Charlotte Flair recently lost the WWE SmackDown Women's Championship to Ronda Rousey at WrestleMania Backlash, leaving the company free to take her character in a number of ways. As the daughter of Rick Flair, she's always had big boots to fill. And fill them she has ever since first appearing on the black-and-gold version NXT back when it was exclusive to the now-defunct WWE Network.
She's been a standard-bearer for every brand she's been a part of. One of the vaunted four horsewomen of WWE and a 15-time women's world champion. After losing an "I Quit" match to Rousey on Sunday night, however, she has earned some time off. Flair had her arm broken in storyline to give her the opportunity to do just that, but with eyes forward, fans have to be wondering when The Queen will be back and if her character will evolve at all.
A broken arm angle will likely keep her on the shelf past Hell In A Cell, which will happen on July 5 in Chicago. The next live event after that is Money In The Bank, and that seems like a great, albeit obvious, place for Flair to return. The namesake ladder match would be a fantastic opportunity for The Queen to re-enter the WWE universe after taking some time away. Past that is SummerSlam, slated for July 30 in Nashville. It seems highly unlikely that Flair would be gone beyond that "big four" show, and it'll be interesting to see how WWE books her when she does make her way back to the squared circle.
She's about as dialed in as a heel as it can get, and her promo work on that front has improved dramatically over the years. Flair used to get rattled by crowds as she attempted to make her point, failing to come across as the regal, better-than-you heel that she now plays so well. Absence makes the heart grow fonder, though, and as we've seen over the years, audiences will sometimes take cues from creative when it comes time to cheer or boo a returning superstar. Injecting Flair into the middle of the title picture as soon as she comes back will elicit a negative response. Making her fight her way back to the top of the card could get the crowds behind her. With her character as it stands, it's as simple as that.
WWE tried to turn her face back in 2017, and that angle wasn't particularly well received. Flair is just so good at coming off as arrogant, and that aspect of her essence is engrained in the minds of audiences. Would that be something that they'd be willing to try with her again? It's hard to say for certain, but some people are simply born to be heels. In today's day and age, it's just so rare to see people locked into that role for the entirety of their careers. Despite that, it would not be at all surprising to see Flair rolled back out without any new wrinkles or quarks. She's already arguably WWE's best female performer of all time, and there aren't many reasons to mess with something that good.