WWE Star Was 'Mad Enough' To Fight Charlotte Flair Backstage: Report

Photo: Getty Images

More details are being reported in relation to a backstage incident that followed the final segment of Friday Night SmackDown last week.

PWInsider.com reports on-air authority figure Sonya Deville was "mad enought to want to fight" Charlotte Flair after Flair went off-script during their in-ring segment Deville and Becky Lynch.

On Saturday (October 23), PWInsider.com reported Flair and Lynch exchanged "loud words" over Flair disrespecting Lynch by "trying to make her look bad" during the live segment in which Flair -- the then-RAW Women's champion but recently drafted to SmackDown -- and Lynch -- the then-SmackDown Women's champion but recently drafted to RAW -- were booked to hand over their new show's respective titles to each other.

On Monday, the website added that Deville -- a former MMA fighter prior to joining WWE -- also had an argument with Flair backstage, with two individuals claiming Deville as "mad enough to want to fight Flair."

Saturday's report confirmed the situation between Flair and Lynch "was heated but did not get physical" between the two top stars.

Flair reportedly "voiced concerns" about her character potentially looking weak during the segment prior to the show's live broadcast, which WWE attempted to air as originally planned.

During the live broadcast, Lynch attempted to grab the title from Flair, who instead pulled it away and threw it on the ground, which reportedly varied from WWE's script.

Deville demanded Flair retrieve the belt and hand it to her, which Flair did, before Deville asked Lynch to hand over her title, which she instead shoved at Flair.

Initally, PWInsider reported that Lynch shoving the title wasn't planned, however, clarified that it was, but occurred "differently" after Flair dropped the belt intentionally.

Alex McCarthy of talkSPORT reports "no one involved" with the segment "was happy about the title switch and it was debated throughout the day" prior to SmackDown's live broadcast.

Additionally, McCarthy reports that Lynch and Flair -- who were once very close friends during their run in WWE's NXT developmental system and their inital years on the main roster -- have had a strained relationship "for some time," which sources close to the situation said stemmed from Lynch calling Flair "plastic" during a promo several years ago.

McCarthy also reported WWE Chairman Vince McMahon was unhappy that Flair left the "gorilla position" outside the stage entrance without talking to him following the on-screen incident.

Flair was initially reported to be in Orlando Saturday (October 23) to support her fiancé, Andrade El Idolo, during the live taping of WWE's competitor All Elite Wrestling's flagship program Dynamite, but PWInsider retracted that report on Monday.

It's worth noting that El Idolo -- who was granted his release from WWE earlier this year -- tweeted "FU... WWE" on Friday night, which not only coincided with the initial reports about Flair, but also the airing of a taped AEW Rampage match between himself and Pac, which was followed by a post-match segment that also included Malakai Black and Cody Rhodes, all of whom were previously employed by WWE.

El Idolo has since deleted the tweet, but shared another featuring a photo of himself and Flair which states, "The Queen and My QUEEN. I love you @McCharlotteWWE #AlwaysByYourSide."


Sponsored Content

Sponsored Content