Before I officially get started here, I just want to point out that I have nothing against Charlotte Flair. In fact, I think she's great! However, right now is simply not her time to be the focus of the women's division regarding WrestleMania. First things first, the original idea, at least before Survivor Series, was for Ronda Rousey vs. Charlotte Flair to take place at this year's WrestleMania, even with Becky Lynch's ever growing popularity. Due to Becky's injury, she chose Charlotte to fight Ronda in her place at Survivor Series. Since the match had already taken place at this point, I felt they were going to move in the direction of Becky getting the spotlight. Despite losing the Smackdown Women's Title to Asuka at TLC and failing to regain it at the Royal Rumble, Becky won the women's Rumble and chose to take on Ronda at WrestleMania. Before SummerSlam last year, I think the WrestleMania plan was Ronda vs. Charlotte and they added Becky into the equation with talks of a Triple Threat match, which is what I think we'll see.
After the Rumble, I figured it was all said and done. Becky Lynch has become one of the most polarizing superstars in a long time and her intense rivalry with Ronda Rousey was just about to heat up even more. As of Raw, Becky's "suspension" was back on at the behest of Mr. McMahon, stating she would be out for WrestleMania with Charlotte as her replacement. It seems they may do some kind of "Daniel Bryan" routine to get Becky back in and make it a Triple Threat. I'd also like to point out that this is not the end of the world for me, and if it's happening, no one deserves to be added more than Charlotte, especially if the match is to main event WrestleMania this year. I just feel like it wasn't necessary at this juncture.
For one thing, Charlotte has had multiple moments of her own, such as winning the Raw Women's Championship at WrestleMania XXXII and ending Asuka's undefeated streak last year, among being part of many first-evers. I think she can afford to sit this one out. Not only that, she was the only credible threat left for Asuka this year and now Asuka, the Smackdown Women's Champion, is an afterthought. She's not even wrestling at tomorrow night's Elimination Chamber PPV, nor are they hinting at a possible opponent for WrestleMania. With that being said, this leads to something I've stated numerous times. They seem to only focus on one Championship, even though there are two and they claim both are equal. I understand that Asuka's match, no matter the opponent, would still be of lesser importance than Ronda vs. Becky and/or Charlotte. However, it would have been a great story for Asuka to avenge her loss to Charlotte last year at this year's WrestleMania, with it just slightly less important than Ronda/Becky. WWE can never seem to focus on more than one women's division program at a time, and when they do, it's only because there are two singles Women's Championships. With the Women's Tag Team Titles being brought back and their rotating nature, it seems redundant to have two singles Titles. Rumors state that the brand split could be coming to an end, which I would be all for. However, I'm getting slightly off topic.
I personally wouldn't have had Becky against Asuka at the Royal Rumble, especially her tapping out. I generally dislike when wrestlers in Championship matches get into the Rumble itself. I would have gone with Charlotte getting her one on one rematch with Ronda, with possible interference from the MMA Horsewomen. However, since Becky was in the match, having her tap out, which made Asuka look good, was not the right call. She should have passed out instead, similar to the way the Shayna Baszler/Bianca Belair match at Takeover: Phoenix ended. That way, Asuka still looks dominant but Becky remains strong as well. I also found the entire way they ran Becky's storyline in the Rumble to be unnecessary, as sometimes being predictable is just fine. I would have had Becky straight up be in the Rumble to begin with, and then winning it, as opposed to taking Lana's place when Lana couldn't compete. Becky on her own was enough and we didn't have to go the underdog Daniel Bryan story, nor the anti-authority Stone Cold story. I also have a feeling that Charlotte was added so she can take the pin so Ronda doesn't have to.
Again, I enjoy Charlotte Flair's work, but I just don't feel she needed to be added to the Ronda/Becky situation, even though she has a gripe with both women. Also, I happen to think that Becky is the better all around performer. I'm not a Becky bandwagoner! I've been with her since day one and always liked her the best out of the NXT Horsewomen. I think she's more crisp in ring than Charlotte and better on the mic, especially since SummerSlam. Charlotte's moonsaults are sloppy and she's still somewhat robotic on the mic. Charlotte and those ridiculous sandbags she calls tits can sit this one out. She'll get many more moments in the coming years, and well deserved. However, this should really be Becky's moment in the spotlight. At the end of the day, I'm totally content with Charlotte's addition but I still feel she wasn't needed. Becky's popularity, along with Ronda's star power, is more than enough for the first women's main event in WrestleMania history. Again, this is all just my opinion but it's nothing to lose sleep over.
P.S. - With all that being said, however, the way they are now presenting Charlotte in this heel form, is fantastic!
If you have any further thoughts on this topic, let me know in comments. Heck, let us all know on The WAR Report podcast, every Tuesday at 7PM EST on YouTube, brought to you by tagmeadate.com, the first and only dating site for wrestling fans. Go to askthewarreport@gmail.com or #askthewarreport. For TagMeADate members, our Android and Apple apps are vastly approaching so stay tuned!
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