WWE's WrestleMania 41 Feud Teetering on Going off the Rails
Charlotte Flair vs. Tiffany Stratton for the WWE Women's Championship is a WrestleMania 41 feud that has gone from inexplicably dull to wonderfully chaotic over the last two months.
On the surface, this storyline writes itself because it was already a dream matchup for Stratton. After all, she told the Stick To Wrestling podcast that The Queen had inspired her to become a pro wrestler.
When Flair chose Stratton as her WrestleMania opponent during the Feb. 14 episode of SmackDown, it should have kicked off a plot chronicling an acrimonious veteran eager to prove she's still everything she says she is while a young and hungry rookie stands in the way of her seemingly inevitable 15th world title.
.jpg?w=256 "WWE NXT Live Grades")
However, this feud struggled to connect with viewers early on because of a scatterbrained direction and a few underwhelming interactions. Ironically, the popular saying, "Don’t meet your heroes" felt even more apt when they took part in a side-by-side backstage interview on March 21.
During the exchange, Stratton's inexperience shined through as Flair eviscerated every quip she attempted, leaving many fans to question if she's ready for such a high-profile match.
Imagine our surprise when the 25-year-old came firing back in the controversial segment from last week's edition of SmackDown.
Their contentious and personal war of words in front of the Chicago crowd was uncomfortable, but it was the train wreck this rivalry needed. If nothing else, it has kept us talking for the past week.
The Undeterred Vulnerability of Charlotte Flair
Pro wrestling is often at its best when it successfully blurs the lines between perception and reality. This phenomenon has impeded Flair for most of her career because her ascension as one of the greatest women's wrestlers of her generation always seemed preordained.
No one can deny the gifted athlete has all the tools to justify her position in this era. Still, WWE's steadfast commitment to pushing her instead of fan favorites like Sasha Banks, Asuka and Becky Lynch caused avid viewers to reject her.
In fact, one could argue that Flair never truly recovered after the company's failed attempt to turn Lynch heel at SummerSlam in 2018. It was one of the most baffling decisions in WWE history, setting the tone for the next six years.
The Irish star was more popular than ever; it was her time, but Flair still re-entered the fray and beat Carmella for the SmackDown women's title at the event. David Shoemaker dubbed it "the all-time most Charlotte Flair moment" in his recent defense of the polarizing Superstar for The Ringer.
Shoemaker pointed out that this intended moment of triumph defined her as the office's chosen protagonist despite the audience's wishes. This insistence on positioning her as the hero crystalized their support for Lynch and helped to transform her into one of the most beloved underdogs of the decade.
However, her meteoric rise as The Man practically guaranteed many fans would never buy into Flair as a babyface again. Moreover, it became difficult to empathize with the burden of her legacy and the grief that drives her aspirations to be the best.
After all, she dedicated her career to her late brother, Reid, and vowed to live out his dream of following in her father's footsteps. That admirable gesture should have humanized her, but some of WWE's misguided or contrived creative directions have been so hard to overcome.
As such, the pushback against her second women's Rumble win overshadowed her return amid the most challenging period of her career.
The Queen suffered a serious knee injury and went on a grueling year-long road to recovery while apparently enduring struggles in her personal life.
This contemptuous relationship with some of the most fervent fans colored her latest interaction with Stratton. Flair wasn't merely up against someone who could be the future of the women’s division; she was also battling the prevalent perception of who she is behind the scenes and the preferential treatment she appears to wield.
Tiffany Stratton Seeks To Defy the Odds
Enter Stratton, who rose organically from NXT and quickly garnered attention on the main roster. Many fans are leery because of the similarities to Rhea Ripley's ascent in 2019 before Flair beat her at WrestleMania 36 and halted her momentum.
In fact, that was a result of The Queen's first Royal Rumble win, and it took Ripley some time to recover from that loss. So, it's not hard to understand why some viewers instantly sided with Tiffy and saw Flair's attempt to reclaim her throne as a hindrance to her development.
Consider how some longtime fans still commiserate over her win over Banks at The Showcase of the Immortals in 2016 or how she ended Asuka's streak at the event two years later. We've been conditioned to see her victories on The Grandest Stage of Them All as an inevitability.
That's not just boring; it's deflating when you're attempting to invest in any newcomer she steps in the ring with. Sure, watching her dominate the segment on March 21 was entertaining, but it also emphasized why it's tough to believe Stratton can win.
Their last back-and-forth was awkward and concerning, but it added some much-needed spontaneity to this feud. Flair vs. Stratton seems like it's one step away from teetering off the rails, but that's much more interesting than the formulaic approach WWE started with.
The fans' inability to separate the challenger from the prevailing image of an undeserving nepo-baby will likely follow her for the rest of her career. Nevertheless, that's what makes Flair so much fun to root against, and she has been at her best when she leans into it.
.jpg?w=480 "WWE NXT Live Grades")
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