Charlotte Flair’s Realistic In-Ring Return Timeline Revealed After WWE World at WrestleMania Announcement

Charlotte Flair suffered a major injury during her last fight on December 8th. ‘The Queen’ had to undergo surgery, an operation that would leave her out of action for approximately 9 months. Now two months have passed since the surgery, and we are yet to see her return to the WWE.

While her partner Andrade El Idolo has returned to the WWE, what’s the update on Flair? She will appear as a guest on WWE World. But when will she return as an in-ring performer? And what was the injury that took her out in the first place? Let’s find out the answers to all these questions, shall we?

The Queen, the injury, and her return to WWE

Charlotte Flair suffered an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury, a torn meniscus, and medial collateral ligament (MCL) damage on the December 8 episode of Friday Night SmackDown, during her match against Asuka. At one point in the match, Flair threw her opponent into one corner. However, the move eventually took its toll on her, injuring one of her knees. ‘The Queen’ finished the match, although it didn’t take long for fans to realize that something wasn’t right. She later underwent surgery in Birmingham, and it has been about two months since the operation. And good news for fans of Flair has emerged as she has started working out again, nine weeks after her surgery. In a recent post, Flair could be seen doing some weighted squats alongside her husband Andrade El Idolo.

And what’s even better news for the fans who have been longing to see her is that The Queen has been announced as a special guest for the WWE World event scheduled for Saturday, April 6th. It was estimated back in December that she would be out for as long as nine months. And with her surgery being a successful one, we can expect to see her return to in-ring action by September. However, according to Flair, she is ahead of schedule.

Flair looks to make an early recovery

For the first time in three years, and only the second time in the last eight years, Charlotte Flair won’t participate during the WrestleMania season. She is on the shelf recovering from an injury. Still, the former 14-time women’s champion is doing her best to get back in the ring as soon as possible. During an interview with CNBC, she revealed that she is ahead of schedule and every day all she can think about is getting back in the ring and aiming for a possible 15th Women’s Championship, which would continue her efforts to tie her father’s record.

Flair has been regularly posting videos online of the different exercises she’s been doing, and ‘The Queen’ was even backstage at the Royal Rumble, helping her husband, Andrade El Idolo, prepare for his return to the company. Prior to her injury, the 37-year-old signed a new deal with WWE that will keep her with the company for several more years as one of the highest-paid women in the company’s history. But who would she face once she returns? Will it be Rhea Ripley or maybe Becky Lynch? And what do the two WrestleMania 40 main eventers think about the 14x Women’s Champion?

The history between the dominant champions

WWE Women’s World Champion Rhea Ripley is one of the company’s most popular stars. And in her journey to superstardom, she has faced Charlotte Flair at two WrestleMania events. The first was WrestleMania 36 at the height of the pandemic and took place at the Performance Center in Orlando, Florida, where Flair managed to beat Ripley. While the other was WrestleMania 39 where Ripley finally got the upper hand and defeated Flair to become the SmackDown women’s champion. Ripley claims that Charlotte was always someone she wanted to get in the ring with.

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But if Ripley is defeated by Becky Lynch at WrestleMania 40, then it would most likely be The Man vs The Queen. The two bitter rivals turned allies got back on the same page, at least temporarily, as they teamed up with Bianca Belair and Shotzi in the 2023 Women’s WarGames match. Following a successful run within the double-cage structure, Flair and Lynch appeared at the post-show press conference, visibly emotional as they reflected on their history as rivals and, once again, allies. In an interview with InsideTheRopes, Lynch claimed that she thinks Charlotte and she would always be clashing because they both want to be the best. And with that, it’s hard to have an eternal symbiotic relationship.

So maybe the WWE would want the two top stars to not just be friends but clash instead. After all, in the words of Becky Lynch, “because this is wrestling, man. We’re not selling a good time, we’re selling conflict.” Having the two square off would surely be a profitable bout for the WWE. And maybe they could also come up with the triple threat match. The possibilities are endless when you have such high-caliber talent. What do you think? Who should the Queen face once she returns? Let us know in the comments.

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