Charlotte Flair and Rhea Ripley tore the house down at WrestleMania 39 during their Smackdown Women’s Championship match. The 2023 Royal Rumble winner won the title in one of the matches of the night. The finish saw Ripley hitting Flair with Riptide off the top rope to pick up the win.
The match made history even before the bell rang. According to veteran WWE commentator Michael Cole, this was the first WrestleMania match to have two female WWE superstars, a female WWE referee and a female ring announcer. With the win, Ripley became the first Australian star to win the Smackdown Women’s Championship. This is the fourth championship that the 26-year-old has won since arriving in the Stamford-based promotion.
What a counter by @RheaRipley_WWE in this #SmackDown #WomensTitle Match! 😲😲😲😲😲#WrestleMania pic.twitter.com/RXkrjnvKUi
— WWE (@WWE) April 2, 2023
The defeat also marked the 16th championship loss for Charlotte Flair in the WWE. This was her seventh reign as the Smackdown Women’s Champion. Flair also made history at the event becoming the woman with the most matches at WrestleMania. The bout against Rhea Ripley was The Queen’s seventh match at The Show of Shows.
Charlotte Flair broke character after her defeat to Rhea Ripley
After the gruesome battle, Charlotte Flair was seen breaking character on live TV. The veteran female star broke down in tears at ringside while Ripley was celebrating her championship win. She was also spotted smiling at the Australian star which sparked a discussion among fans on social media. While some felt that Flair was genuinely happy for Ripley, some argued that the spot was part of the script. As of now, it’s unclear whether Flair broke kayfabe or not.
Charlotte is happy at Rhea getting her big moment pic.twitter.com/libtj7J2MQ
— Humble Wrestling (@WrestlingHumble) April 2, 2023
The WWE Universe are now expecting big things from Rhea Ripley’s title run on Smackdown. The Judgment Day member is currently one of the most popular stars on the WWE roster and is expected to achieve mega-stardom following her historic win.
A championship battle for the ages. Welcome to the mountain top, @RheaRipley_WWE. #WrestleMania pic.twitter.com/l35YDTTFMC
— Triple H (@TripleH) April 2, 2023
The future direction for Charlotte Flair as of now is unclear. The Queen has already achieved tremendous success in the WWE and fans feel that she needs a character repackage moving forward. It’ll be interesting to see how Triple H will book Charlotte post-WrestleMania.
