Divas Champion Charlotte joined former WWE announcer Jonathan Coachman for SportsCenter’s weekly Off the Top Rope segment, talking about her childhood, her path to wrestling and Ronda Rousey‘s shocking loss at UFC 193.
Charlotte spoke about growing up with Ric Flair as her father, saying that he was very much a normal dad, aside from him being on the road a lot. She said he made up for his abesence, though, by bringing her lunch at school and attending all of her sporting events.
She talked about her athletic background, going from cheerleading to volleyball in high school. She says her number one goal was to get a full ride scholarship to play Division I volleyball. She did that, and after she graduated from college she worked as a personal trainer for two years. When considering making the transition to wrestling, she thought about the impact she made on her clients’ lives, wondering if she could do the same in wrestling.
Charlotte admitted she was “scared” to make the jump to wrestling, since she never saw herself as a Diva. When asked about her Divas Title win, she said it felt surreal. She mentioned Ronda Rousey and Serena Williams, saying that holding the title gives her the opportunity to represent strong, passionate and intelligent women like they do.
On Rousey’s loss at UFC 193, Charlotte said that she’s even more interested to see her overcome her loss and continue to empower women. She says she welcomes her to step into a WWE ring.
Watch the segment below:
SportsCenter’s Off the Top Rope segment airs every Tuesday at 9pm ET on ESPN.
