God save The Queen: Return the crown to Charlotte Flair

Now that WWE has revamped the Raw Women’s title as the WWE Women’s Championship, the next move should see Champ Asuka duking it out with SmackDown Women’s title holder Rhea Ripley to unify the titles into one crown.

And that crown should then rightly go to the most magnificent female performer of all time, The Queen, Charlotte Flair.

Now, I’m willing to bet that every Charlotte Flair denier is heading straight to the comments section to do what they do best: reject the respect due to the second-generation phenom.

And while I welcome the feedback, as your Noble Scribe, I will simply outline a case for Charlotte’s place in history in the only way I know how: with facts.

But first, let me begin by dismissing the notion that Charlotte Flair is where she is today simply because of her legendary father, Ric Flair.

Yes, it helps that her dad is a cultural icon and sixteen-time world champion. It’s also a bonus that one of the driving forces behind WWE’s creative team, Triple H, is a man who idolized Flair. But Charlotte’s lineage is as much a curse as a blessing.

While expected to carry the immense weight of her father’s legacy in a male-dominated industry, the former standout high school and college athlete had the additional task of reviving women’s wrestling in WWE, something most of its fan base grew to view as a bathroom break.

Because of her pedigree and WWE’s penchant for marketing and branding, Flair was given a push to the moon in NXT and on the main roster, and rightfully so because the name Flair draws money and eyeballs. And while some may not enjoy her presentation, there’s no denying that when handed the ball, Flair reached the endzone more often than not.

Now for those who live by star ratings, peep this. Charlotte has more matches rated four stars or better by the Wrestling Observer than any woman in WWE history (nineteen, to be precise).

Predictably, Japanese wrestling fans will quickly point out how Flair’s nowhere close to Manami Toyota, who had close to sixty matches rated four stars or higher by the Observer. And while that’s an impressive feat for Toyota, I’m sure many readers are going, “Who?”

And to that, I say, “Exactly.”

Flair is not just a wrestler; she’s the face of a global brand. As such, The Queen must perform at an equally high level outside the ring, making countless media and charitable events regularly. That added workload makes what she does as a wrestler more impressive.

“Yeah, but she’s not as good as Becky Lynch, Sasha Banks (now Mercedes Moné), or Bayley.”

Ah, yes, the three women who came up with Charlotte through WWE’s developmental system who lovingly dubbed themselves the Four Horsewomen.

Well, just as there would be no Four Horsemen without Ric Flair, there wouldn’t be a Four Horsewomen without Charlotte.

If it wasn’t for her Royal Highness, Bayley might still be yucking it up with inflatable tube men while Lynch cracks corny puns on Twitter.

Instead, a then newly-minted heel Bayley got over after defeating Charlotte for the SmackDown title in 2019. As for Lynch, she doesn’t become The Man by feuding with Nia Jax. Her moniker is ripped straight from Pappa Flair, which was a direct shot at her fiercest rival, Charlotte.

As for Banks/Moné, who was arguably as marketable as Flair and equally talented in the ring, I can’t speak for why WWE didn’t do more to spotlight her. I believe WWE made the safe bet in pushing someone whose last name was immediately recognizable, thus making Charlotte easier to promote.

And that brings me to my final point: Charlotte Flair becoming the first woman to main event WrestleMania.

I know that’s a sore spot for some. At the time, even I was put off by how WWE shoehorned Flair into the rivalry between Ronda Rousey and the upstart Becky Lynch. But in retrospect, it was the fans shoehorning Lynch into Charlotte’s role, as based on WWE’s trajectory, the money match was Rousey, the former UFC Champion and attraction, against the legend of Charlotte Flair.

But rather than go through another Daniel Bryan-like struggle with its audience, WWE acquiesced, adding Lynch to the match and ultimately putting her over Rousey and Flair in the first women’s main event in WrestleMania history.

Since then, Flair has given the rub to a couple of rising fan favorites, such as IYO SKY in SKY’S headlining debut at 2020’s NXT TakeOver: In Your House. Most notably, Flair has been instrumental in elevating WWE’s latest creation, the incredible Rhea Ripley, after two epic encounters at WrestleMania, one of which was one of the few bright spots of an event brought to its knees by COVID in 2020.

And that’s without mentioning Flair’s multiple Raw and SmackDown Championships, her two NXT title runs, a stint as Divas champ, or her 2020 Royal Rumble victory.

Therefore, now that The Queen, the most preeminent female wrestler to ever live, has returned to her kingdom, it is only fitting that WWE restores her to her throne.