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Charlotte Flair
Charlotte Flair
Ashley Elizabeth Fliehr[14][15] (born April 5, 1986) is an American professional wrestler and former personal trainer currently signed to WWE, where she performs on the Raw brand under the ring name Charlotte Flair.[6]
A 2nd generation wrestler, she is the daughter of former professional wrestler Ric Flair and the sister of David and Reid Flair.[6][7][8] She signed with WWE in 2012 and debuted in WWE's developmental brand NXT in 2013.[13] In 2014, she became NXT Women's Champion[16] and was named "Rookie of the Year" by Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI).[17]
Following her arrival on the main roster in 2015, she became the final Divas Champion[18] and the inaugural WWE Women's Champion at WrestleMania 32, holding the latter title – which had been renamed Raw Women's Championship after the creation of the SmackDown Women's Championship – on a record four occasions.[19]
Her match against Sasha Banks at Hell in a Cell in October 2016 was the first women's match to headline a WWE pay-per-view event, in addition to being the first women's Hell in a Cell match.[20] Together in 2016, they also main eventedRaw in a singles match in October and November 2016, the first for a women's match since 2004,[21][22] and became the first women to win the PWI award for "Feud of the Year".[23] They also set the new record for a WWE women's match at Roadblock: End of the Line in December 2016 at over 34 minutes.[24] Also in 2016, she was voted by PWI as the "Woman of the Year", while also topping the PWI Female 50 at No. 1.[25]
Early life
Early life
Fliehr was born in Charlotte, North Carolina to Ric Flair and his then-wife Elizabeth.[26] She has an older half-sister, Megan, and an older half-brother, David, while her younger brother Reid died in March 2013.[8] Fliehr holds two NCHSAA 4 A-State championships for volleyball during her time at Providence High School, including being a team captain and player of the year from 2004–2005.[27] She attended Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina before transferring to North Carolina State University, where she graduated with a Bachelor of Science in public relations in Spring 2008, while also being a certified personal trainer prior to becoming a wrestler.[2]
Professional wrestling career
Professional wrestling career
World Championship Wrestling (2000)[edit]
World Championship Wrestling (2000)[edit]
Fliehr made her first appearances in professional wrestling at the age of 13, appearing with her father in World Championship Wrestling (WCW) as Ashley Flair at The Great American Bash on June 11, 2000, where she was at ringside for a retirement match between her father Ric and her brother David. After Vince Russo attempted to interfere in the match on David's behalf, she and her brother Reid attacked him and handcuffed him, enabling their father to go on to defeat their half-brother David.[7] On the following evening's episode of Monday Nitro, David along with Russo faced his father Ric in a handicap match with Flair's family once again at ringside. She attempted to interfere on her father's behalf, but was restrained by R&B Security, Russo's henchmen. His father would be defeated and got his head partially shaved by David and Russo.[9]
WWE[edit]
WWE[edit]
NXT Women's Champion (2012–2015)[edit]
On May 17, 2012, Fliehr signed a developmental contract with WWE and was assigned to NXT, their developmental territory.[28] She adopted the ring name Charlotte, and had her first televised singles match on the July 17, 2013 episode of NXT, where she defeated Bayley.[13]
In late 2013, Charlotte formed a tag team with Bayley, and the two defeated Aksana and Alicia Fox on the September 4 episode of NXT.[29] On the October 10 episode of NXT, Bayley accompanied Charlotte to a match against Santana Garrett, which she won, and during the match, "The BFFs (Beautiful, Fierce Females" (Sasha Banks and Summer Rae) came to the ring and attempted to convince Bayley to join them, to Charlotte's annoyance.[30] However, on the November 13 episode of NXT, Charlotte attacked Bayley and joined the BFFs, establishing herself as a villainess in the process.[31][32]
Flair in April 2014
After a two-month absence due to a legit injury, Charlotte returned on the January 8, 2014, episode of NXT, and began accompanying Rae and Banks to their matches.[33][34][35] In February, Charlotte confronted and challenged NXT Women's ChampionPaige during an interview with Renee Young.[36][37] Following Rae's elevation to WWE's main roster, Charlotte and Banks went on to feud with Bayley, who formed an alliance with Natalya, who defeated Charlotte by disqualification after Banks interfered on the March 27 episode of NXT.[38] The feud between Charlotte and Paige ended on the April 24 episode of NXT, when Charlotte and Banks defeated Emma and Paige, with Charlotte scoring the pinfall over Paige.[39]
In early May, Charlotte competed in the tournament for the vacant NXT Women's Championship, defeating Emma in the first round, Alexa Bliss in the semi–finals,[40] and Natalya in the final at NXT TakeOver on May 29, to win the NXT Women's Championship for the first time.[41] After a four-month absence from the show, Summer Rae returned on the June 6 episode of NXT, distracting Bayley and allowing Charlotte to defeat her, after which the BFFs attempted to attack Bayley, only to be chased away by Emma and the returning Paige.[42] The altercation prompted a six-woman tag team match on the June 12 episode of NXT, which the BFFs lost after Bayley pinned Charlotte.[43] On the July 3 episode of NXT, Charlotte got a measure of retribution over Bayley in a tag team match, where she and Banks defeated Bayley and Becky Lynch, only for Charlotte to leave Banks after the match to get attacked by Bayley, with Banks officially disbanding the BFFs in a backstage segment later that night.[44]
Flair wrestling Sasha Banks during a live event in March 2015
On the July 24 episode of NXT, Charlotte successfully defended the women's championship against Summer Rae.[45]Charlotte then went on to defeat Bayley on at NXT TakeOver: Fatal 4-Way on September 11 to retain the championship, after which she stopped Banks from attacking Bayley afterwards,[46] and after defeating Bayley in a rematch on October 2 episode of NXT, she raised Bayley's arm before they shared a hug and shook hands, thus turning Charlotte back into a fan favorite character.[47] Following this, Charlotte and Bayley feuded with Banks and her partner Becky Lynch throughout the following several weeks.[48] Charlotte made her first appearance on WWE's main roster on the Slammy Awards special episode of Raw on December 8, where she lost to Natalya in a non-title match.[49] Charlotte retained the NXT Women's Championship against Banks at NXT TakeOver: R Evolution on December 11,[50] and in rematches that took place on the December 25[51] and the January 21, 2015 episodes of NXT, respectively.[52] At NXT TakeOver: Rival on February 11, Charlotte dropped the championship to Banks in a fatal four-way match that also involved Bayley and Becky Lynch, ending her reign at 258 days.[53] She failed to regain the championship in a rematch against Banks that took place on the March 4 episode of NXT.[54]
At NXT TakeOver: Unstoppable on May 20, Charlotte teamed up with Bayley to defeat Emma and Dana Brooke.[55] After defeating Emma and Brooke again on the July 8 episode of NXT, this time teaming with her rival Sasha Banks, Charlotte challenged Banks to an NXT Women's Championship match, which Banks accepted.[56] They had their championship match the following week on the July 15 episode of NXT, in which Banks retained the championship, and afterwards the two shared a hug and Banks raised Charlotte's hand as a sign of respect.[57]
Women's Revolution (2015–2016)[edit]
See also: Team PCB
Charlotte made her official debut on the main roster on the July 13 episode of Raw along with Becky Lynch and Sasha Banks, after Stephanie McMahon called for a "revolution" in the WWE Divas division and while Charlotte and Lynch allied with Paige, who was engaged in a rivalry with Team Bella (Alicia Fox and Brie and Nikki Bella), Banks allied with Tamina and Naomi and a brawl between the three teams started.[58] The trio of Charlotte, Lynch and Paige, which was originally dubbed The Submission Sorority, was renamed to Team PCB after the first name initials of each wrestler.[59] In her WWE pay-per-view debut on July 19 at Battleground, Charlotte defeated Banks and Brie Bella in a triple threat match.[60][61][62] The three teams would ultimately face off at SummerSlam in a three team elimination match, which PCB won after Lynch pinned Brie Bella.[63]
Flair is a one-time and final Divas Champion
On the August 31 episode of Raw, Charlotte overcame fellow PCB members' records in the first ever Divas Beat the Clock challenge, and was named the new number one contender to Nikki Bella's Divas Championship.[64] Her title match with Nikki Bella, initially advertised for Night of Champions,[65] took place on the September 14 episode of Raw, so Charlotte could stop her from surpassing AJ Lee's record and becoming the new longest-reigning Divas Champion.[66] Charlotte won the match by disqualification, but not the title, since Brie and Nikki switched places and Charlotte pinned Brie.[67] On September 20 at Night of Champions, Charlotte received a rematch, where she defeated Nikki Bella to win the Divas Championship for the first time.[68] During Charlotte's celebration, the following night on Raw, Paige cut a worked shoot promo and turned on her partners, berating them and the Divas division.[69] Throughout October, Paige appeared to have reconciled with Lynch and Charlotte,[70][71] only to attack them and cementing her disbanding from the team,[72] the night after Charlotte successfully retained her championship against Nikki Bella at Hell in a Cell.[73] Charlotte successfully defended her title against Paige on three different occasions, at Survivor Series on November 22,[74][75][76][77][78] in a rematch the following night on Raw,[79] and at TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs on December 13.[80]
On the November 30 episode of Raw, Charlotte began displaying villainous traits after defeating Becky Lynch by feigning a leg injury, followed by a distraction provided by her father.[81] Throughout December, the relationship between Charlotte and Lynch continued to strain,[82][83][84][85][86] and after losing to her on the January 4, 2016 episode Raw, Charlotte attacked her and solidified her villainous turn in the process [87][88] Charlotte successfully retained the Divas Championship against Lynch with help from her father three days later on SmackDown,[89] and at the Royal Rumble on January 24.[90] On the February 1 episode of Raw, after Charlotte lost to Brie Bella in a non-title match,[91] the two competed again at Fastlane on February 21, where Charlotte once again prevailed.[92] She also retained the title against Natalya at Roadblock on March 12.[93]Reanimating her rivalry with Sasha Banks and Becky Lynch, both women went on to compete in two matches to determine the number one contender for Charlotte's Divas Championship at WrestleMania 32,[94] with the first match ending in a draw after a double pin[95] and the second in a no contest after Charlotte attacked both competitors.[96] As a result, a triple threat match between Banks, Lynch and Charlotte for the Divas Championship was scheduled for WrestleMania on April 3,[97][98] where all three women competed for the new WWE Women's Championship, which replaced the Divas Championship.[99] With help of her father, Charlotte defeated Banks and Lynch to become the inaugural champion at her WrestleMania debut.[100][101]
Raw Women's Champion (2016–present)[edit]
Flair with the Raw Women's Championship in September 2016
After being confronted by Natalya during Charlotte's championship celebration the following night on Raw,[102] Charlotte made her first successful title defense against her on the April 11 episode of Raw.[103] On the April 18 episode of Raw, Charlotte was confronted by Natalya, who revealed that Shane McMahon had booked them in a rematch for the WWE Women's Championship at Payback and that her uncle Bret Hart would be at her corner.[104] At the event on May 1, she defeated Natalya after match refereeCharles Robinson ended the match as Charlotte held Natalya in the Sharpshooter submission hold, Natalya's signature finishing move, even though she had not submitted, making reference to the infamous "shoot screwjob" the Montreal Screwjob.[105] After the match, both Natalya and Hart applied their finishing maneuver (the Sharpshooter) on Charlotte and Ric Flair.[106] At Extreme Rules on May 22, Charlotte once again retained her title against Natalya in a submission match in which Ric Flair was banned from ringside, but she was helped by Dana Brooke while dressed as Flair to provide a distraction on her.[107] The following night on Raw, Charlotte turned on her father by claiming he was no longer needed, and aligned herself with Dana Brooke.[108] At Money in the Bank on June 19, Charlotte and Brooke defeated Natalya and Becky Lynch.[109] After two non-title losses against Paige, Charlotte defeated her on the June 20 episode of Raw with help of Brooke, with whom Charlotte attacked Paige after the match until Sasha Banks made the save and reignite their rivalry.[110] This led to a tag team match the following week on the June 27 episode of Raw, where Banks and Paige scored the victory.[111] Followed by multiple attacks and matches between Brooke and Banks,[112][113][114] a tag team match was scheduled for Battleground on July 24,[115] in which Charlotte and Brooke were defeated by Banks and her mystery partner, Bayley.[116]
After being drafted to the Raw brand as part of the 2016 WWE draft on July 19,[117][118] Charlotte made her first appearance for the brand on July 25, where she lost the WWE Women's Championship to Sasha Banks, ending her reign at 113 days.[119] Five days later, Charlotte invoked her rematch clause to face Banks in a title rematch at SummerSlam.[120] On the August 1 episode of Raw, Charlotte was helped by Brooke to win an intergender tag team match against Banks,[121] which led to Banks defeating Brooke in a non-title match a week later on the August 8 episode of Raw, with her ally being barred from ringside at SummerSlam.[122] At the event on August 21, Charlotte successfully regained the title from Banks, thus becoming a two-time champion.[123][124] At Clash of Champions on September 25, Charlotte retained the title – which had been renamed Raw Women's Championship after the creation of the SmackDown Women's Championship[19][125] – in a triple threat match against Banks and Bayley.[126] However, in a one-on-one rematch against Banks in the main event of the October 3 episode of Raw, Charlotte lost the championship again.[127] Around this time, Charlotte began going by the ring name Charlotte Flair.[128] At Hell in a Cell on October 30, Flair regained the title from Banks in the first female Hell in a Cell match to become a three-time champion.[20] This was also the first time a women's match was the last match on a WWE pay-per-view.[129] The following night on Raw, Flair was revealed as captain of Team Raw for Survivor Series on November 20, where Team Raw defeated Team SmackDown with Flair and Bayley being the survivors for Team Raw.[130] After the match, Flair attacked Bayley.[131] The following night on Raw, Flair explained that she attacked Bayley because she no longer had to be Bayley's teammate.[132] Banks then invoked her rematch clause, which Flair agreed only with the match taking place the following week's Raw in her hometown.[133] The match initially resulted in a double countout, but was reschuduled as a Falls Count Anywhere match that Banks won, after which Ric Flair came out and celebrated with Banks.[134] A 30-minute Iron Man match between the two was scheduled for Roadblock: End of the Line on December 18,[135] which resulted in a 2–2 draw, but Flair defeated Banks 3–2 in sudden death overtime and became a record four-time Raw Women's Champion, as well as ending their long-time feud since it was stipulated that Banks could not invoke her rematch clause.[136][137]
The following night on Raw, Flair declared herself to be "the greatest female wrestler of all time", but was then interrupted by Bayley, beginning a feud between the two,[138] resulting in Bayley becoming the number one contender for the Raw Women's Championship at the Royal Rumble on January 29, 2017,[139][140] where Flair made her first successful title defense.[141] On the February 13 episode of Raw, Flair lost the Raw Women's Championship in the main event match against Bayley[142] and failed to regain the championship in a rematch at Fastlane on March 5,[143] marking her first pay-per-view singles match loss[144][145] after 16 singles victories.[146]
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