No one ever has a chance to get to know the real me because I do play a bad guy, and sometimes it's hard to soak in the comments or the negativity because that's the response you want to elicit. I am a normal person, but that's part of the job. I'm playing a character, and that's my role.
Charlotte Flair
Driving from town to town, living in hotels, sometimes not going home during the week because you have an appearance - you really have to be dedicated to do this job.
The reason I don't do the Flair Flop anymore is because women's wrestling is being taken so seriously. I'll only perform something comedic like that at a house show.
The most important thing is for women not to tear other women down. Everyone in our division is helping each other, and that's a message we send behind the scenes: that we are a unit and working to make the best product and highlight women as strong and independent superstars.
I didn't even think about good guy, bad guy when I started. I was that unfamiliar with the business.
I think with the Mae Young Classic, bringing in 30 women from all over the world shows what an impact women have in the company.
That's my message: I'm not alone, and neither is anyone else.
I walked out very nervous, my first WrestleMania, and I had my dad beside me.
That is a message I hope to send and that I know all the other women hope to send: that no matter what your job is or what you want to achieve in life, anything you set your mind to, you can do.
The biggest moment in our business is when you walk through that curtain, and if you don't believe in yourself, the fans won't believe in you or invest in you, and they see that.
I guess because I never pictured myself wrestling, I find myself wanting to push every limit possible in this industry.
We continue to hire women who seem to already be polished and who have already made it outside of WWE and whose whole goal was to get to WWE.
Obviously, having my dad's last name, I think that's more the chip on my shoulder because it has been a mixed blessing. I always will have the Flair stigma, and I think that's where I deserve to be there or this, or I'm not just his daughter. I think that's the chip on my shoulder.
I started very late in the game, and it hasn't changed my path to success.
If you find something that you're passionate about, your world can change.
I almost think there's a mystique to not knowing everything about me.
No one understands what it's like to walk in the shadow of a famous father, let alone Ric Flair, in the wrestling industry.
I had an athletic body my whole life.
I look at myself in NXT, and then I look at how far I've come on the main roster. I just think in my mind if I keep working as hard as I do and keep giving it my all that I will continue to get better.
With injuries, every match varies. The black eyes are accidents. The broken noses are accidents. But the bumps from when we land on the mat, they're hard. I think it looks easier, or the fans don't really understand what's happening, but it does take a toll.
I am not necessarily a private person, but I am Charlotte Flair on camera, and that is playing a character.
I don't know if me and my dad have necessarily touched on this because we talk about Reid but not a lot. But me wrestling, I think, ultimately saved my dad's career and not only saved my life but definitely put a whole other chapter that no one saw coming because it could've been rock bottom after my brother passed away.
I could do a standing back flip at 13.
Having new opponents re-energises us as talent, as we're not having to make new out of something that's been the same every week.
The most challenging thing that female wrestlers face is time. Getting those segments on Raw, getting one, two, three, four segments on SmackDown, main-eventing a pay-per-view, being considered a face of the division... And I have said it since day one: I want to be an attraction for the company.
I never pictured myself as an entertainer or a superstar or a model or anything like that.
When I first started in the WWE, I had a really hard time because I didn't look the part.
My job is healing to me. Charlotte is the woman you want to become. A strong, groundbreaking, independent female in a male-dominated world.
I didn't start my career or, really, my life before I came to Florida.
I've played sports, and I've been a tomboy my whole life.
I am all athlete, and that's important, that my looks have nothing to do with what I do in the WWE.
I'm so proud of my body. I'm so proud to be an athlete. I wouldn't change anything.
I want to be the first female to main-event WrestleMania, and I just want to continue to get better and better and continue my dad's legacy.
My character, Charlotte, is very confident, and I try to be more like my character in real life. Not that I'm not confident, but I've really found my personal growth through work.
Me and my little brother never grew up wanting to be famous.
I never felt comfortable in my own skin, and I feel like I missed out on a lot of high school experiences because I was so worried about where I fit in because I was so confused.
Being undefined somewhat makes me nervous, but what I do know is I'm 100 percent confident in who Charlotte is.
I was always around wrestling. I went to shows, but I never pictured myself where I am today. My brothers, David and Reid, were more into wrestling. When they wrestled, it was hard on my brothers because they were always compared to my dad.
'Raw' wants to be the better brand; 'SmackDown' wants to be the better brand. A bunch of alphas on both brands.
Nothing is more important in our industry than respect.
For so long, I was ashamed of my past, and I think that crippled me a lot in having confidence.
Sitting front row with my little brother, my older brother, and my dad's wife at the time - seeing 80,000 people at the Citrus Bowl emotionally pouring their hearts out watching my dad retire - I didn't even grasp what he meant to the industry. I didn't even fully grasp it until I started wrestling myself.
I hope I continue to evolve.
I never saw the female 'Ghostbusters,' but that's mainly because of my job, not because I wouldn't enjoy it.
The dedication it must take to be part of R.O.T.C. was always interesting to me.
My dad was my favorite wrestler growing up, obviously.
My dad was just so charismatic and witty. One day, I hope people say that I was just as good as my dad on the mic in my own way. I will never be saying 'Space Mountain' or 'limousine riding,' but I hope people say I can control an audience, that I was as captivating as him.
The hard part for me was not the wrestling - it was showing emotion, telling a story, and being able to connect with fans. Coming out as Ric Flair's daughter and being called athletically gifted, it's hard to say, 'Hey, like me! You can relate to me!' It wasn't working, so I completely switched my character.
Everyone always says, 'You must have always wanted to be just like your dad.' But my dad's career had nothing to do with my journey.
I want to be a Roman Reigns; I want to be a John Cena.
