I woke up this morning in the same way I always do. Alarm rings, caffeine fix on the way, and scrolling through Twitter for some news and content to write about. Never once did the thought cross my mind that I would in fact be the centre of a Twitter spat.
Even less so did I think that someone as prominent and in the public eye as Charlotte Flair, daughter of sixteen-time world champion Ric Flair, would be coming at me for the content written in my own article. If you care to read the article I’ll link it here.
Now that you’ve presumably read the article, I’ll congratulate you on making more of an effort than half of WWE Women’s Tag Team champion Charlotte’s fans have made before attacking me.
My article quite rightly pointed out the athletic and wrestling talent of Miss Flair, but with praise comes criticism, as I also quite rightly pointed out the fact that she has featured as the “face of the women’s division” despite the fact that WWE have a vast amount of unsung talent who deserve their fair opportunity.
In the Twitter rant against me, Charlotte questioned whether my article was because of her gender, when I had already drawn comparisons to Hulk Hogan, John Cena, and Roman Reigns. I have also publicly condemned the fact that Goldberg has returned for a main event championship program with Drew McIntyre.
I’m not going to go into the depths of my article all over again but I will say, for Charlotte and her fans, how important it is to read an article before you paste it on Twitter and begin to slate me.
I stressed that Charlotte doesn’t deserve the hate she gets and that she is a talented wrestler, but her booking is where WWE’s audience have the ability to wake up and smell the bull.
Stars such as Asuka and Rhea Ripley suffering huge losses and dents in their character in matches that wouldn’t harm Flair’s character were she to “stare at lights” and making allusions to creating the likes of Becky Lynch when it was actually former UFC Bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey taking the pin for your WrestleMania 35 main event, a match had the fans got what they wanted and not had a narrative pushed on them, you wouldn’t have even been a part of.
Your emotional and misinformed approach to a valid article citing the issues with your booking, not you personally or even your character, has indicated that even despite your accolades and your gifts you have a chip on your shoulder and insecurities about the merit behind your “climb to the top”.
You claim I wouldn’t understand excelling at something. And yet here I am, writing a response to a WWE wrestler who has taken exception to my own writing, one might say that is truly an unfortunate side effect of excelling at something.
You challenged my words which is fair enough, but in the spirit of contention, let’s try something, how about you and I have a debate, public or private, about the content of my article.
What’s interesting to see is if you will respond to me now, when I have had to endure your following of die-hard fans coming at me just because they hang on every word you said. Or are you just going to leave your fans to fight your battles?
I have been the subject of coverage from websites that I dreamed of working for as a journalist, with Fightful and Cageside Seats reporting on this, and I guess I could say thank you for giving me a platform. But putting journalism aside as a wrestling fan my only wish is for the product I watch to get better, it would be encouraging to see someone part of that product give credence to the fans’ frustrations and show whether or not their consumers matter to them.
Today has been a weird ride for me, if you could let us know your thoughts on Twitter or on Instagram that would be awesome and never forget to check out the Vendetta Shop for the latest and greatest merch.
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