Every hour until the clock strikes midnight (Eastern time) and we usher in 2015, Diva Dirt will highlight – in no particular order – the women who made an impact in 2014.
Charlotte
What is there to say about Charlotte that hasn’t already been said, repeated, praised, and lauded? This girl is a star.
2014 being a big year for her isn’t even an accurate enough description to do it justice. She has completely taken the game by storm, proving time and time again how you just can’t underestimate the power of a Flair.
When the year began, Charlotte was just returning from an unfortunate injury after turning heel and aligning with The BFFs, Summer Rae and Sasha Banks. She still had to sit by the sidelines and watch her cohorts take care of some dirty work, but that would all change come the brand’s debut live special, ArRIVAL.
It was there, that Charlotte was introduced to new audiences sitting in the crowd with her father, Ric Flair. Following Emma and Paige‘s Championship showdown, the father-daughter duo interrupted a pair of backstage interviews both women conducted, issuing the challenge that Charlotte was going to be next in line to take the title.
From there, Paige and Emma both went up to the main roster as Charlotte began blazing a path of impressiveness in NXT. Her improvement in such a quick span of time was remarkable, and when Paige was forced to vacate the NXT Women’s Title, Charlotte became an immediate front runner as the next candidate for the gold.
A tournament was then set up, pitting a blend of eight main roster/NXT Divas together and letting them see just who would make it to the end. Ultimately, it was Natalya and Charlotte who then went on to deliver one of the best female matches in WWE history as both Bret Hart and Ric Flair watched from the sidelines.
With tears in his eyes, Ric scouted on as Charlotte put Natalya away and claimed the NXT Women’s Championship, cementing her spot in history and taking the torch that he didn’t even need to allow be passed on.
That night, Charlotte became a star. She gained a ton of confidence and realized that this is definitely what she was meant to do with her life. From then on out, she was a new woman who went to become a singles competitor after a bad break-up with Summer Rae and ultimately, Sasha Banks.
Her first title defense came in a match against Summer, which she won out in the end. From there, it was Bayley‘s turn to get the opportunity. Following an emotional, hard fought battle, again, it was Charlotte who came out on top. This sparked Bayley’s quest for a rematch, which she was granted a few weeks down the line on an episode of the televised program.
Bayley and Charlotte went all out once again, delivering a stellar performance that saw Charlotte emerge victorious in similar fashion as their first showing. Of course, one Sasha Banks wasn’t happy about this, and from there, we rounded out the year with the money match between ex-BFFs.
Two women who have had perhaps the most storied past together. Both were plucked from their babyface roles and recruited into The BFF’s… and now both were on their own. Sasha and Charlotte put on a match so good no additional praise is needed. They elevated the already lauded division to new heights, showcasing what female wrestling in WWE can be if given everything it should be. Again, in the end, it was Charlotte who capitalized as she hit a top rope version of her Natural Selection finisher to retain the title.
Finally, the two had a rematch just two weeks later, on Christmas day, in what was another exceptional showcase of women’s wrestling within NXT. And just like the last one, it was Charlotte who took the win, this time with a bridging version of the figure four leg lock made famous by her father. They would then go on to face off again in the final female match of the year, as both appeared on WWE’s own Main Event just last night, December 30th. This proved that a main roster crowd could and would give women like Sasha and Charlotte the respect they deserved, being heavily involved in the action and watching as Charlotte would go on to pin Sasha, thus ending the year with yet another impressive victory.
Six title matches in the span of seven months, all won by the same woman. Counting WrestleMania, three appearances on the main roster in the span of nine months despite not even being fully called up. It’s no secret that Charlotte has capitalized on 2014 in a way nobody thought possible, and it’s also no secret to discover that she is being recognized as one of our Women of the Year.
Come back at the top of every hour to see who else has been crowned one of 2014’s Women of the Year.
