Charlotte Flair Addresses the Haters Ahead of WrestleMania 38 Match vs. Rousey

Love her or loathe her, Charlotte Flair is constantly the center of conversation within the WWE Universe, and that has been especially true en route to WrestleMania 38.

She cemented her spot on the card early by accepting Ronda Rousey's SmackDown Women's Championship challenge in early February. The two have been at odds ever since and are expected to headline Night 1 of WrestleMania on April 2 after the former MMA star won the women's Royal Rumble match.

For Flair, this bout will be all about righting a wrong from Survivor Series 2018 when they originally went one-on-one. Although she was deemed the winner that night by disqualification, the second-generation star hasn't truly been able to exact her revenge on Rousey until now.

WrestleMania is where The Queen tends to shine her brightest and emerge victorious when fans least expect it. When she steps foot onto The Grandest Stage of Them All next weekend, she intends to prove all of her critics wrong once again.

Flair has dealt with more backlash from fans than arguably anyone else on the WWE roster. In fact, she may well have to wait until after her career is over for the audience to recognize her greatness.

The SmackDown women's champion caught up with Bleacher Report to discuss her detractors, headlining WrestleMania with Rousey, her latest title reign and more. Check out the complete audio of the interview on the next slide and read on for the highlights.

What It Means to Main-Event WrestleMania Again

Of course, Flair is no stranger to the WrestleMania main event.

She, Rousey and Becky Lynch made history in 2019 when they became the first women to headline The Show of Shows. Their Triple Threat match was heavily hyped and had high stakes with both the Raw and SmackDown women's titles being up for grabs.

Her upcoming clash with Rousey means more than most of her 'Mania matches because of the circumstances surrounding it. Not only was AT&T Stadium where she became the inaugural WWE women's champion in her 'Mania debut, but she was also forced to miss last year's installment due to it not working out creatively.

She's experiencing every emotion imaginable heading into WrestleMania 38 and feels her career has come full circle.

"I remember back in 2015, half-joking, half-serious calling out Ronda at the time, and now we're main-eventing," Flair said. "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."

Flair has often said she is far from the underdog in her match with The Baddest Woman on the Planet. She's been the one serving as the measuring stick for success in the WWE women's division in Rousey's absence, and she has a lot less to lose despite walking in as champion.

"I'm the mountain Ronda has to climb," she said. "Like you said, I've had multiple 'Mania matches before and it's not... this is Ronda's moment to make a name. This is my moment to go out and steal the show and show there's only one Charlotte Flair in WWE. There's only one Queen.

"For me, I just go back to Survivor Series and I keep replaying it and that was only a taste of what we can do. To bring that back to 'Mania is more what I'm focused on."

Rekindling Her Rivalry with Ronda Rousey

When Rousey initially arrived in WWE four years ago, a match with Flair felt inevitable. In fact, fans were already predicting at that point that they'd headline WrestleMania the following year because of the sheer star power involved.

It technically worked out that way, but Becky Lynch becoming as hot of a commodity as she did caused the contest to be changed to a Triple Threat. Thus, the only time we saw Flair and Rousey square off one-on-one was at Survivor Series 2018 in an encounter that came together on a whim due to The Man getting hurt prior to the pay-per-view.

They had an excellent match that evening, but Rousey's frustrations boiled over and led to her intentionally getting disqualified. The constant kendo-stick shots afterward left The Queen wanting payback, making this the big-money fight she's wanted more than any other.

"I don't want to say my moments with Asuka, Sasha [Banks], Becky [Lynch] 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," Flair said. "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."

The confidence she's gained since her last battle with Rousey will give her the distinct advantage at WrestleMania and makes her feel like she's firing on all cylinders.

"Not that I didn't have that confidence at Survivor Series [2018] because I did, but there's nothing I haven't done," Flair said. "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."

Why Having Rousey Around Is a Positive

There has long been a stigma surrounding part-timers and outsiders coming into WWE and taking spots away from full-time performers.

What isn't discussed enough, though, is how a lot of these part-timers bring more eyes to the product, and Rousey is chief among them. The success she had in the MMA world made her an instantly recognizable name in WWE and has helped take the division to a new level.

Flair shares a similar mindset on her rival and recognizes that her being a legitimate fan of the business speaks volumes about what Flair and the rest of the women's division had achieved before her arrival.

"I think what people don't realize is that she wanted to come here," The Queen said. "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."

She related Rousey's role in WWE to the stars of Total Divas in that they all attracted new fans. The SmackDown women's champion is in full favor of the company using celebrities so long as it benefits the product.

"Sometimes people get critical of outside talent coming in, but she wants to be a part of what we've done here," Flair said. "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."

An Honest Analysis of Her Latest Championship Reign

Flair secured her first taste of WWE gold in 2014 when she won the NXT Women's Championship, and she's since gone on to become a 13-time world champion.

Her current reign kicked off in October when she traded the Raw Women's Championship for Lynch's SmackDown title, though she hasn't had many defenses in the past five months.

That's been a common criticism of most of her title runs in recent years from fans, and it's been especially noticeable during this latest reign. Although she's had some memorable matches with Becky Lynch, Naomi and Toni Storm, she believes she could have done more.

"For me, I think I would've liked to have more title defenses on pay-per-views, but under certain circumstances... It was cool being champion going into the Royal Rumble because that's never happened before [with the women]," Flair said.

"Having that match with Naomi, I've been waiting for that match for five years now and we were finally able to have it on SmackDown last month. I thought that was incredible. It's so cliche, but that was only a taste of what we can do. It was only one match. That was special for me. With Survivor Series [vs. Lynch], all I can say is that number one doesn't talk about number two, but it was fun to revisit that bitter best friend [storyline]."

She also specifically singled out her bout with Rhea Ripley from Money in the Bank 2021, though that came during her time as Raw women's champion.

"It's one of my top favorite matches," Flair said. "I took an uninterested crowd and by the end, I had them chanting 'This is awesome.' Rhea is the future of the women's division, I tell her all the time. I have so much respect for her, and I know our paths will cross again."

Despite the highlights she's had as champ, Flair feels all of what she's accomplished will be an afterthought once WrestleMania has come and gone, regardless of the outcome of her encounter with Rousey.

"I think whatever I've done throughout this entire run will be forgotten about after WrestleMania," she said. "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."

Addressing Her Haters and Criticism of Her Character

For as popular of a performer as she is, Flair is also among the most polarizing in WWE today. That's largely due to her long list of accolades and fans feeling she's been overpushed for the past few years.

While certain storylines haven't been the best, there can be no denying the star that The Queen is and the many remarkable matches she's had in the last decade. She's continually made the most of every opportunity and risen to the occasion every time but catches flack for the company because of how overexposed she's been.

Rarely taking time off is an incredibly impressive feat, but it's almost worked against her to an extent with the way she's been booked. Some of her title reigns have been more pointless than others, but it wasn't until recently that she finally had her first real run since her original reign as SmackDown women's champion in 2017 and 2018.

"I have been on top since 2015, whether I've been holding the title or not," Flair said. "People don't realize how much pressure and hard work and dedication and I've never been about for a lengthy time. I've never had a major injury and to be able to stay on top like that is a tremendous amount of work in our industry. Instead of looking at it as a positive, like 'Wow, what a consistent performer, what a hard-worker,' it's just, 'Ugh, she's always in the title picture, she always has the title.'"

She went on to emphasize how many women she's elevated while champion over the years and that being an exceptional athlete is part of the reason why she has so many detractors. At WrestleMania 38, she aims to thrive off their negativity and give them a reason to dislike her by beating Rousey to retain her title.

"There's a lot of title runs I'm not proud of just because I didn't do anything with it, but when you look at it, it's multiple feuds with multiple women that I dropped the title to," Flair said. "One of my favorite matches of all time was a main event on Raw where I dropped the title to Bayley in 2017. With where I'm at today, it's not that they don't like the good, they just don't like the best. There's a quote I look at, that's not exactly it. But I must be doing something right to always be talked about: good, bad or indifferent.

"I don't think the same criticism always goes toward men being in the title picture. In this business, you want to be the champion. It's not like you wake up and say, 'Today, I don't want to be the champion.' No, you should always want to be the champion. That means you're the hardest worker in the room when you're holding that title. Yes, I don't understand the criticism sometimes, but at the same time, my haters make me that much better."

Catch Charlotte Flair vs. Ronda Rousey on Night 1 of WrestleMania 38 on April 2 live on Peacock, WWE Network and pay-per-view at 8/7c.

Graham Mirmina, aka Graham "GSM" Matthews, has specialized in sports and entertainment writing since 2010. Visit his website, WrestleRant, and subscribe to his YouTube channel for more wrestling-related content.