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Charlotte Flair Talks WWE WrestleMania 36, Rob Gronkowski's Title Win, More

Tyler Conway

Charlotte Flair appeared on ESPN's Get Up on Monday and revealed the mechanisms behind WWE's closed-set WrestleMania 36 taping. 

"It was a different environment, but I looked at it as an opportunity to show how talented I was to perform where that I didn't need a live audience to feed off of or to bring that intensity," Flair said of working without a crowd. "People have to understand that even if there's not a live audience, there's millions watching at home, and when you watch a fight scene on a movie, you don't ever think of an audience, so that's how I approached the match, and I thought it was an opportunity, you know, to highlight just my level of performance as an entertainer."

WWE taped WresleMania 36 at its performance center in Florida, along with several episodes of Raw and SmackDown, amid the coronavirus pandemic. The company has pointed out the hilarity of their skeleton crew, with Triple H showing up on commentary and a number of other segments that wink at the awkwardness. 

"Well we had a closed set in testing and limited talent," Flair said. "Usually all the talent, all the staff, camera crew, makeup. As you can imagine, it's a huge production, so it was very limited and we did the best we could, and I thought it was phenomenal and I couldn't be more proud of us as a company."

Flair was victorious in her NXT women's championship match against Rhea Ripley, which means she'll be heading to Wednesday nights—whenever WWE resumes. Tapings have only gone through Monday's Raw, and WWE has not announced whether it plans to continue producing content or go on hiatus.

Flair has earned 12 championships during her WWE career. Her father, Ric Flair, has called her the greatest women's wrestler in history. 

"Well I might have to argue with him. When people look back in 15 years, I hope they don't go: 'Oh, she's the greatest women's wrestler of all time,'" Flair said. "I hope they don't say man or women, I hope they just go: 'She's one of the greatest of all time.' But following in my dad's footsteps, I think is what's made me into the performer I am today, because I'll always have that chip on my shoulder. My dad didn't pass the torch, I took the torch."

One of the other notable title changes from the event saw Rob Gronkowski win the 24/7 championship from Mojo Rawley. The former New England Patriots tight end signed a contract with WWE earlier this year. 

"Yes, he's the 24/7 champion, but it's his energy that's contagious and that brings something to the table, and I'm looking forward to seeing what else he's able to do here at WWE," Flair said.   

   

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