Hotseat: Charlotte Flair

IT’S APPARENT EVERY time she steps into the ring that Charlotte Flair has picked up a lot from her old man. But she’s learned one of the most valuable lessons about achieving success in pro wrestling on her own: how to tune out all the noise.

It’s a skill that has served her well as some fickle fans have rejected WWE’s “Queen,” like they have many other top acts in recent years, including John Cena, Roman Reigns, and Seth Rollins. And it’s been absolutely invaluable in recent months, as the COVID-19 outbreak has forced WWE stars to perform in front of largely empty houses, including at WrestleMania.

While other wrestlers have been clearly thrown off by the eerie silence that envelops almost every WWE match these days, Flair has appeared unfazed, continuing to rack up great performances (and title gold) throughout the pandemic. Although she lost her NXT Women’s championship just three days after this interview, she quickly rebounded by establishing herself as a top contender to Asuka’s Raw Women’s title.

And after already cementing herself as one of the most successful female wrestlers in history, Flair has embraced another role in the sport, as one-half of one of the most successful wrestling power couples in history—along with her beau, Andrade, who has won titles on three different continents, with memorable reigns as WWE United States and NXT champion.

Does the 12-time Women’s champion plan to put her career on hold, as Becky Lynch did, and start a family with “Manny,” as she calls him? Or is there still plenty to do to equal (or surpass) the standards of wrestling excellence established by her pop? Flair recently discussed those topics and more with PWI Senior Writer Al Castle.

I imagine you’ve got a lot more time off than you usually do, right? Has it been a nice change of pace? I mean, the usual grind of working