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WWE SmackDown Superstar Charlotte Flair opened up about the controversial moment when she showed the middle finger to the crowd when they chanted for Becky Lynch at Money in the Bank in 2021.
At last year's Money in the Bank show, Rhea Ripley, who was the WWE RAW Women's Champion, defended her title against Flair. Prior to the show, Becky Lynch, who was away on maternity leave, had posted a photo outside the venue. The crowd chanted for Lynch during Ripley and Flair's match, which angered The Queen.
Charlotte Flair, in her interview with BT Sport's Ariel Helwani, said that she wanted the crowd to respect her and Rhea Ripley, during their match at Money in the Bank, by not chanting Becky Lynch's name.
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"With the crowd at Money in the Bank, I truly believe I elicit that response from them to do that with Becky because of our history. I think the crowd was partially doing that because it was me. And, also, it didn't help that she'd been gone - how long, a year, a year and a half - and she posted a picture outside the venue. So the fans wanted her. They hadn't seen her. And I was like, 'F you, you're going to respect Rhea, you're going to respect me and you're going to watch this match.' And it went from those chants to, 'This is awesome'," said Flair. [16:39 to 17:20]
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She said that her act of raising the middle finger to the fans got her in trouble with WWE.
"In that moment when I heard that [Becky Lynch chants from the fans] it was just, I didn't even like [think], 'Am I going to get in trouble for this?' which I did. It was inappropriate. That was not the right way to handle things," said Flair. [17:58 to 18:20]
You can check out the entire interview below:
You can check out a screengrab of the incident here.
She went on to say that her father, Ric Flair, may have thrown his robe in anger but would not have thrown the middle finger if the fans had hijacked a show by chanting another wrestler's name.
Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair's WWE rivalry has taken numerous twists and turns
Lynch and Flair feuded following the former's WWE return in late 2021. The feud culminated in a Champion vs. Champion match at Survivor Series.
Prior to their high-profile match at Survivor Series, the two had a real-life falling out, which was seen on SmackDown. Flair held the RAW Women's Championship while Lynch was the SmackDown Women's Champion ahead of their Survivor Series match. They were, though, drafted to different brands, which meant that they had to exchange titles.
Flair, Lynch said, did not abide by the original plan that was in place and decided to change the idea to suit her needs. This is what caused the tension between the two women's champions.
It remains to be seen whether the former Horsewomen will feud once again in the future.
Do you think Charlotte Flair will defeat Ronda Rousey to retain her WWE SmackDown Women's Championship at WrestleMania? Let us know in the comments section below.
If you use any of the transcribed quotes, please credit BT Sport and give a H/T to Sportskeeda.
