Speaking with Bleacher Report, WWE’s SmackDown Women’s Champion explained why the WrestleMania 38 main event with Ronda Rousey is so important to her.
Flair recalled jokingly calling out Ronda in 2015: “I remember back in 2015, half-joking, half-serious calling out Ronda at the time, and now we’re main eventing. It’s just crazy. I was so devastated when I missed WrestleMania last year. That’s what every talent works for every year and not being on it, and coming back and main eventing, anything can happen. I’m still trying to keep my emotions intact because I still have [a week] to go, so I feel like that week, everything’s going to hit me. I’m excited for the opportunity, and Flair vs. Rousey just sounds good.”
Facing Ronda at WrestleMania is her biggest dream match: “I don’t want to say my moments with Asuka, Sasha, Becky and other talent weren’t as big and I don’t want to take away from those moments, but I guess when you think of dream matches with someone from another industry, it has to be Ronda. You know what she’s done in her industry. You know what I’ve done in mine. Like you said, our names sell the match itself. This is definitely one of those pinch-me moments to scratch off the bucket list for me.”
“Not that I didn’t have that confidence at Survivor Series [2018] because I did, but there’s nothing I haven’t done. I feel on top of the world and having all the experiences and facing everyone that I have faced, winning, losing, I feel like I’m in my prime right now.”
Ronda came in as a fan and brought in new viewers: “I think what people don’t realize is that she wanted to come here. No one went after her, so everyone should be proud of what we’ve accomplished here and the buzz we’ve created and the women’s evolution and being able to main-event pay-per-views, Raw and SmackDown. That’s a testament to what we’ve done here, that she wants to come here and be a part of what we’ve done. Sometimes people get critical of outside talent coming in, but she wants to be a part of what we’ve done here. That should make you feel good, and she does bring more eyeballs to people who aren’t necessarily familiar with the product, like Total Divas. Total Divas brought outside viewers and that’s great for us. I want Bad Bunny to come back! He was incredible. It’s an entertainment show. That’s what we do.”
Talking about her title reign, Charlotte praised Naomi and Toni Storm: “I think whatever I’ve done throughout this entire run will be forgotten about after WrestleMania. I hate to say that because I loved working with Naomi and it was a pleasure being able to face Toni. I wish her the best. She has so much talent and is a star. I think, for me, everything will be forgotten once WrestleMania happens.”
