Women’s wrestling in the WWE has come a long way, and now it’s next step will be its own PPV dedicated to celebrating the past, the present, and the future of women when Evolution kicks off on the 28th October. There have been many individuals that have built the foundations for this eventual moment in history, and no one else has closer ties to the history of wrestling than the Queen, Charlotte Flair.
We were fortunate enough to grab some time with the multi-time Women’s champion to chat about the upcoming PPV, her feelings towards one noteworthy addition to the locker room, and what she wants to say to young and upcoming women in this business. Let’s take a look at what she had to say as we have Our Chat With… Charlotte Flair.
The conversation got started with the mention of the biggest signings of the year for the WWE. UFC star Ronda Rousey has been making mega waves in WWE and her performance hasn’t gone unnoticed, Charlotte commented on her fellow locker room member with a positive attitude towards Ronda’s work ethic.
“Honestly, she has surpassed my expectations already. I truly believe that she legitimises what we do because of her background but just because you’re an amazing athlete doesn’t mean that you’re going to be able to take that and translate it to our audience. But she has and she’s doing a phenomenal job. That’s just credit to her and her dedication in order to pick this up, I know she has an acting background but the ring is much different and to me, she gets better with every outing.”
The talk then shifted to the big PPV Evolution, the reaction to being told about such an event especially after working hard to achieve great strides for women must have left quite an impact. Lucky for us, Charlotte had quite a bit to say regarding such a moment.
“I thought it was something that would happen, I just didn’t know when so I was pretty surprised when they made the announcement. But in terms of what I think it’s going to do, I think it’s going to change the landscape of women’s wrestling forever. Having the world have the opportunity to see past legends comeback, for the newer audiences have the future come up from NXT and the current roster, it’s almost like a dream show for everyone that’s ever had dream matches and a fan of women wrestling.”
She continued by elaborating on what she feels people are going to take away once the show has been broadcast.
“I really think the message is going to resonate with a lot of people, Women are not just women. There will never be a time when they watch women wrestling and think ’Oh that’s just a women match’. The women will show that their storytelling ability, athleticism, the star power is just like watching a men’s match and you’re going to see an entire show of it.”
Whatever you can do, they can do too and can do it even better. That sentiment is what Evolution will try to present, and it’s a sentiment that seems to provide motivation for Charlotte as her career went forward. There have been claims from some that Charlotte has been given an easy ride career wise thanks to being the daughter of a wrestling legend, Ric Flair. While being connected to a famous wrestler isn’t a guarantee for success (just look at all the third generation superstars that floundered thinking the link to the past was enough) there are still inklings of criticism based on this connection. Charlotte addressed in the final point of our conversation and if you aren’t convinced, then I don’t know what will to be frank.
“My story is super easy, I understand my dad is one the greatest of all time but I didn’t grow up knowing what I wanted to be or that I even wanted to wrestle, so I’ve played catch up for the last five years. That’s the only time I’ve had in this industry and I took those five years, I took every second, every minute, every day, every week, every year to become what I am today. I hope the message to anyone watching is that you can do anything you put your mind to. That’s what I did. For me, being strong and confident and independent are what’ its all about to be empowering and I think that’s what I hope people take away from my character.”
Empowerment is necessary for this industry, we need that one person we can look to know that it’s important to work towards your goal. There may be obstacles, it may even seem impossible. But, keep working for what you believe in and you’ll find what you are looking for. Our Chat with Charlotte may have inspired some to keep persevering, it’s my hope that if anyone reading takes anything away from this it’s that there is always something worth trying your hardest for.
Images courtesy of WWE.com
Check out WWE Evolution on the 28th October LIVE via the WWE Network