When Did Charlotte Flair Know She Was Winning The WWE SmackDown Women's Title?

The Queen's latest title win saw her topple Ronda Rousey on the final SmackDown of 2022.

Feb 1, 2023 February 1st, 2023

With Charlotte Flair currently in midst of her seventh reign as the WWE SmackDown Women's Champion, the Queen has revealed when exactly she found out that she'd be defeating Ronda Rousey to once again sit atop the blue brand's female ranks.

Speaking during her recent appearance on Out of Character with Ryan Satin (via Fightful), Flair explained how she didn't know she'd be winning the SmackDown Women's Title once more until she arrived at Tampa's Amalie Arena on 30 December 2022.

Of course, that final SmackDown outing of 2022 saw Charlotte make her return to WWE TV and defeat Ronda Rousey for the SmackDown Women's Championship after challenging the Rowdy One to an impromptu match.

As Flair detailed:

"I didn't found out I was winning the title until I got there. I didn't have gear with me. My amazing cleaning lady brought me my gear. I should have known better. I'm coming to a wrestling show, I just brought my outfit. I thought it was just going to be a walkout surprise because I had been gone for so long. I really didn't need to be any major fireworks, but when I got there they were like, 'You need your gear'. I got the call at maybe 5ish that I needed gear, right before I got to the arena. [My cleaner] got to the arena around 7, 7:15."

Fortunately, Charlotte Flair these days resides in Orlando, Florida, which meant that she was able to have her gear dropped off with her in Tampa in time to make her return to programming.

Prior to this return, Charlotte had been absent from WWE since last May's Backlash PLE. There, she lost the SmackDown Women's Title to Ronda Rousey in an I Quit contest. While it was initially believed that Flair was taking some time away from WWE in order to get married to Andrade El Idolo, the star herself has recently noted how she was on the sidelines for longer than expected due to having extensive dental work done.

As revealed on this week's WWE Raw, Charlotte Flair is currently on a collision course with Rhea Ripley at WrestleMania 39 this April. After the Judgment Day powerhouse won this year's women's Royal Rumble, she was quick to make it known that she has Flair and the SmackDown Women's Championship in her sights for the 2023 edition of WWE's Showcase of the Immortals.

For Charlotte, this latest title win means that she's viewed as a 16-time champion by WWE, with those seven SmackDown reigns accompanied by six runs as the Raw Women's Champion, two stints as the NXT Women's Champion, and one spell as the Divas Champion before that belt was retired.

Andrew Pollard

Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.

See more from Andrew