Charlotte Flair on Why She Doesn’t View NXT as a Demotion, Her Goals in Working With NXT’s Women

On the latest Pro Wrestling Illustrated Podcast, Charlotte Flair discussed her work in NXT. Flair is currently off TV as she recovers from successful surgery to fix a lingering issue. Before that, she was as part of NXT up until she lost the NXT Women’s Championship at NXT TakeOver: In Your House, then had a few Raws before she took her time off for her surgery.

You can check out highlights from the discussion and the full podcast below:

On if she viewed moving to NXT as a demotion: “I don’t look at anything as a demotion. I just look [at it as], ‘Here I am full circle in my career.’ Like, the fact that the NXT [Women’s] Title was defended at WrestleMania still kinda blows my mind. Because I went through those steps of going through FCW to NXT, from Tampa to Orlando. Having those first TakeOvers, traveling outside of Florida, to now you’re telling me the NXT Title is defended at WrestleMania? I took so much pride in that. For me, it was not looking at it as, ‘Okay, you’re going to NXT.’ It’s like, ‘Okay, NXT’s now on USA. This is legitimately a third brand, and we have to treat it as a third equal brand.’”

On if she sees her role as helping to establish women in NXT: “I don’t want to say that I’ve added more to NXT. I just hope the talent in that locker room at NXT go, ‘Okay, this girl is NXT’ — or excuse me, ‘This woman is NXT-homegrown, and look at what she’s done in her career.’ And that’s what I strive for. I don’t [say] per se, ‘Do I add to the show, do I add to the locker room, do I add, am I getting girls over?’ There’s no right answer for that.

“My answer is [that] I hope the women in the locker room look at me and go, ‘Damn, she’s done it all and I want to do it too. And she’s from NXT. And what has it taken her to do that?’ And for me, the one answer is consistency. Whether the storyline is for you, or not for you and you’re a part of it, you shine no matter what.”

On her approach to working with less-experienced women in NXT: “Well, I think it’s just going, ‘It doesn’t matter how many moves you know. It’s about the story you portray and how you hold yourself.’ And if you learn anything in a ring with me, or if we’re to tell a story; it’s ‘Remember the story, and remember who you are as a character.’ Because that’s what really the audience connects with. They’re not going to remember the 3,000 moonsaults. They’re gonna remember, ‘How did that person make me feel? How did that talent make me feel.’ And that’s just what I am with someone who doesn’t have as much experience. It’s just remembering who they are and just taking those moments in time. And it’s more about that than ‘Okay, how many moves are we gonna do?’”

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit the Pro Wrestling Illustrated Podcast with a h/t to 411mania.com for the transcription.