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When you hear the name Flair in wrestling, the bar suddenly skyrockets to the highest level. In the old days, this could be attributed to the elder Flair, Ric. But these days there is a new Flair in town, and her name is Charlotte. The Queen. Ms. WrestleMania.
While working to honor the legacy of the Flair before her, Charlotte also became a trailblazer to cement herself as one of, if not the best. While so many of her matches are memorable and stay with us long after they’re concluded, nothing compares to WrestleMania. Each and every WrestleMania moment leaves us with a different feeling of astonishment when Charlotte appears.
Having had her first WrestleMania moment as a part of Triple H’s 2014 entrance, alongside fellow wrestlers Alexa Bliss and Sasha Banks, Charlotte would soon step into a moment that could completely be her own two years later at WrestleMania 32.
The match was a segway into the new era of women’s wrestling, as Charlotte entered the Diva’s Champion and exited the new Women’s Champion. Coming into the arena with her father by her side, Charlotte had everything to prove and everything to lose. To add to the momentous occasion, Charlotte donned a robe made out of material from her father’s final match. Something she shared with him just before their entrance. The match was a classic clash of the current titans for WWE’s women’s wrestling, and all three came in with the chance to take home the gold. The match itself was grueling, intense, and women’s wrestling at its current peak. Charlotte’s moonsault outside the ring was a moment that will always be remembered, taking out both of her challengers. At the conclusion of this epic battle, Charlotte reigned supreme, eventually tapping out Becky Lynch to take home the most coveted title in the women’s division. It was a beautiful WrestleMania moment.
At WrestleMania 33, Charlotte went into a fatal-4-way match as a challenger to the reigning Champion, Bayley, alongside Sasha Banks, and Nia Jax.
Teaming up with her opponents, Charlotte assisted in the elimination of Nia Jax as the first one out. Once Jax was eliminated, Charlotte hit one of the most memorable moves of the night, her corkscrew moonsault. From the top ropes, to the outside of the ring, she took out both opponents with one of her most majestic moves to date. Next, Charlotte locked horns with one of her biggest rivals, Sasha Banks, where Charlotte was able to rack up an elimination. With the match coming down to her and Bayley, The Queen was not able to pick up the victory. While we love a winning Queen, you can’t win them, all.
She may not have won a title here, but as far moments go, she owned the night. Charlotte became known for two things this night, her beautiful moonsault, and her entrances. Her green robe and gear would become one of her most distinguished looks as well as the fireworks that accompanied her just as she raised her arms, creating a magical moment where time seemed to stand still. And we love a woman that knows how to make an entrance.
WrestleMania 34, was the pinnacle of moments, for Charlotte.
As if the stars aligned, everything surrounding her match was perfect. She had the perfect opponent in Asuka, The Empress of Tomorrow, who would be bringing with her an unbroken win streak. Her entrance was a legendary full circle moment reminiscent of her very first appearance onscreen at WrestleMania. She entered on a throne with gold gladiators, and everything screamed royalty. In my opinion, this was her best entrance, ever. Even the symbolism of using NXT wrestlers as her escort proved that a good story could be told just through an entrance.
The match itself had so much anticipation on both sides. Would the Queen be ready for Asuka? Would Asuka be the one to shatter the myth of The Queen? Who was taking home the SmackDown title? In a tumultuous thirteen minute and five second match, Charlotte proved that she was ready for Asuka by tapping her out to the Figure-Eight. Another great moment was witnessing the respect that Asuka and Charlotte have for each other as the women shared an emotional embrace at the conclusion of the match. Both women put on a phenomenal match, but there could only be one winner. The Queen had her moment in the sun.
Continuing her legacy of WrestleMania appearances, Charlotte had a historic—never done before—match on the books in the form of an all women—winner take all—main event. With Fellow wrestlers, Becky Lynch and Ronda Rousey, Charlotte would enter as the SmackDown Women’s Champion and the least favored to win. But since when has that ever mattered to The Queen?
Arriving at the arena with her most dramatic mode of transportation to date, a helicopter, Charlotte sported equally flamboyant purple gear that was custom made for the event. The tension was immense as the match kicked off, Charlotte engaged and several fantastic spots with both women. From an epic double spear to a chop off battle with Ronda in the middle of the ring, The Queen put on a show. The battle was close, all of the women got off some of their best moves, but this night went to Becky Lynch as she pinned Ronda to take home both titles.
Even without a win, The Queen earned her moment by doing what no other woman had done, besides the women she shared a ring with that night, she main evented an otherwise male dominated pay per view.
Leading into her most recent WrestleMania moment, Charlotte had to deal with the changes in the world. While she had a fresh new and exciting opponent in Rhea Ripley, the rest of the world was in a Global Pandemic, and the event would be crowdless. Coming off of the high of a Royal Rumble victory, Charlotte had her pick of the champions to challenge, but growing tired of the same rivalries, Charlotte took her time in selecting an opponent. She’d put off naming her pick for WrestleMania until an opponent came to her in the form of, then NXT Champion, Rhea Ripley.
While the two went back and forth about Charlotte accepting the challenge, the decision was made clear when Charlotte showed up at Rhea’s NXT Takeover Portland match and decimated Rhea and the opponent she’d just defeated. From that moment, up until the actual match, Rhea and Charlotte made menacing visits to each other’s respective shows, adding a lot of much needed animosity to the rivalry, seeing as these opponents had never met or shared a locker room before.
What makes this particular moment one of the greatest in my opinion, was the fact that these two amazing women were able to build something that came off very authentic and well put together with absolutely no crowd. It was the first time in the history of the Charlotte’s WrestleMania appearances that she would perform with no fans. The match was incredible. Each woman brought so much intensity and hunger to the table, it was arguably one of the best matches of the night, if not the best. To do such amazing work, out of your element is not something everyone can do, but Rhea and Charlotte defied the odds. And the Queen became only the second woman, behind Shayna Baszler, to hold the NXT title two times.
When Charlotte is mentioned, good or bad, the one thing that cannot be denied is her power. The mere mention of her name elevates the conversation. Her star power shines bright enough to make any match the focal point of any event. While Charlotte herself brings her best to her WrestleMania matches, you could also say she brings out the best in her opponents. While this year we won’t get that special feeling of a Charlotte Flair moment, what comes next for her can only get better. Each year she pushes herself to new levels.
People could argue for days, who Ms. WrestleMania is. There could be so many differing opinions, and some would be valid. But if we’re going off of talent, results, and sheer hunger there can only be one. Just as we came to the conclusion many years ago that Shawn Michaels was Mr. WrestleMania, the same can be said for Charlotte. The title isn’t based solely on wins or losses. The title itself describes a person who embodies the passion, the drive, the magnetism that inspires and electrifies their audience at each and every WrestleMania they’re present for. Her moments are our moments. Her moments are her legacy. Ms. WrestleMania is and always will be synonymous with the name Charlotte Flair. She earned it.
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