Tiffany Stratton Vs. WWE WrestleMania 41 Charlotte Flair

One of the most talked about Wrestlemania 41 was a fire in recent weeks as competitors traded personal barbs on their microphones when the promotional segment went off-scripted and turned to something called “Wreck” behind the scenes in WWE. When WWE Women’s World Champion Tiffany Stratton defends money against Charlotte Flair on a WrestleMania weekend night, Sparks ends up flying as things reportedly had problems with each other for a few weeks before turning on “WWE Smackdown.”

Stratton went on to hold the money after cashing her money in a bank contract on the January 3rd episode of “WWE Smackdown” about the then Championnier Jacks. Flair was still on the shelf after suffering a serious knee injury in the “Smack Down” episode in December 2023 when Stratton won the WWE Women’s Championship. Flair had taken action throughout 2024 after toretting the ACL, MCL and Meniscus, but was announced for the Women’s Royal Rumble of the Year. “Queen” took part in the match at #27, eliminating four women on his way to victory.

However, Flair did not choose to chase Stratton and the WWE Women’s Championship any time soon. She appeared on “WWE Raw” for a showdown with then-world women’s champion Rhea Ripley and stopped by “WWE NXT” where she stole the competition. Finally, on February 14th, shortly after Stratton successfully defended her title against Jacks, she was laid out in a steel chair by Candice Lera, and Flair came out from behind, sat in the ring, chuckling Stratton before the “Queen” said she would meet her at WrestleMania.

Stratton once called her “inspiration” and the reason she went into wrestling and named her dream enemy, but things between the pair quickly broke not only in the storyline but also in the seemingly behind the scenes. Flair and Stratton finally got taller after the March 14 episode of “WWE Smack Down” hit “Queen” in two Moosons, and then they were finally taller after hitting Flair and staff one from the top of Tron. There, the physicality between the pairs was cooled, and then they entered a war of words.

They sat for a split screen interview that appeared to have fallen off the rails to many who saw the segment. Flare appears to be talking through Stratton multiple times, annoying the young star, causing her to trip over her lines. Flair said that Stratton was only enough to compare herself to her, but Stratton reminded her that Flair had supported her at the beginning of her career before realising that she would come for her throne.

This segment is awkward to watch, and according to Fightful Select, people within WWE believed that Stratton was later placed in a “sink or swim” situation, and Flair was a better swimmer.

It is now praised when Stratton and Flair chased each other’s personal lives on the April 4 episode of “WWE SmackDown.” The women met in the ring, commentator Wade Barrett met between them to prevent physicality, and things quickly fell off the rails. Reports vary, but after Stratton compared her to her father, Ric Flair and called her “Nepo Baby,” Flair allegedly began going out the script on a line about being “Nepo Queen.” The crowd also ran through rattle talent, giving up on the promotional segment and told Stratton he had his final words.

Stratton then mentioned Flair’s recent divorce. This was the “Queen” recently held at a talk show and said it was “0-3 of marriage” before leaving the ring. As Stratton went up the ramp, Flair called out to her after him, calling Stratton’s actual boyfriend, Ludwig Kaiser, was on the DMS on social media. The report was released very quickly following the segment that things didn’t go as planned and the women were off the script.

Flair posted on social media about the segment, announcing a half-hearted apologies, joking that she shouldn’t call Chicago fans “Smart.” She noted that she was “blind to personal trauma on live television.” Kaiser also joked about the segment online, posting a classic clip of Shawn Michaels to Diana Hart Smith saying “don’t flatten yourself” after claiming that Michaels had passed to her.

Following the writing of the train for the “Smackdown” segment, the company chose not to give either woman a live microphone the following week, but it was shown that WWE was not creatively pivoting into the match. Advances the April 11 episode of “Smackdown,” social media videos released Flair Media Video in the arena’s parking lot, slamming the head through the SUV window before the pair was separated by staff. The clip never aired on “Smackdown” and only referenced commentary, noting that Flair was “sent home” that week, but again beating her after Stratton’s match with Roxanne Perez. Flair was once again taller after the attack.

According to Fightful Select, Beatdown Angle went smoothly, with WWE executives happy with how the pair put their miserable and personal ring segment behind them. Before Saturday’s WrestleMania gets matched, it won’t show what will happen between the pair in the final episode of “SmackDown,” but it appears WWE hasn’t put them in another promo segment.