Why Charlotte Flair winning the NXT Women's Championship was the correct decision (Opinion)
WrestleMania 36 was historic for many reasons - it was the first-ever WrestleMania with no fans in attendance, the first to take place over two nights, and the first to emanate from the Performance Center.
Of course, it was also the first WrestleMania to have an NXT Championship defended on the show - a decision that Rhea Ripley recently confirmed to me was made by Vince McMahon.
It also became the first to have an NXT Championship change hands on the show, as Charlotte Flair defeated Rhea Ripley - a decision that has been met with much criticism online.
But why are people complaining about Charlotte Flair winning the match? Well, it harks back to something I asked The Queen herself about in January - people saying she's booked too strongly.
I'm not going to get back into why that isn't true, aside from linking this article and embedding the below video.
The other argument is that Rhea Ripley shouldn't have lost the title so quickly and in her first-ever WrestleMania match.
Personally, though, I completely disagree with both points. While I'd have loved to have seen Rhea Ripley retain her title, I actually think Charlotte Flair taking the title was the correct and more exciting choice.
While Rhea Ripley recording a victory over Charlotte Flair would have undoubtedly further legitimized The Nightmare as one of NXT's biggest stars, she really didn't need the clarification. Rhea Ripley is already one of the biggest stars in NXT - which was cemented over the entirety of 2019 before the culminating moment of becoming NXT Women's Champion.
The big picture here, while the moment would have been nice for Rhea Ripley, the sacrifice of that moment goes a long way to helping everyone else, not least Ripley.
As Charlotte told me in the video linked above, fans haven't had the chance to miss her as The Queen is always there and never injured. Of course, that means she's faced just about everyone across RAW and SmackDown. In NXT, however, we haven't even scratched the surface.
Sure, Bianca Belair is now on RAW, and many would argue that's the go-to match. But not only is there much more that can be done between Flair and Ripley, but you also have incredibly exciting potential matches between the former RAW and SmackDown Women's Champion, and the likes of Io Shirai, Mia Yim, Xia Li, Shotzi Blackheart, Toni Storm, Chelsea Green, Dakota Kai, Tegan Nox...
The list goes on, and that's assuming Belair and Shayna Baszler are RAW-bound.
This decision doesn't just freshen up the future of The Queen, it does the same for the NXT brand.
As for Rhea Ripley, she's 23 years old. She's now defeated Charlotte Flair once and lost to her in a highly competitive, lengthy encounter. She's faced off against Becky Lynch, Sasha Banks, and many others - even competing in the first-ever Women's WarGames Match, ending the dominance of Shayna Baszler.
Ripley has also captained Team NXT to a Survivor Series win over Team RAW and SmackDown. This does not affect Rhea Ripley. She's a star, and she has plenty of time to further cement that status.
There's no doubting Charlotte Flair is one of the biggest names in WWE. She's a ready-made Superstar, but she has faced off against everyone. Positioning Flair as the Queen of NXT and having her put on some very good matches - which we know she will - against some of the top women's wrestlers in the world right now will undoubtedly bring more eyes to the product.
Not only will Charlotte Flair be reinvigorated, but NXT will be overall.
Win-win scenario. For everyone.