Charlotte Flair reveals why she was so nervous before facing Trish Stratus (Exclusive)

Charlotte Flair defeated Trish Stratus in one of the marquee matches at WWE SummerSlam in August 2019.

One week before the event, it emerged that, regardless of the outcome, Stratus was going to officially retire as an in-ring performer after SummerSlam, and she had specifically asked WWE if she could have her final match against Flair.

Speaking to Sportskeeda’s Alan John during her recent trip to Bangalore, India, “The Queen” revealed why Stratus’ plan to retire after SummerSlam meant she felt more nervous than she usually does before matches.

“I was just so nervous because she was going to have the match and be gone, so whatever happened, I was still going to be here, so it needed to be what people expected, because she’s already created this legacy and she’s a Hall of Famer and she’s looked at as one of the greats, and I feel like if I slip on a banana peel, I’m criticised for ‘Oh she wasn’t up to…’, you know what I mean?”

Regarding her mindset heading into SummerSlam, Flair said she put extra pressure on herself to be “the Charlotte Flair that she [Stratus] expected”, especially as the Hall of Famer had only returned so she could work with her.

“It was just going, one, I can’t wait to out-bad guy her, and two, it was just going, she wanted to come back to face me, so I wanted to be the Charlotte Flair that she expected, and that was what I took so serious. She wanted to come back to face me, so I hope I live up to her expectations.”

You can listen to the full interview with Charlotte Flair below!