Charlotte Flair has recently been in the headlines for the wrong reasons.
Recent reports have painted a negative picture following her backstage confrontation with Becky Lynch on SmackDown last month.
WWE Hall of Famer Bully Ray addressed these reports on Busted Open Radio, particularly where Charlotte Flair has been deemed "difficult to work with".
Coming from an entirely different era, Bully Ray defended Charlotte and tried to explain things from her position:
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“Difficult to work with comes down to knowing your worth. The wrestling business has morphed into this weird, quirky yes-man, yes-woman territory. If you don’t just say ‘yes’ to everything, if you stand your ground and fight for what you believe in, you’re deemed difficult. By that definition, don’t you think The Undertaker, or Stone Cold Steve Austin, or The Rock were difficult to work with?” (H/T SEScoops.com)
PWTorch reported that an unnamed superstar approached them and revealed that Charlotte has been "increasingly difficult to work with," and that no woman on the roster wanted to work with the record-breaking women's champion.
Bully Ray dismissed reports that Charlotte is "difficult to work with". He said Charlotte's top position means there's always going to be conflict and negotiation:
“Is that truly difficult? No, it’s just somebody believing in their convictions the way their character has been portrayed. It’s not always, ‘Well this is what the office wants, you have to do it this way.’ There’s talking, there’s negotiating, there’s working it out. So, when I hear the term ‘difficult,’ I really try to put it under a microscope and find out, how is this person so difficult to work with? You mentioned Charlotte Flair. Charlotte is top of the food chain."
Becky Lynch, who was on the other end of the confrontation in October, was reportedly lauded as a "hero" backstage and is well-liked by the rest of the roster.
Does Bully Ray's opinion justify Charlotte Flair's behavior?
It's important to note that Bully Ray's peak in WWE was during the Attitude Era, where the landscape of WWE was entirely different. Many superstars were given creative freedom, and several top wrestlers were protective of their spots.
While Bully Ray certainly has a point about Charlotte Flair having to go through conflict in her top spot, the reports of other women in the locker room not wanting to work with her paints another story.
Ultimately, we're unlikely to get clarity on the actual situation for a while, at least until both Charlotte Flair and Becky Lynch talk about what happened. That might be years from now.