Charlotte Flair

On the episode of SmackDown before Survivor Series, Charlotte Flair defeated Natalya to become the new WWE SmackDown Women’s Champion in her hometown of Charlotte, N.C. It was an emotional win for Charlotte, made even more emotional by a surprise appearance from her father, Ric Flair.

I absolutely loved this moment, and I have to admit it had me holding back tears. But my favorite part was when Charlotte told Ric to stop bowing before her. Despite already being a five-time WWE women’s champion and only the second woman to hold both the Raw and SmackDown titles, Charlotte is still extremely humble.

That humbleness – and a surprising vulnerability – shone through even more in a touching and deeply personal op-ed that Charlotte wrote for The Player’s Tribune simply titled, “Letter to My Dad.”

In the letter, Charlotte reveals how terrified she was to make her NXT debut. Understandably, she feared that people would think she was just trying to “piggyback a career” off the Flair name.

But eventually, Charlotte writes, she realized that she could build her own legacy through her natural athleticism and that her father had been grooming her since day one:

All those years making me see a trainer, never missing a practice, and attending camps before summer vacation was paying off. It’s like you were grooming me since day one. I didn’t realize it at the time, but you were there for me every step of the way.

Charlotte Flair Carrying Her Dad’s Legacy

Charlotte also reveals how her fear crept back after the crowd booed her at Survivor Series in 2015. Upset, she called her father; and he told her:

You’re getting a reaction — that’s all that matters.” Click. You hung up because you knew that’s what I needed.

It was after receiving that sage advice that Charlotte finally “realized, for the first time, that I was truly ready. That I was truly my father’s daughter.”

I highly recommend that you go read Charlotte’s entire letter. Not only will it hit you right in the feels, but it cements what fans have already known for some time: that Charlotte is more than worthy to carry on her father’s legacy.

Do you think Charlotte is on track to become as great as her father? Share your comments below!

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