The heated exchange between Charlotte Flair and Tiffany Stratton on the April 4 episode of WWE SmackDown has been the talk of the wrestling world. Reports suggest that both stars deviated from the script during their promo, leading to a tense moment in the ring. Flair brought an unexpected twist to the conversation by teasing that she could take Stratton’s real-life boyfriend despite him not being part of the segment.
Stratton fired back with personal shots, including a reference to Flair’s divorce from Andrade. Flair, visibly rattled by Stratton’s remarks and the loud boos from the Chicago crowd, tried to regain control by claiming that Stratton’s boyfriend was in her DMs. The segment ended with Stratton rolling out of the ring to keep things from escalating.
Flair-Stratton feud turns personal
Backstage reports reveal that both staff and talent believe the segment was not scripted. While there were no reported issues after the exchange, sources noted that Flair didn’t appear happy following the incident.
Dave Meltzer from the Wrestling Observer reported that a source close to Stratton claimed Flair went off-script first, and Stratton simply reacted. According to the report, tension between the two has been building for some time, with neither star seen as entirely on the right. WWE’s upper management reportedly issued a specific directive to edit out the real-life references from the YouTube version of the segment, suggesting they didn’t want the drama to be part of the storyline.
This isn’t the first time a live promo segment with Flair has gone off the rails, as there was an infamous title swap with Becky Lynch in 2021 that led to backstage issues between the two women. The anticipation for the Flair-Stratton title match at WrestleMania has been muted thus far. While their recent promos have people talking, it doesn’t seem to be helping the intrigue around their upcoming bout on the biggest show of the year.
