Charlotte Flair and Ric Flair React to Her Surprise Return and SmackDown Women’s Championship Victory

Charlotte Flair made her surprise return from injury on this past week’s Friday Night SmackDown. “The Queen” immediately challenged Ronda Rousey to an impromptu match for the SmackDown Women’s Champion and quickly beat the former UFC Champion for the gold, earning her 14th women’s title on the main roster. Flair then appeared on The Bump this week and reflected on the positive reaction she received from fans for beating Rousey. 

“It’s kind of surreal. I mean I was gone for eight months, and then to be back, here I am in my office, holding the title, it feels like I never left, really. I was sincerely so touched by the fan reaction on Friday. I done a lot of things in my career, but to see the smiles and the cheers, and the reception that I received when I came back, I was just thinking to myself, any time I’ve ever thought negative or ‘Do I still have it,’ I know I always have it, but it was just very rewarding after this journey that I’ve had for ten years. Being in the audience, which I’ve never done before, like I’ve been in the audience, but I’m usually kicking someone’s butt, but here I was holding the title in Tampa, where my career started full circle, and being back after eight months, it really made me emotional,” Charlotte said (h/t Fightful).

 Her return was even a surprise to her father, Ric Flair. “The Nature Boy” was in attendance for the SmackDown episode in Tampa, but actually left the arena before Charlotte’s segment. 

“I was in the building and left and didn’t know it. It is the first time in so many years that nobody knew, I was in the building. I went and saw Roman [Reigns] and John [Cena], it was the greatest time. … I just had a ball, but I didn’t even know. I left, I went to American Social, and then I got word that she was there, of course, I had a couple of drinks with the hockey players, so I wasn’t going to go back to the building. I watched it, they put it on every TV for me and it was amazing,” Flair said, before speculating that Charlotte kept it a secret from him in order to stop him from spoiling it (h/t Wrestling Inc.)