WWE wasn’t exactly convinced that throwing Charlotte Flair and Alexa Bliss together was going to work — and Charlotte says there was one pretty obvious problem staring creative in the face.
Flair opened up about her partnership with Bliss while speaking with Stephanie McMahon on What’s Your Story?, revealing that there was some hesitation behind the scenes before WWE committed to the pairing. Charlotte first gave Bliss credit for pushing her to embrace the idea when even she wasn’t convinced that two women with such a long history opposite each other could suddenly make sense together.
“She was like, ‘Put your big girl pants on. Remember who you are. Let’s do this.’ That’s great. And I’m like, ‘I don’t know. We’re really good at fighting each other. This isn’t going to work.’ And she’s like, ‘Mm-mm’, ‘Yes, ma’am.’”
When Stephanie joked that their ability to fight each other was basically real life bleeding onto television, Charlotte didn’t exactly deny it.
“So it’s kind of a shoot. That’s a shoot. No, that’s a shoot.”
But the bigger issue wasn’t whether Flair and Bliss could get along. Charlotte said WWE creative wasn’t sure what the audience would do with them because the two women were coming from completely opposite places with the fans.
“Well, okay, in fairness, like I don’t think, I think creative was a little hesitant too, because I was so hated and she so liked, really what was going to come of it.”
Instead of one woman dragging the other down, Flair believes that contrast became exactly what made the team click. She said Bliss didn’t have to prop her up and she didn’t have to prop Bliss up — they made each other stand out even more.
“But because we’re such stars in our own right, it really was just like. It’s fun. Fun and like—”
Stephanie pointed out that the pairing allowed fans to see different sides of both women, and Flair explained why she thinks their chemistry worked.
“But we’re not lifting each other. It’s like we’re brightening each other because, you know, sometimes in tags it’s like, okay, this person’s here. Yeah. No, this just made both of our stars just shined brighter together because of the opposite.”
Charlotte also believes the partnership accomplished something bigger than simply giving her and Bliss something to do.
“And bringing then more light to everyone else too. Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes. And shining a light on the division, which is super cool.”
WWE may have wondered whether putting one of its most hated women beside one of its most popular would blow up in everybody’s face, but Charlotte thinks that mismatch was actually the secret sauce. Flair and Bliss didn’t need to become the same act — being complete opposites gave fans something they hadn’t seen from either woman before.
Do you think WWE creative was right to be worried about pairing Charlotte Flair with Alexa Bliss, or was their completely opposite fan reaction exactly why the team worked? Let us know what you think and leave your feedback in the comments.
This transcript was produced exclusively for Ringside News from the original recording. Republishing the transcription in full is prohibited. When using excerpts, provide prominent credit and a link to this article.
