WWE "robbed" Charlotte Flair with Royal Rumble decision, former champion says

Charlotte Flair won the 2025 Women's Royal Rumble match after a 14-month WWE in-ring absence. Reacting to the controversial decision, 21-time Hardcore Champion Stevie Richards explained why The Queen's return should have been booked differently.

Flair was the 27th entrant in the 30-woman match. The polarizing star eliminated four competitors en route to earning a title opportunity at WrestleMania 41 on April 19-20. Since the event, the 38-year-old has received mixed crowd reactions on RAW, NXT, and SmackDown.

On The Stevie Richards Show, Richards said fans were always going to reject Flair's babyface persona if she immediately won the Royal Rumble. He added that the 14-time champion should have targeted another title reign at the end of the year like the retiring John Cena:

"I would have eased her back into the whole thing, and then you've got girls to work," Richards stated. "You've got a road map to get you back to the title. Your whole angle is, 'I'm going to get back and win the world title by the end of 2025.' Maybe on the same show Cena wins the world title at the end of the year. It's a special event. I think they robbed her, and she robbed herself, of being way more over than she ever was before by just inserting her [into the title picture]." [5:01 – 5:31]

Flair is allowed to challenge for a title of her choosing at WrestleMania 41. After winning the Royal Rumble, the WrestleMania 35 main-eventer appeared on RAW to address a possible match against Women's World Champion Rhea Ripley. Later in the week, she also teased potential bouts with NXT Women's Champion Giulia and WWE Women's Champion Tiffany Stratton.

---

Stevie Richards on WWE's missed Charlotte Flair opportunity

On December 8, 2023, Charlotte Flair suffered a torn ACL, MCL, and meniscus against Asuka on SmackDown. WWE hyped her return with a promotional package ahead of the Royal Rumble. However, the video mostly revolved around her lavish lifestyle and title reigns rather than her injury.

Stevie Richards thinks WWE made a big mistake by not highlighting her road to recovery:

"Show it, and I mean show it from the very beginning. That way the people will never have her out of their minds or out of their hearts, and then somebody talks cr*p about her for a year until she comes back, then you've got a girl that's over, put in her place [Flair's opponent], the heel, but then continues to try to hurt Charlotte on the way, maybe, to WrestleMania or on the way to something." [12:30 – 12:57]

Tiffany Stratton will defend the WWE Women's Championship against Nia Jax on the February 14 episode of SmackDown. Charlotte Flair plans to wait at least until the match is over before deciding on her WrestleMania 41 opponent.

What are your thoughts on WWE's booking of Charlotte Flair's return? Hit the discuss button and let us know.

---

Please credit The Stevie Richards Show and give an H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription if you use quotes from this article.