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Charlotte Flair Physically & Mentally Ready For WWE WrestleMania Return [Exclusive]

The Queen is ready to put on a show in Las Vegas, and walk out of WrestleMania 41 as the new WWE Women's Champion.
Rick Ucchino|
The Queen is ready for WrestleMania
The Queen is ready for WrestleMania | WWE.com

Charlotte Flair has traveled down a long road of personal and physical pain to arrive at WrestleMania 41, but that journey has only served to make her more focused and determined to prove that she's one of the greatest to ever don a pair of wrestling boots.

The Queen was in attendance at the WrestleMania After Dark Launch Party Thursday night at the LIV Nightclub at the Fontainebleau Las Vegas, and she was absolutely glowing from the moment she first stepped foot on the red carpet. Even after having endured an entire days worth of media events.

The Takedown on SI had the opportunity to briefly catch up with Flair, who will step into a WrestleMania ring for the first time in two years on Saturday night when she challenges Tiffany Stratton for the WWE Women's Championship.

“I'm nervous because I've only had two matches and the [Royal Rumble], so I haven't performed that much. But I think with all the effort that I have put in since I was cleared to be back in the ring, and the consistency with training, that I feel ready."

Flair has spent the past year plus of her life working to return from a devastating knee injury she suffered toward the tail end of 2023.

Charlotte tore her ACL, MCL and meniscus during a match against Asuka on a Tribute to the Troops special and triumphantly battled through the grueling months long rehab process to win the Women's Royal Rumble Match this past February in Indianapolis.

After missing out on most of the WrestleMania festivities last year, Charlotte is trying her best to soak in every moment during the run up to her match on Saturday.

“Being injured really gave me clarity and the time to take a step back and to know I am in the moment right now. And you never know when something can happen,” Charlotte said. “I'm nervous, but I'm actually calm too.”

Tiffany Stratton Charlotte Flair
Tiffany and Charlotte's controversial promo exchange | WWE

Feeling nervous or anxious before performing on the grandest stage ever constructed for a wrestling show is not a knew sensation for The Queen. This will be her eighth time competing at WrestleMania, but she says there's a sense of excitement surrounding her bout with Stratton that is settling her annual nervousness in unique fashion.

Just a day away now from potentially capping off her comeback story with a 15th World Championship, Charlotte Flair is fully locked in and focused in a way she's never been before.

“I really wanna do some of my best work, because I have all of this experience. As much as I am nervous from an athlete standpoint, coming back from an injury and that's mentally hard, I'm also really excited to remind people why I am the Queen.”

In addition to being mentally sharp, Charlotte Flair also says she has no physical limitations or reservations when it comes to performing after major knee surgery. As Flair stated before, anything can happen at any given time, but she'll be holding nothing back when the bell rings this weekend.

“I feel great. It's different being in a brace. it makes me feel more vulnerable as a Superstar and thinking that, I've never had an injury or shown that. But no, I feel really good because I have been training in Orlando. It's not like, ‘oh, can I not do this or do this?’ That I'm mentally good with.”

The WWE Women's Champion has had the occasional television bout over the past few months, but she's viewing her match with Tiffany Stratton as her first real opportunity - appropriately enough in Las Vegas - to throw all her cards on the table and give the reigning champion the full Charlotte Flair experience.

This is a rivalry that started out as a generational match-up between two supremely athletic competitors, but over the past few weeks, has boiled down into a bitterly personal clash of personalities.

Charlotte says she expects the animosity between herself and Stratton to shine through in this match, giving fans an experience unlike her previous two WrestleMania contests against Rhea Ripley and Ronda Rousey.

“This story is so different. Rhea and I had wrestled quite a few times. At WrestleMania before, Money in the Bank, a triple threat at SummerSlam. So, [the match] was really more about how aggressive it was. And Ronda, being so technical, I wanted to be technical with her. So with Tiffany, how I'm approaching it or seeing it, is more story based, more emotion based. It'll be a different kind of match.”

It will be Tiffany Stratton defending her WWE Women's Championship against Charlotte Flair this Saturday night at WrestleMania 41. Stay tuned with The Takedown on SI as we'll have you covered all weekend long from Las Vegas.

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Rick Ucchino
RICK UCCHINO

Rick Ucchino is the Assistant Editor & Content Coordinator for The Takedown on SI. He also works full-time for 700WLW Radio in Cincinnati, Ohio as a local news and sports anchor, in addition to his time covering the Cincinnati Bengals for Sirius XM. Rick has been on the professional wrestling beat since 2019, having provided coverage for a number of outlets, including Fightful, SB Nation’s Cageside Seats and the Bleav Podcast Network. With an educational background in theater, creative writing and journalism, Rick focuses primarily on the storytelling aspect of pro wrestling, but he’s no stranger to the squared circle himself. He had the privilege of training with former WWE & WCW cruiserweight Jimmy Wang Yang for nearly two years and retired early due to back issues with a perfect 1-0 record in singles competition. Rick is a married father of two incredibly adorable children, who are budding pro wrestling fans themselves. Much to the chagrin of their mother. You can reach Rick at rwucchino@gmail.com

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