The Queen is back, and she’s looking for a new throne.
WWE superstar Charlotte Flair made waves after WrestleMania when she was moved from Raw to Smackdown Live as part of the “Superstar Shake-Up.” Now that she’s established herself as a force to be reckoned with in the Smackdown roster, she has a new goal: Winning this week’s first-ever women’s Money in the Bank match against Becky Lynch, Natalya, Tamina, and Carmella, which will give her the opportunity to have a title match against the Smackdown Women’s Champion at any given time.
We recently sat down with Flair just days before Money in the Bank to discuss the match, her training regimen, and her upcoming book.
M&F: How do you feel about being in the first women’s Money in the Bank match?
Flair: I’m excited, I’m nervous, I’m honored to be a part of another history-making event and in another step in the Women’s Revolution. I’m excited to maybe be the first ever Miss Money in the Bank.
One of your opponents in Sunday’s match is your friend Becky Lynch. What’s your mentality when you’re competing against a friend? Does that ever get to you?
No, actually she just makes me want to be that much better because outside of the ring, inside of the ring, I look up to her. Having the opportunity to share the screen with her just makes me up my game and keeps me on my toes.
How many weeks a year are you usually on the road, 50? Something like that?
Well, I think I’m on the road 255 days a year.
That’s certainly up there. How do you manage to stay as fit as you are while dealing with that kind of crazy schedule?
I look at it as a lifestyle choice. It’s investing in myself and it’s part of the job. The biggest thing is having a plan. I have a trainer that tracks my workout, and it’s part of what keeps me where I am today.
I know that in the past you actually worked as a physical trainer. How does it feel to be on the other side of the coin, with someone else training you and making sure that you perform to the best of your ability?
I think it’s important for anyone to be held accountable and it’s a matter of practicing what you preach. My trainer is way better than I was as a trainer! [laughs] I think I was a great motivator, but I think my trainer is one of the best.
You just wrote a book (Second Nature) with your father, the legendary Ric Flair. What made you decide to write a book with your dad instead of writing your own? What was the writing process like for that?
[Pauses.] I think the idea was, here I grew up idolizing my dad and never imagining being a part of, or continuing, his legacy. To really explain to the outside world that this was something that I was destined to do. That it wasn’t what I grew up dreaming about, it wasn’t something I thought about. It just organically happened and to share that story, we decided to do it together. My dad spent 40-plus years training with legacy, and now it lives on in me and so it seemed only right to do it together.
As you mentioned, you originally didn’t have any intention of going into wresting. At this point, do you feel this is something that you’ve embraced, being a legacy wrestler? Do you see it more as a positive rather than a negative?
It’s all positive. Being inside a WWE ring is where I feel most alive and continuing your legacy means everything to me, so I wouldn’t have it any other way.
What does your current diet look like?
I’m on the road five days a week. I have a routine, the same routine is what helps. Landing in whatever city I am, finding a fresh market or a Whole Foods or a Traders Joe’s. If they don’t have that, just a grocery store, picking out my meats and vegetables, having three carb meals a day. Three carb meals a day, spreading out my meals out to have five a day. It’s just a matter of staying on routine and that’s what works best for me.
You’d think with such a crazy schedule, you wouldn’t be able to keep up a routine— do you feel you’ve managed to keep at least some semblance of stability that way?
Yeah, I think creating my own stability is what helps me manage the crazy schedule.
The WWE recently announced a women’s-only tournament, the Mae Young Classic. What was your reaction to that? Do you see it as another step in the Women’s Revolution?
I do believe it’s another step in the Women’s Revolution. It think it’s another opportunity to highlight and showcase women around the world. It also is an opportunity to talk about Mae Young and what she meant to our business, and how she opened the door for women today.
Money in the Bank airs on the WWE Network this Sunday, June 18, 2017, live from St. Louis, MO.
