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Tiffany Stratton Aware of Charlotte Flair WrestleMania Rumors; Ready For The Queen

WWE Women's Champion Tiffany Stratton will be watching tonight's Royal Rumble with great anticipation to see if the Charlotte Flair WrestleMania rumors become a reality.
Rick Ucchino|
Tiffany Stratton eagerly waits for a date with the Queen
Tiffany Stratton eagerly waits for a date with the Queen | WWE.com

It was this time last year that Tiffany Stratton, then one of the top stars on NXT, was just hoping she'd receive a call to come to Tampa Bay and compete in the Women's Royal Rumble as a surprise entrant.

What a difference 12 months has made as Stratton will gleefully sit back tonight with some popcorn and watch 30 other women battle it out for the right to face her at WrestleMania 41.

Tiffy's time atop the SmackDown Women's Division came in relatively short order. In just a matter of months Stratton went from a surprise Royal Rumble appearance to being a break-out performer inside the Elimination Chamber, to capturing the Money in the Bank briefcase and then successfully cashing in to win the WWE Women's Championship.

Stratton told The Takedown on SI that it was while she was getting ready for Friday's Royal Rumble Press Junket that she really allowed herself to reflect back on the past year of her career. Harkening back to that feeling of waiting for the phone to ring to see if she'd be competing in her first Royal Rumble to now being the woman that everyone else is hoping to face in Las Vegas.

“It's so surreal and I could start crying [if she really sat and thought about how far she’s come]. I'm just super happy.”

Having the WWE Women's Championship draped over her shoulder is going to allow Stratton to become one of the 65,000+ fans that expected to pack Lucas Oil Stadium tonight.

Three former Woman's Royal Rumble winners and seven former Women's Champions are among the field this year, including Bayley, Bianca Belair, IYO SKY, Nia Jax, Liv Morgan and Naomi. And those are just some of the names that we know will be in the match.

“There's so many insane women that we have right now, and I feel like there's so many different surprises that we can all look forward to. You never know who's gonna be in it. I'm gonna have such a fun time just watching it.”

More: WWE Royal Rumble Preview [02/01/25]: Start Time, Match Card, How To Watch & More

A returning Becky Lynch, someone whom Stratton is very familiar with, could be one of those surprises. Nikki Bella and Trish Stratus are two other names that have been circulating the rumor mill in recent days.

Then there's the woman whose name I have omitted on purpose until just now.

Charlotte Flair has missed the last year of her career due to a devastating knee injury she suffered in a match with Asuka. The Queen's announced return ahead of the Women's Royal Rumble Match is giving off serious 2023 Cody Rhodes vibes. The American Nightmare's victory that year came in his first match back from a torn pec muscle.

It's not out of the realm of possibility that the same play that was called for WWE's starting QB, is run once again for the 14-time Women's Champion. Especially given all the recent reports of Flair being penciled in for a match with Tiffany Stratton at WrestleMania 41. Reports that the WWE Women's Champion has read, by the way.

While Tiffany wouldn't outright say she's rooting for Charlotte to win tonight, she certainly wouldn't shy away from the chance to go toe-to-toe with one of the greatest women's competitors of all time.

“Honestly, I think we could have a banger match. I feel like that's a given”, Tiffany said with confidence. “If it were me and Charlotte, I feel like we would probably have one of the best matches on the entire WrestleMania card. So, hopefully that happens. And if it does, I’m ready.”

It's a match that would also mean a great deal to Stratton personally. If Charlotte Flair didn't walk the path before her, then maybe there would be no Tiffany Stratton in WWE today.

On either April 19 or 20, the WWE Women's Champion will compete in her first-ever match at WrestleMania. There would be no more fitting opponent for her than Charlotte Flair.

“It would be a generational match,” Stratton said. “I got into wrestling because of her. I saw her on an episode of SmackDown one day and she kind of inspired me to get into wrestling. It would just mean so much to my younger self if she would be my WrestleMania opponent.”

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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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