15 Exact Moments Failed WWE Gimmicks Actually Got Over
8. Charlotte Flair
Not unlike the Miz, Charlotte Flair felt like she didn’t belong under Triple H.
She’d done all there was to do at least twice, as WWE promoted her absurd total of World title wins with a mockery of the “show, don’t tell” storytelling principle. The sheer, oppressive insistence with which WWE sold the audience on Charlotte depicted her as a Roman Reigns or Randy Orton type, but WWE never had the luxury of refreshing her presentation and turning her face because she was so wildly unsuited to the role.
Until 2023, her incredible big match record kept her afloat - the sensational WrestleMania 39 war against Rhea Ripley was the most gnarly women’s match in company history - but this deserted her at the exact moment Flair was positioned as a main event gatekeeper.
Flair’s work, already suspect at times, started to fall apart after that. Taking rolling bumps like an ancient luchador and missing the moonsault even more noticeably than normal, Flair was even worse when returned in 2025. Her WrestleMania 41 match against Tiffany Stratton, and the build, exposed her insecurities and decline.
Triple H then used Flair’s cold quality to deliberate effect and paired her with Alexa Bliss. This relationship thawed her. When the two women embraced each other at SummerSlam ‘25, Charlotte did what was considered virtually impossible: she turned babyface.
The work improved from there, too; the successful Women’s Tag Team title defence over Bayley and Lyra Valkyria on the October 27, 2025 Raw was one of the better WWE TV matches of the year.