Charlotte Flair addressed the longstanding perception that she’s difficult to work with, pushing back on the label directly.
Speaking on Power Hour with Ilona Maher, a show that launched on August 20 and is hosted by Olympic rugby medalist Ilona Maher, Flair said her entire mindset has shifted considerably over the past year.
Charlotte explained that for a long time, her background as an athlete caused her to tie her emotions directly to wins and losses.
“What I’ve learned over the last year — and I was guilty of this — is like all I could attach my emotions to is winning, winning, winning.”
“When it’s like, wait, hold on. This still isn’t real. Your losses are making you win, right, as a businesswoman. So, for me as an athlete, having to understand that has been like such growth.”
Flair also said she still questions creative decisions. When asked how often she disagrees with the direction WWE lays out for her, she kept it simple:
“Oh, 50/50.”
The former world champion doesn’t believe that voicing opinions about her own career should earn her a reputation for being difficult, though.
“A lot of people that I work with haven’t played sports, and I also feel being a woman in the industry sometimes if I do have an opinion, it’s like, ‘Oh man, she’s just difficult.’ No, I’m not difficult. I have an opinion. I’ve done this for a long time. I deserve to have it.”
At the same time, Flair acknowledged she’s had to learn to set aside her competitive nature when a loss is what the story calls for.
“At the same time, you kind of have to let down your ego as an athlete and go, we are here to tell stories and we’re here to elicit emotion, and if that’s what’s best for the story, then you have to just, like, eat it.”
