Selling it as part of her recent storyline with Ronda Rousey, WWE confirmed today that Charlotte Flair will be out of action “indefinitely.”
Flair’s status was originally announced on The Bump, the company’s Wednesday streaming show, before being repeated in the form of a “medical update” on WWE.com.
UPDATE: @MsCharlotteWWE will be out of action indefinitely as a result of injuries suffered in her match at #WMBacklash at the hands of @RondaRousey, @WWETheBump has reported. https://t.co/hKVzfaunBH
— WWE (@WWE) May 11, 2022
Flair and Rousey took part in a brutal I Quit Match this past Sunday at WrestleMania Backlash, with Flair’s SmackDown Women’s Championship on the line. Rousey eventually prevailed, getting Flair to quit when she applied an armbar through a steel chair. It was thought in the immediate aftermath by industry insiders, including a report by Fightful Select, that the finish was set up to allow Flair to take some time off following the event.
That turned out to be right on the money, with WWE explaining that she had a fractured radius, which is essentially a broken wrist. While Flair isn’t actually injured, framing it this way gives her a plausible reason to be off WWE programming for an extended period of time.
Flair has missed time in the past for surgeries, and in early 2021 after testing positive for COVID-19. This time, however, the 13-time world champion has a different reason for needing a break: She’s slated to marry AEW star Andrade El Idolo sometime this summer.
Considering that timeframe and WWE’s use of the term “indefinite,” it’s reasonable to expect that Flair will be out past all of the WWE’s biggest events of the next few months, including SummerSlam in late July. The first challenger for new champ Rousey has yet to be revealed, but could become clear as soon as this week’s episode of SmackDown.
And if there’s one thing we know from the previous times that Flair has been off WWE programming, it’s that she’ll be right back around the championship picture quickly after she returns. Even when you have to heal up from an “injury,” it’s good to be Queen.