Ex-writer: Charlotte was supposed to win the 2021 Rumble.

[Lizuka #BLM]

www.cagesideseats.com/wwe/2023/1/26/23573635/wwe-rumor-royal-rumble-2021-winner-bianca-belair-not-original-plan-charlotte-flair-edge-vince-ward

“I was in a Tampa hotel room, and we were watching some sort of football game. And an assistant had just left the Royal Rumble night before meeting. And they changed the finish.

Charlotte was going over, and they rehearsed Charlotte going over. And Bianca was gonna get eliminated like mid-way through the match. And it got changed to Bianca going over. I think a lot of people voiced it, but this guy Ryan Ward, who’s been there for like 14 years, he was Cena’s writer, and for my money has had the biggest hand in the women’s revolution...from my understanding, from what I heard, he kind of said to Vince [McMahon] something to the effect of, ‘Vince if you look at the Royal Rumble tomorrow, we have Edge winning and Charlotte winning. We’re not making any new stars.’

And I think that really resonated, and Bianca was on such a roll where it kinda made sense. And then she also had to, right after that match, really nail that post-match promo. And she did it. She was just awesome and great.”

This would've been an absolutely awful idea, and given Charlotte ended up having to miss Mania anyway they definitely lucked out on changing their minds.

[A Little Doo Doo]

At least Vince's dumbass actually listened on this one.

[Xxcjb01xX [PIECE OF: SH-]]

The fact that they actively have to keep fighting for Charlotte to not constantly go over people isn't a surprise when you watch the product sadly

Really glad that this didn't happen, can't believe Vince actually even listened to a "We're not building new stars" argument...

[EoE: Well There's Your Problem]

And this was meant to be against reigning champion Lacey Evans too, with that whole thing of her dating Ric.

It’s like if they felt like adding a title and WrestleMania match to the Torrie Wilson v Dawn Marie feud, except at least Torrie Wilson and Dawn Marie were actually giving it socks in the acting.

[Mozenrath]

For the best. With how early it is into women's rumbles, we don't really need repeat winners, anyway.

[4real]

They certainly created new stars with last years winners, er, Brock Lesnar & Ronda Rousey!

[ThankGodForSidJustice]

I'm very surprised Vince actually listened. Changing a finish where one of his favorites was booked to win due to an argument about them wanting to make new stars sounds very unlike him.

WWE's love affair with Charlotte and insistence on her winning everything is something I don't think I will ever understand. I would at least kind of get it if she was like super over or something but she never has been. I get that she's good in the ring but they've had several women about as good as her who are also again more over. Is being Ric Flair's daughter really that important to them? It's not even like Ric Flair was that connected to the WWF as most of his legacy was built in the WCW/NWA.

[EoE: Well There's Your Problem]

Jan 27, 2023 4:36:23 GMT -5 ThankGodForSidJustice said:

I'm very surprised Vince actually listened. Changing a finish where one of his favorites was booked to win due to an argument about them wanting to make new stars sounds very unlike him.

WWE's love affair with Charlotte and insistence on her winning everything is something I don't think I will ever understand. I would at least kind of get it if she was like super over or something but she never has been. I get that she's good in the ring but they've had several women about as good as her who are also again more over. Is being Ric Flair's daughter really that important to them? It's not even like Ric Flair was that connected to the WWF as most of his legacy was built in the WCW/NWA.

It’s probably a combination of things. Her being a legacy talent is definitely part of it, as is her general look and her in-ring abilities (which gets underrated in that “We’ll knock you down to counteract how much you get built up” kind of way), but I think the biggest part of it is her being completely homegrown in the PC. Like, her entire career to this point is WWE born and bred. She’s a point of pride for that system, much the same way Roman Reigns is (while he predates the PC being an FCW guy, that was still a WWE-built promotion from the ground up), and much like Bianca Belair is (which probably made it easier in their minds to pivot the Rumble win to her).

[J is Justice]

[Spiderf 4]

I totally expected to click this thread and find out that it was planned for her to win the MEN'S Rumble.

Jan 27, 2023 1:12:08 GMT -5 A Little Doo Doo said:

At least Vince's dumbass actually listened on this one.

It CAN do tricks after all!

[HMARK Center]

Jan 27, 2023 4:36:23 GMT -5 ThankGodForSidJustice said:

I'm very surprised Vince actually listened. Changing a finish where one of his favorites was booked to win due to an argument about them wanting to make new stars sounds very unlike him.

WWE's love affair with Charlotte and insistence on her winning everything is something I don't think I will ever understand. I would at least kind of get it if she was like super over or something but she never has been. I get that she's good in the ring but they've had several women about as good as her who are also again more over. Is being Ric Flair's daughter really that important to them? It's not even like Ric Flair was that connected to the WWF as most of his legacy was built in the WCW/NWA.

There's a fine line to walk on this question as it pertains to many other wrestlers out there, too: there's a gap some people have between wanting someone to be champion/most highly featured because they're the most over and/or capable, and booking someone as top champion and biggest accolade collector because they best suit that role in the ensemble stage play that pro wrestling technically is.

Like, while I think it's fair to say Kazuchika Okada is one of the tip-top pro wrestling talents on planet Earth, I also think a big reason why he's the sort of "default" IWGP champion in New Japan is because he's kind of straight out of central casting to fit the role: he's still young, he's got movie star looks, insane athleticism, and a ring psychology that emphasizes being able to work with anyone of any in-ring style. There have been times that guys like Tetsuya Naito have been more over than Okada, but again in the fictional stage play world of pro wrestling, it doesn't change that Okada's role is "The Champ", while Naito often works best when he's got a chip on his shoulder, which means that just keeping the belt on him because he's over might not be the best way to utilize him. Samoa Joe was that guy for Ring of Honor back in 2003-2004; Joe wasn't always the tip top most over guy in the promotion, though he was always at least near the top, but he worked super well as The Champ, which in turn helped other wrestlers up and down the card by creating stability there and kind of setting expectations across the roster.

Again, it's a fine line, though; personally I don't know if Charlotte fits that kind of role, since while I've watched a few of her matches I'm not overly familiar with her track record, and beyond that having someone in that role can work a bit easier when you're a live events-based touring promotion like NJPW/old school ROH than when you're a weekly TV-based promotion like WWE, where overexposure of your top champions happens a lot more quickly due to that TV-based nature.

[Alice Syndrome]

This would have had her winning 3 out of the 4 Women's Rumble title matches up to that point, while also having crowbarred her way into the other one when literally Noone asked.

[asuka007]

Even Okada has spent more time outside of the title picture than Charlotte has. Abs has put more people over as well.

[chrom]

Death, Taxes and Charlotte winning when she doesn't need to.

[Ben Wyatt]

Of course she was....

[XIII]

Charlotte is one of those talents that I’ll never understand why is pushed so hard. She’s decent/good in the ring but I wouldn’t call her great, she’s not much of a promo, her gimmick/presentation largely takes from Ric, she has a decent look but nothing particularly groundbreaking,and even among the Horsewomen she’s not the most over, entertaining, or best in ring. I don’t think that she’s awful or anything but it’s just kind of mind boggling to me how hard she is pushed. 🤷🏻‍♂️