5 Ups & 4 Downs From WWE SmackDown (7 Feb - Results & Review)

1. This Charlotte Flair Comeback Ain’t Working

Charlotte Flair Tiffany Stratton
WWE.com

Fingers crossed this is all wrong and the Charlotte vs. Tiffany Stratton match at ‘Mania turns out to be epic, but there's no sense in pretending otherwise - Flair’s comeback has been rough. Her returning to win the women’s Rumble could prove to be a disastrous decision creatively, so Triple H better not double down by putting the belt on Charlotte in Vegas. Nobody needs that.

Character alignment was all over the place during SmackDown's face to face with Tiffany. Flair kinda plays unlikeable babyface then turns on the audience just like that, and Stratton is still straddling the tweener fence despite clearly being the fan favourite here. Yeah, this just isn’t working so far. Jey Uso not knowing who to choose for ‘Mania makes sense because he believably didn’t expect to be in this position, but WWE can’t have both he and Charlotte ponder things too long.

If anything, Flair needs to be more direct. Also, the onus is on her to carry this feud on the mic, because she's the more experienced campaigner. Stratton is doing well, but she's new by comparison to Charlotte. Having Tiffy practically beg 'The Queen' to grace her with a challenge at 'Mania is ridiculous and doesn't fit in with Stratton then boasting about being the present and future.

That was a woeful segment. Flair needs to be a have sit down with Triple H backstage and work out what she's supposed to be doing here. Fans are rejecting everything they're seeing, and it won't do if Tiffany is supposed to be in awe of Charlotte whilst bragging at the same time.

Yikes.

Advertisement
Contributor

Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.