now, in just a short period, this gifted but arrogant champion is facing a decidedly unpopular Charlotte Flair in a marquee WrestleMania match and is teaming up with the legendary Trish Stratus in Canada at Elimination Chamber.
This does not sound like a bad guy for the division, but rather, Tiffany Stratton is a face for the future of WWE.
It seems unlikely that this was the original plan for Stratton, but will it work for her in the long term? The similarities to Flair that make their match feel appealing signal it may not work. However, a strong showing in this feud may be enough to change that.
A Natural Heel Like Charlotte Flair
This is even a conversation because Tiffany Stratton is a very good bad guy. Playing the heel in wrestling does appear to be easier, but playing it well is still rare enough. Tiffany doesn’t rely on cheap lines; she makes herself and her own ego the center of her feuds. She acts on her ego and fights for her ego; everything is about self-promotion.
Even in her early NXT days, she played a spoiled rich kid type, which combines that ego-centric theme with another classic wrestling villain in The Millionaire. She dropped the explicit rich schtick, and her center-of-the-universe gimmick created the star we see today.
Charlotte had an almost identical run. Replace the rich kid with a nepotism gimmick, and you will have the original Flair formula. That being said, it didn’t make for lasting success, and Charlotte’s face flamed out quickly. These two talents are so similar, which is why WWE wanted to book this match. The history of one could easily be the same. This is why Stratton now has to try to navigate a potential face run without fully turning to the side of the light.
An Imbalanced Roster With Tiffany Stratton as a Face
In nearly every division, WWE is running out of solid heel champions. The popularity of WWE in recent years has been great for the company and the industry in general. It has also made it much harder to find a talented superstar that people are willing to boo, but not in the forcibly remove them from the roster sort of way.
Stratton is a talented heel at a time when so few of them are on the higher rungs of the card. That makes losing her to the face side, possibly for a while, to do the Charlotte match a gamble.
.@MsCharlotteWWE had some interesting words for EVERYONE. 😳#WWENXT pic.twitter.com/fn0UpfpGd4
— WWE (@WWE) February 5, 2025
On Raw, Liv Morgan is genuinely the only main event heel in the women’s division. The men aren’t in a much better spot, with Gunther and maybe Logan Paul being the only genuinely locked-in top villains. On Smackdown, it is realistically Drew McIntyre and Tiffany Stratton.
With so little by way of prominent adversaries, WWE is in need of a few strong heels reigns to cycle through their array of fighting faces, and removing one of them for a part-timer feud with Flair could come with some longer-term consequences for an already quiet women’s division.
Tiffany has more than enough do-good heroes to try and wrestle the title away from her, but as a face, she runs out of options as soon as WrestleMania Backlash if Charlotte isn’t staying around.
The Fans Have Taken to Stratton
Whether or not she plays the heel perfectly and how desperately WWE needs her as a villain at the top of the card, fans do like Tiffany Stratton. WWE has to hear the reactions she was getting while teasing her cash-in. Additionally, she is an uber-talented performer who plays her role well.
While it isn’t fair to say that Tiffany is acting like a “cool” heel, that does seem to be where a lot of fans have landed with her, some even as early as her NXT days.
The most significant factor in Tiffany’s rise in popularity is, without a doubt, her performance in the ring. Stratton is a fantastic physical performer. She can mix strength with speed and high-flying agility due to her gymnastics background. Her moves are flashy, and that is always going to get a positive reaction from live crowds.
Night after night, as fans react to her “Prettiest Moonsault Ever,” it starts to become a thing people look forward to. While her character work is spot on for a heel, not unlike her opponent Flair, her in-ring ability is hard to root against; also similar to Charlotte.
With a current level of fan support, she has a chance to take this opportunity and try to make it a lasting phase, assuming that is what they want.
Making Tiffany Stratton a Face for WrestleMania 41
.@tiffstrattonwwe is coming for your crown @MsCharlotteWWE 😤#SmackDown pic.twitter.com/P3l8e6uOeK
— WWE (@WWE) February 22, 2025
Regardless of the way things play out, Tiffany Stratton goes into her WrestleMania feud with Charlotte Flair as the clear fan favorite.
Charlotte is one of the greatest of all time, even as people gripe at her omnipresence at the top of the WrestleMania hierarchy and not much else in recent years. So, does that have to go beyond the grandest stage of them all?
Not particularly. A rivalry with any of the more established faces could turn her back quickly for WrestleMania Backlash. That is the direction she should go because faces are easy to grow sour on. The bad times come and go, but bad guys are forever.
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