Whatever you think of Charlotte Flair’s talent, or skill, or ability, or even her actual work in the ring, we need wrestlers like her. You can hate her all you want — and that’s a good thing, in many ways — and you can hate the nature of the game all you want but we absolutely need folks in pro wrestling who aren’t afraid to adopt a kind of grandiose personality to put themselves above everyone else. She doesn’t just think she’s the best, she believes it with every fiber of her being and she is not afraid to effectively communicate that to everyone around her.
She’s also not afraid to be combative in her quest to maintain that position. We can argue at length about the manner in which one should go about this but the reality is there is no right or wrong answer here. It’s in the doing of the thing itself that reveals the character trait you must posses to actually be successful in a business like this. You don’t get to the top, and stay there, by being nice and giving to everyone all the time.
Plus, she gets to lean into this and create an even more compelling on screen character. The way she slid into the picture on Friday Night SmackDown this week to respond to Toni Storm was positively delightful! She’s so condescending in every way, like she genuinely regards herself as the light and everyone around her as cockroaches scattering about to escape from it. They are a nuisance to be squashed and forgotten about.
Look how annoyed she is that Storm is even mentioning her name, like there aren’t levels to this, like Flair isn’t a distant speck for how far away she is in comparison. You get a sense of that in her body language alone.
This, dear reader, is what I want out of my pro wrestling — to believe in those I’m watching engage in it. And, perhaps more importantly, to believe that they believe.
Here are all the videos from SmackDown this week:
- The Bloodline makes King Woods watch as they destroy his crown
- Ricochet, Cesaro, Sheamus, and Mahal battle to be added to Survivor Series
- Sheamus and Ridge Holland celebrate victory
- Relive Charlotte Flair’s rivalry with Becky Lynch
- Naomi & Aliyah vs. Shayna Baszler & Natalya
- Jeff Hardy vs. Madcap Moss
- Sonya Deville takes care of business backstage
- The story of how “the Protector” Xia Li came to be on SmackDown
- Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Angel
- Sasha Banks vs. Shotzi
- Charlotte Flair agrees to give Toni Storm a match
- King Woods & Big E ambush Roman Reigns and The Bloodline
- Baszler & Natalya can win Survivor Series by themselves
- Drew McIntyre and Jeff Hardy will be ready for Survivor Series
- Cesaro will bring Sheamus & Ridge Holland to a dark place
Loading comments...