It’s been a rollercoaster year for WWE Superstar Charlotte Flair, with extreme highs and lows, from her smashing records in the ring to her wrestling legend father Ric’s health crisis.
Fortunately, after being near death last year with the early stages of kidney failure and a congestive heart condition, Ric is now “doing great,” Charlotte told TheWrap.
“He’s always sending me this stuff about being in Offset’s rap videos, I’m like ‘how are you 69 and cooler than me,’” she marveled. Her father — who turned 69 last month — is currently starring in rapper 21 Savage’s video “Ric Flair Drip” in the most epic way.
There’s been a Ric Flair resurgence of late, with the release of ESPN’s “30 for 30” film titled “Nature Boy” last November, which portrayed the larger-than-life persona unfiltered — from his wrestling triumphs to personal tragedies.
Charlotte said she liked Rory Karpf’s film, but was initially concerned about the timing of its release. “When my dad was sick, I knew that it was going to air afterwards and I was like, my dad can’t miss this and not be at his best when it airs,” she said, adding: “I also knew that it was going to be very honest.
“I am not necessarily a private person, but I am Charlotte Flair on camera, and that is playing a character. They talked a lot about my little brother Reid,” she said — referring to her brother who died from a heroin overdose at age 25 — explaining that she was worried about “how that was going to make my mom feel. But once it [the film] came out, I was just like ‘wow!’ Talk about a man who is so honest, and not afraid to say, ‘Hey, I’ve failed, or done these things wrong or these things well.’
“That’s what I took away from the film, my dad doesn’t apologize for who he is,” she concluded.
Just as Ric Flair never let anything hold him back, neither does his daughter. Even with a guaranteed spot at WrestleMania 34 next month and a slew of championships under her belt, Charlotte said, “it is never enough!”
“I just did a WWE photo shoot where they put these pictures in front of us and we talk about how it makes us feel. They had a picture of me with every championship I’ve ever held,” she told TheWrap. “I’ve won every single championship [NXT, Divas, SmackDown and Raw] and am the only woman to do that in the company.
“I just thought that it’s not enough, there is more to be done and it’s when you get complacent that you stop evolving. I feel that if I knew then what I know now (even six months ago), I could have been so much better. It’s just continuing to get better and wanting to be an attraction,” she said.
“You look at Brock Lesnar, John Cena, Ronda Rousey — who isn’t even a WWE Superstar yet but she’s an attraction. I want to know that I am putting 30,000 individuals in seats in arenas. That’s my goal,” Charlotte continued.
Of course, you can’t sit down with a WWE Superstar without asking for some tips on how to do their biggest moves in the ring. And while Charlotte, unfortunately, wasn’t allowed to teach us any of them, she did talk us through two of her favorites.
Check out her Charlotte’s signature “Figure Eight” leg lock — “because it’s twice as good as my dad’s,” she quipped — and her famous “Moonsault” in the video above — but don’t try any of these moves at home, kids.
Charlotte Flair can be seen every Tuesday night at 8 p.m. on WWE’s “SmackDown Live.” Wrestlemania 34 takes over New Orleans on Sunday, April 8.