Charlotte Flair made a surprise appearance at NXT TakeOver: Portland, attacking Rhea Ripley aftyer she successfully defended her NXT Women’s championship against Bianca Belair. Flair said she thought about it and she will see Ripley at WrestleMania 36.
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Charlotte also attacked Bianca Belair as she exited the ring.
Former NXT star Charlotte Flair returned to the brand on Wednesday night and learned there’s more unity on the roster than she remembered.
As you’ll recall, Ripley showed up on Raw this week as Charlotte was announcing who she’d wrestle against at WrestleMania due to her Royal Rumble victory. Rhea then dared Flair to challenge for her NXT Championship.
Last night on NXT, Bianca Belair was in the ring talking about what happened with Flair/Rhea this week when “The Queen” interrupted the promo.
Flair then made her way to the ring and received a “welcome home” chant from the crowd.
Charlotte pointed out how Rhea seems to have overlooked Bianca before their TakeOver: Portland match, but Ripley cut her off by making her entrance. The three women then had a war of words that ended with Rhea telling Charlotte “we are NXT,” then taking her down with Bianca Belair.
The rumored match between Rhea Ripley and Charlotte Flair for the NXT title at WrestleMania 36 seems to be happening, as seen last night on WWE RAW.
Charlotte was teased as choosing her WrestleMania opponent throughout the show. While announcing her decision, Flair was interrupted by Rhea Ripley.
Ripley reiterated how Flair has already beaten Raw Women’s Champion Becky Lynch and SmackDown Women’s Champion Bayley, but not her.
Rhea then challenged Flair to a match at WM36. Charlotte did not immediately accept, however, and instead walked to the back. When she got to the top of the ramp, Flair looked back at Rhea to “Woo!”
It was later announced on the show that Charlotte will appear Wednesday on NXT to answer Ripley’s challenge.
It’s official! Trish Stratus vs. Charlotte Flair at WWE SummerSlam.
Stratus was a guest on “The King’s Court” this week during SmackDown Live in Memphis and the interview with Jerry Lawler was interrupted by Flair.
Charlotte then bragged about being “The Queen of All Eras” and challenged Trish to a match.
When Stratus didn’t immediately respond, Flair angrily stated: “I expected more out of the 7-time Women’s Champion! But I know what it is … the WWE has evolved and we’re no longer models shaking their assets, we are women changing the industry. Trailblazers like me. I expected more fire out of you.”
Trish retorted by shouting out some former WWE women stars like Lita, Ivory and Beth Phoenix, then said “to be the woman, you have to beat the woman,” and accepted the challenge.
WWE Hall of Famer Trish Stratus is currently in talks to wrestle a singles match at the WWE SummerSlam pay-per-view, according to Pro Wrestling Sheet.
There’s no word yet on who Stratus will be wrestling, but it looks like she could be going up against Charlotte Flair. Tonight’s SmackDown featured Flair ranting about being left off the SummerSlam card. Flair demanded to be put on the card, and said she will prove why she’s the greatest female Superstar of all-time. She also said her opponent will be better than Ember Moon, a reference to Moon vs. SmackDown Women’s Champion Bayley at SummerSlam.
Flair also took to Twitter after SmackDown and wrote, “Queen of all of ERAS of Women’s Wrestling #SummerSlam”
SummerSlam takes place on August 11 from Trish’s hometown of Toronto, Ontario, Canada at the Scotiabank Arena.
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UPDATE:
In an update, John Pollock reports that multiple sources have confirmed Stratus vs. Flair as the current plan for SummerSlam.
There’s no word yet on when Stratus will return to WWE TV to promote the match. This will be her first match since October 2018, when she teamed with WWE Hall of Famer Lita to defeat Mickie James and Alicia Fox at Evolution, then worked a ten-woman tag team match on RAW the next night.
Source: Wrestling Inc.
The final WWE RAW episode before WrestleMania 35 was mainly used to promote the Triple Threat “Winner Takes All” main event with Becky Lynch, RAW Women’s Champion Ronda Rousey and SmackDown Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair.
The segment that ended with Lynch, Flair and Rousey getting arrested by Washington, DC police was a collaborative effort with many different people giving creative input, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
Vince McMahon obviously had ideas for the angle, as did all three of the women involved. Others who helped book the segment were Paul Heyman, Kevin Dunn and Marty Miller. It’s no secret that Heyman has been working closely behind-the-scenes with Rousey and the creative for her Road to WrestleMania 35 storyline. Miller is a longtime WWE camera operator and director, who also worked for the XFL. His Twitter bio says he is the director of TV for WWE NXT, RAW, SmackDown and Tough Enough.
The backstage part of the segment with the police cars was taped before RAW hit the air and edited. The Observer noted that you could see some of the camera cuts if you looked closely. Above is a SmackDown video package that recapped the arrest angle.
On a related note, the unmarked and DC police cars were brought to Baltimore, MD for SmackDown the next day on a flatbed truck. The one car was used for the quick scene that saw Lynch get dropped off at the arena, sirens blaring, but that’s all they were used for.
Source: Wrestling Inc.
Last night on RAW, Stephanie McMahon announced that the first-ever WrestleMania women’s main event triple threat match will now be Winner Takes All with both the RAW Women’s Championship and SmackDown Women’s Championship on the line. RAW women’s Champion Ronda Rousey vs. Becky Lynch vs. SmackDown Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair.
Stephanie said, “That’s right, one woman will bring home all the gold the grandest stage of them all. Because this Sunday at WrestleMania, three of the WWE’s greatest athletes will step foot in that ring. They will put their bodies on the line and leave their hearts and souls on the mat because this Sunday at WrestleMania, it’s WINNER. TAKES. ALL.”
Last night on RAW, Becky, Ronda and Charlotte had to team up against The Riott Squad with the stipulation that if one of them betrays the others in the match they would be removed from the WrestleMania main event match. Ronda picked up the win for them by submitting Liv Morgan with an armbar. As soon as bell rang, a huge brawl broke out. Police officers came out to the ring to stop Ronda, Becky and Charlotte, but the three wasn’t willing to stop. The three ended up fighting with the officers resulting in all three of them being arrested. Evan after being handcuffed they keept on fighting each other and the officers. They were placed into police cars with Ronda and Becky placed in the same car. They fought and kicked out the window. Becky was pulled out of one car but then she brawled with Charlotte, their hands still cuffed behind their backs. Ronda manages to get behind the wheel of one of the squad cars. She drove it into the back of another car. The police finally calmed things down somewhat as two cars are driven away with the sirens on, Ronda in back of one and Becky in the back of another. Charlotte was still resisting as they all watch the police drive away with Ronda and Becky in separate cars.
WWE announced a storyline update on Becky, Ronda and Charlotte:
Ronda Rousey, Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair released from custody
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Raw Women’s Champion Ronda Rousey, SmackDown Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair and Becky Lynch have all been released from police custody of their own recognizance and will appear in court at a later date.
Stay with WWE’s digital platforms as this story develops.
On this week’s SmackDown, Charlotte defeated Asuka to become the new SmackDown Women’s Champion, adding a new wrinkle to the upcoming triple threat match at WrestleMania 35 involving Becky Lynch and WWE RAW Women’s Champion Ronda Rousey. Shortly after her win, WWE initially confirmed the triple threat match would still be only for the RAW title, but that could be changing.
On this morning’s Wrestler Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer reported the match could have a “Winner Take All” or “All On The Line” stipulation added to it, hearing two different names for the stipulation.
The basic idea would be if anyone pins another champion, they would become champion. If Lynch pinned either Rousey or Charlotte, she would become that brand’s champion. If Charlotte or Rousey pinned one another, they would become a dual champion.
The report pointed out things could easily change from today’s plan, and if anything is announced it would mostly likely be on Monday’s RAW.
Source: Wrestling Inc.
On Tuesday night’s SmackDown Live, Charlotte Flair faced Asuka for the SmackDown Women’s Championship. It was a rematch of their WrestleMania 34 encounter, and Charlotte once again beat her, winning the title in the process.
Flair is now an eight-time champion. Originally, plans were for Ronda Rousey to defend the RAW Women’s Championship against Charlotte and Becky Lynch in the main event of WrestleMania 35. Now there are two champions in the match.
According to Dave Meltzer on the latest edition of Wrestling Observer Radio, Charlotte winning the Smackdown Womens’ Championship wasn’t planned until the day of SmackDown Live.
The idea of Charlotte going into WrestleMania with a title has been talked about for a while, but the trigger was pulled last night.
All four scorned competitors took to Twitter afterward to vent their frustrations.
“I’m a very very patient person with a long fuse, but let me tell you when it blows, you won’t want to be the one in my way,” Sonya wrote. While her current frenemy Mandy claimed that WWE brass was “Putting all the equity in the wrong blonde.”
Carmella simply tweeted a expressionless emoji, followed by “Push through,” and Naomi just shared the word “Welp.”
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Charlotte Flair defeated Asuka for the SmackDown Women’s Championship with less than two weeks until WrestleMania 35 where she will compete for the RAW Women’s Championship against Becky Lynch and RAW Women’s Champion Ronda Rousey in the Main Event.
Charlotte is now a 8-time champ.
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