Wrestler Charlotte Flair has spoken to NME about her love of music from her theme song to her fandom for Megan Thee Stallion – as well as who her dream opponents would be.
Flair is gearing up for WrestleMania 41, where she will challenge the current WWE Women’s Champion Tiffany Stratton for her title. During the first London stop on “Road to WrestleMania”, she continued her winning streak on Smackdown and won her match against Michin.
While talking to NME, the WWE superstar said the word “excited is an understatement” when it comes to describing how she feels about her upcoming championship match. “WrestleMania is my domain,” she said before reminiscing about her severe knee injury. “2024 did its best to kick my ass, and I kicked its ass.”
Since her main roster debut in 2015, Flair has only missed two WrestleManias, but last year’s absence “felt a little more personal.” She admitted she “took it a little more to heart” because she had “never been injured on the main roster, so this was a big blow to me mentally and physically.”
“The Queen” only returned to WWE this February after being away for more than a year due to a severe knee injury. She entered the 30-Woman Royal Rumble at 27 and won – punching her ticket to WrestleMania and becoming the first woman ever to win the Rumble twice.
“People thought that I was gonna come back older and maybe less than – and understandably so, because I came back from what could have been a career-ending injury,” she speculated, but she is stronger than ever. “I am the only woman to be on eight WrestleManias and [in] eight title matches, so I take it very serious. I’ve already done my homework. That’s the hard part. WrestleMania is going to be the fun part with Tiffany Stratton.”
During her recovery, music played a major role in Flair’s routine. “Megan Thee Stallion got me through the summer,” she enthused before sharing that she also loves “a lot of EDM,” too.
“Don’t get me wrong, I play Adele a lot driving down the road,” Flair continued. “Gosh, my music taste is kind of all over the place. Sometimes, you’ll hear me playing Sexyy Red in the gym, but it could go from Dave Matthews Band to Cardi B. I like Diplo, I like Rebūke. I love my reggaeton too like Bad Bunny and Peso Pluma – it really just depends on my mood.”
Last year, Megan Thee Stallion and RM of BTS’ collaboration ‘Neva Play’ became the opening theme song for Smackdown – and Flair is eager to get the Hot Girl coach on the blue brand. “I had just done a post with one of the new Megan Thee Stallion songs, and then they used it for SmackDown,” she recalled. “And I was like, ‘Oh, can I just DM her and be like, ‘Will you come out with me for my entrance?’”
The North Carolina star even called out Thee Stallion directly: “Megan, two queens side by side. Let’s make it happen, please.”
Flair also commented on Bad Bunny’s WWE in-ring career – in which he won the 24/7 Championship and main-evented Backlash in 2023: “He has been incredible anytime he’s made an appearance. You can really tell his love for the industry and [how] he respects it and puts in the work. So kudos to him.”
More pop stars have been stepping into the WWE: Travis Scott appeared as John Cena’s accomplice in attacking Cody Rhodes last month and is currently training for his inevitable in-ring debut. Sexyy Red recently revealed she could have wrestled in WWE if she had more time to train. She, instead, had segments on NXT and hosted Battleground – a premium live event exclusive to the yellow brand.
NME asked Charlotte Flair what she thought about more non-wrestlers taking on the challenge. “I only think a superstar should do that if they respect the industry and want to be good at it and take the time to learn because what we do is very special,” Flair explained. “We’re not only entertaining – I mean, it’s sports, it’s entertainment, it’s all-encompassing. You have to put in the work — it’s hard. Who likes getting beat up?”
When asked which stars she’d like to see step into the squared circle, Flair had a few in mind: “[Olympic gold-winning gymnast] Simone Biles killed it. [Olympic gold-winning skier] Lindsey Vonn just came back [and] won another medal at 40. And an artist? I’d say, let’s go Cardi B because I do think that she follows it and likes it. So those three.”
The latter did a promotional video for WWE last year, announcing that another premium live event SummerSlam will now be held across two nights.
With more musicians having prominent roles in recent WWE storylines, Cyndi Lauper’s legacy in wrestling has recently resurfaced among fan discussion. The pop icon had been instrumental in WWE’s Rock ‘n’ Wrestling era, managing Wendi Richter when she won the WWF Women’s championship at the first-ever WrestleMania. Many believed she deserved a Hall of Fame induction and, when asked her thoughts, Flair remained neutral. “I’ve never been asked this question,” she stated before believing it was “not something she could say”.
“That isn’t something that I am educated on,” she added. “I just know the song [Lauper’s 1983 hit ‘Girl Just Wanna Have Fun’]. I like her. It was a monumental moment for Wendi Richter,” she said. “I think that would be up to the fans to vote, whether they believe she should be in it. That’s not my decision, but there’s no negative there — I just don’t know.”
Charlotte Flair – as the daughter of wrestling legend Ric Flair – has carried on her family’s legacy not only through her in-ring prowess but also through her entrance presentation. Both she and her father are renowned for their elaborate, feather-adorned robes and for using the iconic composition ‘Also Sprach Zarathustra’ by Richard Strauss as their entrance music. While Ric Flair walked out to the original orchestral piece, Charlotte’s version – called ‘Recognition’ – is a remix crafted by WWE’s former in-house music production duo CFO$.
Flair reflected on the significance of the entrance theme. “In the beginning, it really took me a minute to own it because I’m coming out to technically Ric Flair’s music that’s just remixed a little (because I love EDM and techno so they gave it a beat),” Charlotte explained.
Eventually, she embraced it, saying “it became second nature” to her. In 2023, her song was updated and renamed ‘All Hail The Queen’ with an added intro: “Bow down / All hail the queen”. Flair initially revealed she had mixed feelings about the track but, years on, she told NME that she found the new song “pretty cool”.
However, for Flair, the song represented more than just her entrance and wresting persona: “I am more proud [of] that beat or that symphony that’s from my dad’s and that’s similar to mine. I’m so proud of the legacy we have created together, and that’s what I think is the most important part of that music. It’s an extension of him while continuing my own path.”
WrestleMania 41 will take place on April 19 and April 20 in Las Vegas, with CM Punk, Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins main eventing the first night and John Cena (in his last year of wrestling) will challenge the current WWE champ Cody Rhodes in hopes of becoming a record-breaking 17-time World champion in the company. You can find any available tickets here.
US fans can watch WrestleMania via Peacock, and most international fans can watch WWE’s most prestigious event on Netflix.
In other news, Lewis Capaldi appeared during last Friday’s Smackdown, aligning himself with fellow Scotsman Drew McIntyre by congratulating him backstage after his win against Randy Orton.