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Charlotte Flair joined the panel this week and CM Punk came back into the fold once more as an analyst. Flair talked about several topics including winning the Rumble, her advice to new signee Simone Johnson and her thoughts about how things have changed in NXT since she was a part of that brand.
Stephanie McMahon was briefly interviewed by Renee Young at the WrestleMania 37 press conference. Kofi Kingston looked fondly back on the Road to KofiMania last year while recent happenings on RAW also took center stage.
Since Sheamus was driving the pace car at this weekend's Daytona 500 race, a brief segment compared NASCAR with the WWE. The history and partnership between the two sports was remembered as the likes of Goldberg, John Cena and others have shown up at various races. Randy Orton and Flair also continued to toy with fans regarding their decisions and actions following the Royal Rumble.
Here are five takeaways from the February 11th, 2020 episode of WWE Backstage.
#5 RAW Rumblings
Becky Lynch defeated Asuka for the second time in about a month on the latest episode of RAW. But before The Man could celebrate another victory over the Empress of Tomorrow, Shayna Baszler crashed the show and brutally attacked Lynch. After nearly choking her out, Baszler then bit the back of Lynch's neck.
Of the brazen attack, Booker T claimed that "it caught me off guard" while Paige got "more of a Mike Tyson vibe" from the attack. She added that "it was strange but people are talking about it." Punk added that "she's a [expletive] and she doesn't need it (to bite Lynch's neck)" He felt that "she's got the legitimate background (in MMA)" and "going forward, she's a bad guy, if she needs that extra something, then bite her."
The Voice of the Voiceless also chimed in on the ongoing saga between Randy Orton and Edge. Since Orton attacked Matt Hardy after Hardy sought an answer for the attack on Edge, Punk gave his thoughts on the Viper. He claimed that "a motivated Randy, when he's dialed in and he can really sink his teeth into something, I don't think there's anyone better."
Paige added a thought on Hardy asking "is this the last time we're going to see Matt Hardy?" after he received a conchairto of his own from Orton. It was a bit strange that the panel did not discuss Hardy's great promo before being attacked as a part of the encounter.
#4 Charlotte Flair interview
Charlotte Flair is one of the top stars in the company and she joined the show and answered a bevvy of questions. She recently went back to NXT to confront Rhea Ripley and the Queen gave a surprising account of her trip back there. She claimed that she "was nervous because 300 people intimidate me more than 8000." It was nostalgic "going back to day one and reminiscing" and she revealed that she "actually walked into the wrong locker room" upon arriving at Full Sail University.
Young asked her about a few current NXT stars including Finn Balor and Bianca Belair. Of Balor, Flair said that "Finn was such an important part to the growth of NXT that I think it makes sense" for him to return because "there wouldn't be an NXT without him." She also praised Belair, saying that "you can't teach the "It" factor and Bianca has it. She's a stud in the ring and she oozes confidence." Flair also claimed that "I did not (ooze confidence) in 2015" and that Belair "already has it that young into your career." Because of those factors Flair expects "big things from her career."
Flair also revealed that she "always wants to be nervous" prior to a match due to her passion for the business, including her big match with Ronda Rousey at Survivor Series two years ago. Of the pairing with Rousey, Flair claimed that "it's not what I learned but what I needed to prove to myself" regarding how she felt about "replacing" Lynch in the match. She wanted to know how she could "show the world and WWE Universe and peers that I am a legitimate athlete and I can do that with Ronda."
She went on to praise the former UFC Bantamweight Champ saying that "she trusted me and that meant the world to me" as well as that the match meant "a lot to me and I need this match to remind people of who I am."
Since she's already had so much success in her young career, Flair was asked about what the pinnacle of her career would be. She felt that "it seems like nothing is ever good enough" but that she still "just wants to get better and never stop learning." Punk felt that "maybe the pinnacle is giving back" to the other developmental brands since he made a point to do the same while active in WWE.
#3 The Evolution of the WWE Women's Division
Stephanie McMahon joined the show for a brief moment and gave her favorite memory of WrestleMania in California. She recounted how "right before WrestleMania 21, my dad tore both of his quads at the Royal Rumble and I had to step in and fill his role" of going through match ideas with participants in the Money in the Bank match that year.
In addition to McMahon being present at the advent of the Women's Evolution in WWE, Paige and Flair were key components of it at the beginning. Paige claimed that at the inception of things, "AJ Lee was the first person to get people to take notice but people weren't given the time in the ring." She added that "they weren't giving us enough time on the main roster" opposed to in NXT. After a 30 second match on RAW, #GiveDivasAChance "trended for three days straight."
Charlotte added that "it's not that we didn't have talent before AJ Lee" but that it "really took characters" to get noticed. The women with well-defined personas worked because "the audience was identifying with characters and not just groups of women" Flair also added that "every opportunity we were given we delivered and delivered."
Paige added that she "felt nervous from the get go" during the whole process, so much so that "we (herself, Lee and the Bellas) went out on RAW and had our WrestleMania match because we knew it'd get cut short."
#2 Reliving KofiMania
One of the most fulfilling runs to a Championship in WWE had to be Kofi Kingston's journey to the WWE Championship last year. While it did borrow from a previous story, and one that involved the heel in his journey as a face, it was still done differently so as to have its own impact.
Kingston reflected on the journey, claiming that by competing in the Elimination Chamber match, he "looked at it as an opportunity to compete for the WWE Championship" and that he hadn't received "the chance for a very long time."
The Chamber match was also filled with "all guys that I wanted to wrestle" and that the gauntlet match provided him with "all these fantasy matches back to back to back." Since he was the gauntlet's iron man, the fact that he was facing a lot of top stars took his mind off of the idea that he was fatigued.
When AJ Styles entered the match after Kingston was attacked by a recently eliminated Samoa Joe, Styles pleaded with him that he didn't have anything more to prove. Kingston pushed back at Styles for trying to get him to bow out, saying that "the emotions behind our actions can sometimes be very real." When Styles tried to plead with him, Kingston "fired up and felt offended" because he didn't want his opportunity to disappear.
Kingston also revealed that "when I got backstage and saw my social media, it was nothing but positive comments" regarding his star-making performance in the gauntlet. He felt that "at that moment, I realized that we might be on to something special."
#1 Hot Tags
A few other events were briefly taken to task by the panel. Carmella won a Fatal Four Way match on the latest SmackDown and she earned the right to challenge Bayley for the SmackDown Women's title. Booker T claimed that "Bayley is still trying to find herself" but when he looks at Carmella "I see consistency. She's the female Miz of the division." He added that "she take's a licking and keeps on ticking."
Two talk show segments returned on the most recent episodes of both SmackDown and RAW including the Dirt Sheet on SmackDown and the MVP Lounge on RAW. Paige felt the Dirt Sheet had a better return, saying that "I love a bit of parody and comedy, and you get the internet darling Mr. Miz in the segment." I personally enjoyed Miz and Morrison's show better than MVP's.
Aleister Black is sort of in limbo at the moment in that he's not embroiled in a feud. Murphy moved on to join the Monday Night Messiah while Andrade, Rey Mysterio, Humberto Carillo and Angel Garza have been in an ongoing angle. Punk felt that for Black's next move "he has to go for a secondary title here and Andrade is the guy to go after here." He also added that "Zelina Vega may or may not like that idea" since she's the valet of Andrade but married to Black in reality.
The Rock's daughter, Simone Johnson, was recently signed by WWE and reported to the WWE Performance Center. Since Flair was a guest and had a famous father in the industry, the panelists asked her about the signing. Flair claimed that "it's not easy" because "a lot of people are going to think it's easier" for Johnson due to being born into pro wrestling. She added that "in some ways it is, but there comes a lot of criticism" with it.
Flair also said that Johnson needs to know "who do I trust" as well as advising her that "you have to block out the noise and stay true to you." The Queen also recommended that Johnson "work twice as hard and don't take anything for granted" and that "in the beginning (of training), she needs to talk to the coaches and leave dad out of it for a second and talk to people who aren't biased towards you."
