WWE will be releasing a statement to address the controversy surrounding Paige referencing Reid Flair on Monday’s RAW. f4wonline.com reports that WWE will say Charlotte was the one who came up with the idea, they took it out of the script thinking it was too sensitive, but Charlotte insisted it be included.
To recap, Paige got extremely personal with Charlotte on RAW, telling that her brother Reid didn’t have enough “fight in him” prior to his overdose death in 2013. WWE Hall of Famer Ric Flair spoke about the situation on his podcast this week, noting that he cried when he heard about it and WWE did not give him a heads up in advance or apologize to him after the fact. Flair said:
“[Charlotte’s] only been up there three months. It’s a pressure cooker and a tough spot to be in. Even though she’s the champion doesn’t mean that she goes ‘hey, this is what I wanna do or what I’m not gonna do … If you’re asked to do something, that’s pretty much the way things operate up there” …
“I never heard a word about it. I started crying when I was watching it. Nobody called me and no one’s called me today. That would indicate that they just assume that it’s good. I don’t have an answer for that.”
It’s worth noting that Flair’s podcast co-host Conrad said rumors that the whole angle was Charlotte’s idea are “100% false.”
Charlotte and Reid’s mother Elizabeth expressed her outrage on Twitter, calling WWE disgusting, disrespectful, cruel and sad.
Editorial: WWE Using Reid Fliehr’s Death Trivializes His Life, Mental Illness
Paige was bombarded on social media with fans who couldn’t believe what she said. Playing up her heel role and relishing in the heat she generated, Paige responded:
You should keep talking about me. It's making me trend. ?
— SARAYA (@RealPaigeWWE) November 17, 2015