Backstage Fallout Reveals Real Tension After Charlotte Flair and Tiffany Stratton’s Off-Script SmackDown Encounter

The SmackDown segment between Charlotte Flair and Tiffany Stratton didn’t just go off-script—it blew the script out of the building, and now the backstage fallout is coming to light.

According to PWInsider, several WWE sources confirmed that the heated face-off between Flair and Stratton went well beyond the planned dialogue. Toward the end of the segment, Stratton threw what many saw as a personal shot when she told Flair, “Outside the ring, you ain’t the queen of sht,”* and followed it up by saying, “What is that, zero and three?”—a reference to Flair’s divorces.

That jab reportedly wasn’t in the script. Sources say Flair was caught off guard by the crowd’s reaction in Chicago, which leaned heavily in Stratton’s favor. One source noted that this allowed Stratton’s unscripted jabs to “hit even harder,” with some in WWE feeling that Flair was clearly “gotten to.”

Flair’s response came a little too late. After Stratton had already left the ring and was heading up the ramp, Flair hit back by saying, “Is that why Kaiser’s in my DMs?” referencing Stratton’s real-life boyfriend, WWE’s Ludwig Kaiser. According to one WWE source, the comment came off as “a flailing shot from a boxer who didn’t realize they were KO’d.”

Multiple people backstage believe Stratton wasn’t just firing off recklessly—she was fighting back. After reportedly feeling that Flair “ate her up” in a previous promo, Stratton returned fire this week in what some viewed as an attempt to reclaim the spotlight. And in front of a Chicago crowd chanting her name, it worked.

However, not everyone saw it as a win. Some sources felt the segment lost control toward the end, saying the tension and unscripted moments didn’t help either woman look stronger in the long run.

WWE has already made edits. Several of the most controversial lines were cut from the official SmackDown YouTube highlights. It’s still unclear if the full episode VOD will be altered as well.

Now the big question: Will WWE lean into this tension on the road to WrestleMania 41—or quietly sweep the mess under the rug?