Smackdown Women’s champion Charlotte Flair recently penned her own article for The Players’ Tribune (https://www.theplayerstribune.com/) where she pens a letter to her father, the legendary Ric Flair. In it she covers many topics:
On her first joining the WWE:
“I remember that first drive to Tampa. Nine hours in my Honda trying to convince myself I was making the right decision. It all happened so fast — I really had no idea what to expect when I signed a developmental contract with WWE. I certainly didn’t consider myself a WWE Superstar at that point. I had always just been your daughter. I was your biggest fan, but I never had dreams of having your life. That was your life … and that was Reid’s dream. Then, over dinner at WrestleMania 28 one night in Miami, Reid convinced me to follow his dream with him. I didn’t have to ask for your approval — because I already knew exactly how you’d respond. I knew you wouldn’t second-guess me. As soon as I reported to NXT, though, I started second-guessing myself every step of the way. ‘You’re not going to get any handouts for being Ric Flair’s kid,’ everyone kept saying before I got to Florida. But the last thing I wanted was to be carried anywhere because of my name. You know I’ve never once regretted being ‘Ric Flair’s daughter.’ But when you’re in a gym full of your peers … and you realize that some of them have spent their entire lives working for an opportunity to stand in that ring? Well, it doesn’t help if they think you’re only there because of your dad’s legacy.”
On winning her first Title:
“I remember sitting beside you at the first NXT pay-per-view. It was the first time since Reid had passed that you and I sat in the crowd together. We watched an incredible women’s match and I remember when the camera turned to us, you were holding back tears. We still hadn’t gotten over what happened, but for a moment we realized that WWE was reuniting our family. It was also the moment I realized I never wanted to be sidelined. We both had no idea how much the landscape for women in WWE was about to change, but I was determined from that moment to be the best. The Four Horsewomen were about to be born. A name only granted by a Flair. It wasn’t going to happen overnight — but the locker room began to feel a certain energy. We all wanted to push ourselves, and bring out the best in each other. We worked hard, and then we worked harder. And after a while, people really started to notice the women’s division. We started to steal the show in NXT and became the main event. A few months later, I faced Natalya at my first-ever NXT pay-per-view. We were both absolutely determined to raise the bar — to show the world what this generation of WWE women
On the relationship with her father:
“‘Know who you are when you go to bed at night.’
I think about you saying that every day when I’m on the road. You knew your whole life that you were Ric Flair. That you were the Nature Boy. That you were the limousine-riding, jet-flying so-and-so who would go on to become a 16-time world champion — the only person to enter the WWE Hall of Fame on two separate occasions. Who even now, at the tender age of 68, would rather be standing in a ring than anywhere else on the planet. You knew. But I never knew — not like you did. I was never quite as confident when I started out … and I was never totally sure, in those first few years, that I was doing the right thing. But no matter what, you were always there to support me. And everywhere we went, I mean everywhere we went — you would always tell people how proud you were that I was your daughter. It hasn’t always been so easy for the two of us, of course. And at times, the truth is, it’s been very hard. But I’ll always be grateful for how you’ve been there for me, whenever I’ve really needed you. And I hope you know that your love and support has gone a long way toward making me the woman I am today. As far as my career goes, if you’ve taught me anything, it’s that I’ve barely scratched the surface of what it could be. It’s still early in WWE’s Women’s Evolution — and I mean that in the best way possible. There’s still a lot of work to do. And there’s still a lot of history to make. And I plan on being the one to make it. I just hope that, when all is said and done, they say the same thing about me that they say about you: Nobody could have done it better. Thank you for everything, Dad. I love you as big as the sky.”
The Full Article, penned by Charlotte herself, can be found