25 Worst Wrestling Moments Of 2025

15. Charlotte Flair & Tiffany Stratton Go Off-Script

Wade Barrett Charlotte Flair Tiffany Stratton
WWE.com

For some a glimpse into the WWE they'd rather see and for others a dim and distant reminder of catastrophes past, the verbal sparring segment between Charlotte Flair and Tiffany Stratton on the the April 4th edition of SmackDown was a chilling reminder of why oft-hated scripts can sometimes do as much as good as harm.

Some typical turn-taking very quickly got nasty. Both dove deep into each other's personal lives, with Stratton referencing Flair's divorces before bailing, resulting in 'The Queen' making a crack about the Champion's partner Ludwig Kaiser being "in her DMs". 

The barbs felt over-the-line, and reports emerged that very little of it played out as planed. Stratton later noted that she thought Flair "didn't expect" just how rough the war of words could get. It was perhaps forecast by a prior exchange too - a "satellite" back-and-forth two weeks prior had been completely derailed by Flair. A week after that, it was "Tiffy Time" by necessity - she had to cut a backstage promo simply saying what she couldn't get out a week prior.

The jagged build had a mixed impact on the build. Some thought the match stood a chance of breaking out into a shoot, while others noted that a lack of trust hadn't exactly been good for prospective match quality in the past. The gritty but at-times lethargic WrestleMania match was a compromise of outcomes, but never had it looked more in doubt than during their SmackDown verbal dual. 

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. Within the podcasting space, he also co-hosts Benno & Hamflett, In Your House! and Podcast Horseman: The BoJack Horseman Podcast. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, Fightful, POST Wrestling, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett