Charlotte Flair Reflects On How Far Women Have Come In 'Boys Club' WWE Ahead Of WrestleMania

WWE Universe, rejoice: WrestleMania weekend is finally here! It feels like only yesterday when the Road to WrestleMania started back in January with the Royal Rumble, but time flies, and we’ve arrived at our destination.

Your favorite WWE Superstars arrived in Los Angeles earlier this week with one goal: To show off their skills on the Grandest Stage of Them All.

Charlotte Flair: 'Once You're the Queen, You're Always the Queen'

One of the best parts of WrestleMania weekend is that many Superstars make themselves more available than usual for interviews — we took advantage of this opportunity to speak to some of our favorite competitors. Yesterday, USA Insider's Tara Bennett caught up with Charlotte Flair at an official WWE press event. Of course, anybody plugged into the latest happenings on WWE television knows that Charlotte is laser-focused on her title match against Rhea Ripley on Saturday.

Charlotte starkly contrasts Rhea, who has evolved in recent years. After all, the current-day iteration of Rhea Ripley bears little to no resemblance to the woman who debuted in the Mae Young Classic in 2017. So we asked Charlotte a simple question: Does she feel the pressure to evolve — if anything, to avoid becoming “stale?”

“If it ain’t not broke, don’t fix it,” Charlotte told us matter-of-factly. “No one was bored when the Undertaker kept coming back, right? I feel like the class that I bring to the industry as a whole, like, why would I change what I represent in terms of character? I mean, it’s hard not to all blend in, and I feel like regardless of whether I’m wearing a black robe, purple robe, or no robe, you want to have that aura and that look. I don’t think I overlook that part — once you’re the Queen, you’re always the Queen.”

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However, Charlotte did leave the door open for tweaking her on-screen persona in the future.

“Maybe I’ll be the Mad Queen,” she said slyly.

WrestleMania Goes Hollywood marks her seventh WrestleMania. Charlotte revealed that despite knowing how to navigate the stress of the busy weekend after all these years, she still feels plenty of pressure ahead of the event.

“I think it’s easier to navigate all the demands that come with the week because I’ve done it so many times,” she said. “But still, I think the pressure kind of naturally builds up because you have to outdo yourself every year and this is my seventh WrestleMania — and at every one, I think I’ve either been the champion or the challenger. But it’s a good pressure. That’s what makes me tick, you know?”

While there’s no doubt that the pressure for both Superstars will be nearly unbearable during the SmackDown Women’s title match, we don’t know who will feel it more: the champion or the challenger.

The Queen's Court: Women in WWE

Our conversation with the Queen shifted gears, and we discussed how vital Charlotte has been to the ongoing women’s revolution in WWE. Charlotte revealed that although she’s happy with the progress she and the rest of the women’s roster have made thus far, there’s still a long way to go.

“I always think it’s always going to be a battle in an all-boys club no matter how far we’ve come,” she confessed. “So I think for me, it’s just keeping that edge, staying sharp, and paving the way into the unknown — whatever that looks like for women in our industry.”

She’s not wrong. Even though vast inroads have been made towards putting WWE women on equal footing as their male counterparts, Charlotte is aware that the fight continues. So, for now, the 14-time champion seems content to humbly set the standard in the women’s division — and lead by example.

Photo: WWE

We had to ask Charlotte about the future of the women’s division, namely, her thoughts on the next generation of WWE Superstars that will be looking to usurp Charlotte and her contemporaries in the upcoming years. Charlotte doesn’t have one woman in her sights, however. As it turns out, she has learned to appreciate everyone making their way up the WWE ranks.

“I think for everyone I have an appreciation for because I know what it takes and I know how hard it is,” she said. “It doesn’t matter if you’re at the top of the card or the bottom of the card, you’re on the road, you’re making the shows, you’re taking the bumps, I know how hard that is. So whether you’ve done everything or you’ve done nothing, we all go through it. So I have respect for everyone who wants to try this.”

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While our conversation didn’t shed any new light on the SmackDown Women’s Championship match that hasn’t been already covered endlessly, we know better than to bet against Charlotte in a WrestleMania match. Although Rhea Ripley has all the momentum in the world, Mami has the most formidable challenge of her career ahead of her. Dethroning the Queen has never been an easy task, after all.

Regardless of the outcome, the WWE Universe will undoubtedly be treated to an absolute classic of a match.

And once the dust from WrestleMania settles, we may finally see the Mad Queen make her presence known.

Catch up on all things WWE Universe on Peacock. You can watch WrestleMania on Peacock this Saturday and Sunday, April 1-2.