After over a year off of WWE programming and weeks of video promos, Charlotte Flair returned to a WWE ring with a victorious performance in the 2025 Women's Royal Rumble match. What should have been the subject of historic fanfare has instead turned into the subject of online vitriol, as Flair's record-setting second career Royal Rumble win has gained the ire of netizens across social media, from mainstream platforms such as X (formerly known as Twitter) and Instagram to wrestling-specific sites such as Cagematch.
Flair entered the match in the desirable 27th spot and scored four eliminations in Piper Niven, Michin, Nia Jax, and runner-up Roxanne Perez. Despite her multiple eliminations, fans credited other competitors as more deserving Royal Rumble victors.IYO SKY and Jax were among the names mentioned by netizens as more believable Royal Rumble victors, with fans signaling their performances as more meaningful in the overall match than Flair's.
"Iyo Sky came in at #1, lasted the entire Rumble just for Charlotte Flair to return last second and win the whole thing," X user @7700saint bemoaned. They attached a video of a disappointed Fortnite streamer to emphasize their disappointment.
One search on social media will provide no shortage of frustrated posts about. Another X user reposted that tweet, and highlighted the series of eliminations Jax had just prior to Flair's victory. Jax's proclaimed "killing spree" saw her enter the match two spots later than Flair, at number twenty-nine, and score a whopping eight eliminations, including one against WWE Hall of Famer and 7-time former world champion Trish Stratus. To see Flair take the victory after a nothing-less-than-dominant performance from Jax was, according to netizens, "f***ing brutal" to witness.
Many pointed out Flair's status as a legacy wrestler, with many referencing her prestigious lineage in their nepotism claims. One user made their thoughts succinctly known, pairing their claim of Flair's nepotism-fueled victory with a gif of Roman Reigns turning off a television.
Fans seem exhausted of Flair's dominance over WWE's women's division, which was displayed in full force with her swift Royal Rumble victory. Countless posts called her underperforming victory boring, and even more posts adorned their critical takes with gif and videos ofsarcastic, unsatisfied humans and sleeping animals. One netizen even compared Flair's performance to that of former WWE star Brock Lesnar, who has been heavily criticized for his overexposure and over-dominance.
Flair's criticisms are not just limited to X. On WrestlingWorldCC's post announcing Flair's victory, all of the top comments complained about Flair's victory. Netizens under WrestlingWorldCC's post noted the inconsistencies between Alexa Bliss and Flair's return, with most of them claiming that, while the crowd was behind Bliss, WWE's production team attempted to inflate the importance of Flair's return with pyrotechnics.
Fans of Flair are few and far between, but they are vocal about their support for "The Queen." One fan of Flair taunted her plentiful detractors, and as of writing, their post has garnered over 10,000 views.
"When are y'all going to learn?" X user @FLAIRFATU wrote. "The more you hate Charlotte Flair the more successful she becomes!!"
Despite the occasional message of support, netizens remain either irate or exhausted with Flair's underwhelming performance and victory. As of writing, the Women's Royal Rumble match has a rating of 5.58/10 on CageMatch, with many of the 23 reviews noting the predictability and underwhelming nature of Flair's win as a match negative.
"Charlotte, then we get to Charlotte," Cagematch reviewer Ozzy summarized. "Look in thecomments of any single post WWE made about her return or her winning. WE DID NOT WANT HER TO WIN! WE DON'T WANT HER BACK! SHE DID NOT [EARN] ANOTHER OPPORTUNITY!"
