More Details On Messy WWE SmackDown Segment Feat. Charlotte Flair & Tiffany Stratton

Update 4/11/25 @9:29pm EST — Addressing their report to "those confused by additional reports today," Fightful Select reported following the Observer story that "the entirety of Charlotte and Tiffany's promo last week was not scripted."

WWE Women's Champion Tiffany Stratton is set to defend her title against Charlotte Flair at WrestleMania 41, and the two women have traded some nasty jibes during the build-up — including a reportedly unscripted exchange during a promo battle on last week's "WWE SmackDown." Now, a new report from Dave Meltzer in the latest edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter provides more details on the potential backstage beef.

Meltzer's sources claim Stratton and Flair have had issues for weeks, dating back to a dual camera interview segment in which the feeling was that "Flair steamrolled [Stratton] and made her look bad." Last week's segment, Meltzer says, was intended as "retaliation" for Stratton, which is why she'd been given lines taking shots at Ric Flair and Charlotte's failed volleyball career. But while Meltzer's report says that "virtually the entire promo went as scripted," he was also told of several unscripted moments, including Flair's mockery of Stratton's high-pitched voice, Stratton's mention of Flair's three divorces, and Flair's final line about Stratton's real-life boyfriend, Ludwig Kaiser. Furthermore, Stratton calling Flair a "nepo baby" was reportedly in the script, but Flair's retort that she was in fact a "Nepo Queen" was not.

One source told Meltzer that Flair has been trying to "rattle" Stratton in the same way that John Cena or Randy Orton have been known to do with younger talent, but also that "Charlotte has f***ed this whole program by not adjusting," referring to Flair initially returning as a babyface before reluctantly turning heel in response to backlash from fans. Another source acknowledged that the "SmackDown" promo went off the rails when "Charlotte let the fans get to her." While there's general agreement that both women took liberties on the mic, Flair is "getting the majority of the blame."