Contradicting Report on Charlotte Flair and Tiffany Stratton Segment Suggests Most of It Was Scripted

Last week’s episode of WWE Smackdown featured a promo segment with Charlotte Flair and Tiffany Stratton that allegedly went off the rails. Stratton made a reference to Flair being ‘0-3 in marriages’, which was later deleted. The commented seemed to rattle Flair, who got off a comment about Ludwig Kaiser being in her DMs as Stratton left the ringside area. At the time, it was reported that most of the segment ended up going off script, with Stratton retaliating for Flair running over her during another segment weeks prior. The Wrestling Observer Newsletter has a contradictory report of that, noting that most, if not all of the segment actually did happen as it was written.

The WON notes that the two have had issues backstage for a few weeks now, stemming back to the split screen interview. It was believed that Flair “streamrolled” Stratton in that and made her look bad. This segment was written with the idea that Stratton would be getting payback. Most of her lines, including one about Flair being a “failed volleyball player drinking in her father’s basement” and “no matter how many titles she wins, she’ll never be Ric Flair and never win over the fans”, were in the script. The volleyball line in particular is one that Stratton wouldn’t have come up with on her own as she wouldn’t know what Flair was doing at 25. It was written to appear like it was a shoot and sources say the entire segment went as planned, even after there were reports that it went off script early.

Other sources, however, suggest that there is heat on both women, especially Flair. Flair seemed to get thrown off by the Chicago crowd booing her. Flair mocked Stratton’s voice, which wasn’t scripted, according to Stratton. The moment when Flair stopped and offered to give her the last word also wasn’t planned. Stratton then gave her 0-3 line and left the ring like a heel would. She reportedly did that because she didn’t know what Flair’s reaction was going to be. One source said even that line was scripted by others with more inside knowledge said it wasn’t. Flair’s mention of Kaiser was likewise not planned.

One source noted: “Charlotte has been trying to rattle Tiffany. Standard stuff. Cena does it. Randy does it. Young talent coming up, you put a little heat on them as a test to get them to either sink or swim. Well, Charlotte has f***ed this whole program by not adjusting. Last night (Friday) she got stuck. That Chicago crowd ate her up because they can see she’s doing more than business, she’s trying to embarrass Tiffany.”

Another source added: “Once Charlotte let the fans get to her, that’s where it all fell apart. She gave up and said the line, `Tiffany, you can have the last word,’ because she was done with the fans at that point. The three minutes prior to that was scripted. The 25-year-old drinker was scripted. The 4-3 Mania record line was scripted. Tiff stumbled over a word and that’s when Charlotte took a personal shot at Tiffany’s voice. That was a shoot. 16 more days/being called nepo baby was scripted. Charlotte screaming Nepo Queen was not.”

Most of the stories agreed that Flair is getting most of the blame for the segment falling apart the way it did, however sources noted that both women had their own part in it. One veteran suggested that before it was a “limited story” with a “weak build”, but now was “very substantial.”