5 incidents that changed Charlotte Flair's life
Charlotte Flair is one of the most accomplished WWE Superstars in history. Nonetheless, her life would not have been the same if not for a few incidents.
Flair joined WWE in 2012 with no experience in wrestling. However, she has become one of the best female performers to ever compete in a WWE ring. Her life outside the ring has also seen many changes. She quit a job she loved, got married and divorced more than once, and lost some loved ones.
In her book Second Nature: The Legacy of Ric Flair and the Rise of Charlotte, the SmackDown Women's Champion revealed a few incidents that changed her life. If not for these incidents, Flair might never have become the woman she is today.
Here are five incidents that changed Charlotte Flair's life.
#5. Charlotte Flair's dinner with John Laurinaitis
Growing up, Charlotte Flair never thought about becoming a WWE Superstar. Although she was the daughter of the legendary Ric Flair and an athlete in her own right, the current SmackDown Women's Champion was not interested in competing inside the squared circle. Instead, the 35-year-old worked as a personal trainer and was very successful.
Despite this, a dinner that she was initially not invited to changed Flair's life. Ric and his son, Reid, were going to dinner with WWE Executive John Laurinaitis when Flair decided to join them. Ric and his son initially met with Laurinaitis to discuss Reid's chances of getting a WWE tryout. Nonetheless, the conversation took an unexpected turn:
"John told Reider that he needed to gain more experience so that WWE could see more of his work. After that, they’d take a look at everything and talk about returning for a tryout. Then John looked at me and said, 'So why aren’t you doing this?' At first, I thought he was talking to someone else. When I realized that was directed at me, I didn’t know what to say. I thought he was joking or that he just wanted to be polite and bring me into the conversation. As he continued to talk, I thought, Me?"
The current SmackDown Women's Champion did not expect Laurinaitis to offer her a WWE contract. At the time, she was going through a rough patch in her first marriage. On the contrary, her career as a personal trainer was thriving. Flair was also in the process of buying a new house in Charlotte, North Carolina. Although she was confused, The Queen knew that joining WWE was a chance that could save her life:
"What could I do in WWE? All I knew was that this could be my chance. In the back of my mind and in my most private thoughts, it was the chance I had been waiting for. The opportunity that in my most heartfelt prayers I had asked God for. The chance that could save my life."
Shortly after that night, Flair quit her job and joined FCW to kick off her wrestling career. For the first time in her life, she left Charlotte to live in Tampa, Florida. In the following years, The Queen became one of WWE's biggest stars.