"Nepotism did get you through the door, girl" - Ric Flair's real-life rival busts Charlotte's claim before WrestleMania (Exclusive)
Charlotte Flair delivered a typical promo on this week's SmackDown before her WrestleMania match. The Queen, interestingly, claimed that nepotism had nothing to do with her success. Dutch Mantell has a different opinion about her rise in WWE as he shared his honest thoughts on Smack Talk.
Dutch Mantell has been beefing with Ric Flair as of late. The former WWE manager's comments about Flair's 'Last Match' did not sit well with The Nature Boy.
During her promo on SmackDown, Charlotte claimed that her 14 World Championship reigns were not built upon fear, insecurities, and nepotism. Dutch Mantell, on the other hand, claims that she would not even be in WWE if it wasn't for his "old buddy" Ric Flair.
Dutch didn't just target Charlotte Flair, as the respected veteran highlighted how the WWE roster is filled with several talents whose family members have been in the business for years. The 73-year-old mentioned the likes of Cody Rhodes and The Usos and explained why nepotism has a significant role in setting up the careers of many current top superstars.
Mantell made the intriguing observation on the latest episode of Smack Talk, as you can view below:
"I was thinking about Charlotte Flair's interview. The three things she mentioned, nepotism, and I'm thinking, well, nepotism did get you through the door, girl. You are my old buddy, Ric Flair's daughter. Then I'm thinking of Cody Rhodes. Dusty Rhodes got him through the door and look at The Usos. The two Samoans got them through the door. And there was one more I was thinking of... Well, Roman Reigns is a Samoan too. And there's got to be one more in there because I had one more. So, don't say it's not nepotism, because nepotism is all the way down through the card." [33:20 – 35:50]
What did Charlotte Flair say during her promo on SmackDown?
The SmackDown Women's Champion got on the microphone for a massive segment this week as she sent a message to all her detractors ahead of her title defense at WrestleMania.
As noted above, Flair spoke about her unmatched WWE resume and believed that she'd achieved all the accolades on her own merit. The 36-year-old said that the wrestling business was built on respect before claiming how she didn't fear Rhea Ripley but, in fact, had some admiration for her rival.
Flair proceeded to namedrop multiple current and former WWE Superstars, many of whom she shared the ring with in the past, and who have earned her respect because of their contributions to professional wrestling.
The Queen ended her promo by being unapologetic about continuing her father's legacy and declaring that "diamonds are forever, and so is Charlotte Flair."
What were your biggest takeaways from Charlotte Flair's SmackDown segment? Let us know in the comments section below.
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