6 Ups & 5 Downs From WWE SmackDown (14 Mar - Results & Review)
3. Charlotte Flair Leans Into A Heel Role
Fingernails were shredded when Charlotte Flair returned to win the 2025 Royal Rumble then appeared to be working an attempted babyface role opposite emerging princess Tiffany Stratton. Granted, that changed rapid, but WWE initially seemed to think that people would embrace Charlotte as a baby. Nope, not gonna happen. She's a heel all day long and that's that.
Refusing to relinquish the Figure Eight on B-FAB until Stratton sprinted out for a heated pull apart brawl is an almighty step in the right direction for Flair. There was a sweet amount of intensity between these women, and it's fair to say they badly needed something like this in a hurry. Seeing Charlotte and Tiffany throw hands was appreciated.
On that note, Flair being more of a heel than she had been since returning at the Rumble was welcome. The fact she and Stratton kept fighting even when Miz TV had started sold the bad blood between them too. That sort of unexpected continuation of fights and bleeding of one segment into another has become a hallmark under Triple H for the most part. It gives programming an edge and leaves viewers questioning what they're going to see next.
All of this worked. Stratton came out on top by showing she'll put her body on the line to shut Charlotte's big mouth, and Flair leaned into more of a heel role during the match vs. B-FAB. It was nowhere as violent as 2019's bit, but this was the pair's Becky Lynch vs. Ronda Rousey vs. Charlotte brawling skit with police involvement before 'Mania 35.