'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,/9j/4AAQSkZJRgABAQAAAQABAAD/2wCEAAMDAwMDAwQEBAQFBQUFBQcHBgYHBwsICQgJCAsRCwwLCwwLEQ8SDw4PEg8bFRMTFRsfGhkaHyYiIiYwLTA+PlQBAwMDAwMDBAQEBAUFBQUFBwcGBgcHCwgJCAkICxELDAsLDAsRDxIPDg8SDxsVExMVGx8aGRofJiIiJjAtMD4+VP/AABEIAAYACgMBIgACEQEDEQH/xABfAAEBAQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABgcQAAEEAgMBAQAAAAAAAAAAAAIBAwQRABIFBgcTIQEBAQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABgcRAAIDAQEBAAAAAAAAAAAAAAECAwURAAQi/9oADAMBAAIRAxEAPwCR7X6KXYXk4AwlAxyT8VvY3UcRgykCO4DSX+FWqrWZ9K836zFlPsLNlF8nDC1jAt6rV39MYy0WvlgX3yqExQRg04PleEV6JBTVrRoqtLAXdsGsxY6Se//Z'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Charlotte Flair returned at the end of the year to shock the WWE Universe. She would dethrone Ronda Rousey after the then-champion was coming off a successful title defense against Raquel Rodriguez. Wrestling veteran Dutch Mantell revealed the possible reason for the last-minute title change.
Fans were taken by surprise when Ronda Rousey accepted the impromptu challenge from Charlotte Flair - who defeated her in minutes to regain the SmackDown Women's Championship. What surprised fans the most was the direction, as Rousey had previously dethroned Flair in May before the latter went on a hiatus.
Speaking to SP3 on the latest episode of Smack Talk, wrestling veteran Dutch Mantell suggested that the timing of the episode was the possible reason why WWE decided to have Flair defeat Rousey:
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"It's the end of the season, end of the year, it was a holiday weekend. I actually loved it. Because now we're not going to see the same Ronda Rousey with the belt. We're going to see Charlotte Flair with the belt. They have a whole new direction to go - that's why they did it. It was a brilliant move. And Ronda can always see 'Look, I went 15 minutes with yohoo [Raquel Rodriguez] over here and you challenged me and didn't get me at my best, so you're going to call that a win?'" [4:25 - 4:58]
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He added that there is still a lot of money to be made from the Rousey-Flair feud:
"And the part is, she'll be right. And people are thinking 'that's the way it happened', so you could look at it that way. I thought it was a good move. I thought it helped Charlotte's return because it damn sure didn't hurt it. It's going to help her return, and I don't think it hurt Ronda Rousey at all. Looking forward to her going up against Charlotte. And Raquel is...Raquel right now. They got a lot of green girls there, so now you got two pros in the ring - and Charlotte is more of a pro than Ronda is at this point. But you can almost bet that it's money in the bank waiting right there. You just got to cash the cheque." [4:59 - 6:00]
You can watch the full video below:
What lies ahead for Charlotte Flair on the road to WrestleMania 39?
It will be interesting to see what lies ahead for Charlotte Flair on the road to WrestleMania 39. On the other brand is RAW Women's Champion Bianca Belair, who is currently rumored to be Flair's opponent at WrestleMania.
It's more likely that Belair will lose the RAW Women's title beforehand if this is the case, and she could make the jump to SmackDown for the blockbuster match. As for Ronda Rousey, things aren't looking good as her planned match against Becky Lynch could be nixed, according to the Wrestling Observer.
Who do you want to see Charlotte Flair face at WrestleMania 39? Voice your thoughts and opinions in the comments below!
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