Charlotte Flair made her grand return to WWE on December 30, confronting an old foe and reclaiming her gold in the process. But that wasn’t exactly how “The Queen” initially envisioned her comeback to unfold.
In a recent appearance on Busted Open, Flair revealed that she “definitely didn’t think” she’d regain the SmackDown Women’s Championship right “off the bat” as she did. From her surprise appearance in Tampa, Florida, Flair evidently stunned the WWE Universe, and Ronda Rousey, with her resurgence. Moments earlier, Rousey defeated Raquel Rodriguez to retain the SmackDown Women’s Champion, but Charlotte Flair issued a challenge for Rousey to put up her title one more time. Rousey accepted, and Flair finally got the retribution she was looking for.
Despite the shock on immediate her title win, Flair stated that she “knew the direction” she wanted to go upon her return. “It felt weird if I didn’t come back and go after Ronda again. If I had just ignored her, even though we’ve been in and out of storylines the past couple of years, I needed to go back to Ronda,” she said.
Reception To Flair’s WWE Return
“Where I went from there, I just didn’t think I was going to have the same reception every week. It almost gets better,” Flair said. “You always get that one good [welcome back] ‘Yay!’ It’s been that way, even on live events. So, I’m committing to it.”
Flair also recently mentioned that the crowd’s feel-good reaction to her victory “overwhelmed” her.
Prior to her return, Charlotte Flair experienced a near eight-month absence from WWE. At WrestleMania Backlash last May, the company wrote Flair off with a storyline injury after her “I Quit” match with Ronda Rousey. In reality, though, Flair took the time off to commence her wedding with AEW star Andrade El Idolo, and address some dental issues. Multiple procedures later, Flair finally gained her clearance to wrestle again.
