Charlotte Flair Taking Time off From WWE After 'WrestleMania' Loss
It looks like WWE Fans won't be seeing Charlotte Flair anytime soon. According to PW Insider Elite (per Cageside Seats), Flair informed WWE during WrestleMania 39 weekend she'll be taking time off after her match against Rhea Ripley. Flair was the SmackDown Women's Champion heading into the match on Saturday but lost the title to Ripley, but the decision for Flair to drop the belt at WrestleMania came before she announced her time off.
PW Insider Elite says that Flair told people backstage that she will be doing some traveling with her husband AEW's Andrade El Idolo. Flair recently told ESPN that she's looking into competing in a bodybuilding competition this summer, but preparation will be tough due to her travel schedule with WWE.
"I would love, love, love to do a [bodybuilding] competition. I'm thinking about doing it this summer," Flair told ESPN before her WrestleMania match. "I know what goes into it from a diet standpoint and how lean you get. How do I make that work on the road?"
The length of Flair's time off is not known, but it comes after she missed much of 2022 due to her wedding and honeymoon as well as dental issues. She returned in December and won the SmackDown Women's title over Ronda Rousey. Flair is the most accomplished women's Superstar in WWE history, winning the SmackDown Women's Championship seven times, the Raw Women's Championship six times, the Women's Tag Team Championship, the NXT Women's Championship twice as is the last Divas Champion. Flair is also the fifth Women's Triple Crown Champion and fourth Women's Grand Slam champion in WWE history. And while Flair has been a heel for the majority of her career, she received cheers when she returned in December.
"I spent my whole career wanting people to boo me. Now, getting the reactions that I'm getting, and it's positive. It's so rewarding," Flair told ESPN. "I want to act like it's no big deal. But I've been booed my whole career. No matter what I've read online or perception — 'You're Ric Flair's daughter' — I entertained these people. But it's different when you're not trying to get someone to react, and they're just reacting."