Tommy Dreamer Addresses 'Mixed Reaction' Charlotte Flair Got On WWE Raw

2025 women's Royal Rumble winner Charlotte Flair received an unexpectedly negative reaction on the "WWE Raw" after Royal Rumble, which wrestler veteran Tommy Dreamer has analyzed.

Dreamer, on a recent "Busted Open After Dark" podcast, stated that the fans were cheering for Flair during the commercial break, but the audience changed their mind during her promo.

"I watched Charlotte Flair get nothing but cheers for the three minutes that she was in the ring doing nothing [during the ad break], and she was just standing there soaking it all in. That was good. I felt that she was going to be this babyface. And there was this mixed reaction once we came on the air," he said. "Her promo started very, very pro-babyface, and then she was good enough to adapt, and I'll tell you specifically where they turned, when she said, 'No, you don't understand.' Once that happened, Cleveland turned on her. You cannot tell people they don't understand something because you're then in an argument with them and then they're going to jump all over you. And the 50 percent that started to cheer her, started to boo her because then it's like, 'I know more.'"

Dreamer believes that one sentence resulted in the crowd turning on her, recalling how something similar happened to Saraya on AEW television. He also feels that someone opening the ropes for her to enter the ring may be seen by some fans as a heel move, even though he thinks it's a "respect thing." 

The ECW legend, though, praised "The Queen" for adapting on-the-fly to the crowd reaction with her promo, while he also praised the interaction between Flair and the WWE Women's World Champion, Rhea Ripley. While he admitted that he would never criticize fans for cheering or booing anyone, he feels that WWE fans were wrong to boo Flair.

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit "Busted Open After Dark" with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.