A chat with Flair.
In early December 2023, Charlotte Flair went down with a knee injury that has kept her out of action. She’s provided several updates since the injury and did so again when guest appearing on the Forever Young Podcast.
Flair opened up about the injury and while doing so, she mentioned that at time, she knew her husband Andrade would be returning to WWE. Andrade wrapped up with AEW at the Worlds End pay-per-view at the end of December.
Circling back to the injury recovery, Flair said it’s been an adjustment to realize she’s always been able to rely on her athleticism and physicality and now not feeling 100 percent about that part of her repertoire.
Well when it first happened, I thought my life was over (she laughed while speaking about her knee injury). I was like, oh my gosh, a perfect storm. My husband (Andrade) had just come back to the company or was on his way back. I knew he was gonna be debuting soon… From the moment I was taken out, I just have kept telling myself that I’m gonna come back the best version of ‘The Queen,’ when I do come back and you never like to be sidelined due to an injury. But then again, I’m not sure if I would’ve ever sidelined myself had it not been for the injury. So, it’s been a challenge but a challenge I know that’s gonna make me better in the long run because I’ve had the opportunity over these — I think it’s been like nine, eight months now — to go back and see things that I would have done over, what could I do over? Look at the landscape of the division, try to figure out where I can add character layers when I come back and I think the biggest struggle for me mentally is I’ve never not been able to rely on my athleticism. So like, where I might not be the best on the mic or a certain look or I’ve always been so proud of how physical I am and not having that feel 100 percent has been an adjustment for me. Where like before, I know the girls respected me for being tough and not being injured and when this happened, I was like, (*gasp*), I can be injured. It’s been a mixed blessing. For me, it feels very vulnerable. But I know that in the long run, it’s gonna be better for me.
Following up on that response, Flair was asked how far out is she from returning to the ring and here’s what she had to say:
Oh, I can’t give that up. I still have to wait for people to be surprised (she responded when asked when she’s coming back). They have to be surprised.
Flair is a 14-time Women’s Champion in WWE. Before her injury, she was going back-and-forth with Damage CTRL. She teamed with Becky Lynch, Bianca Belair and Shotzi in WarGames to defeat Damage CTRL.
If the quotes in this article are used, please credit the Forever Young Podcast with an H/T to POST Wrestling for the transcriptions.
