WWE Pushing Major Name Not As A Babyface Or Heel But ‘As A Star’

WWE is taking a page out of the AEW playbook.

Prior to AEW’s official TNT debut last October, Dave Meltzer revealed on Wrestling Observer Radio (h/t WrestleTalk) that the upstart promotion wouldn’t have typical heels and babyfaces, saying, “The thing is that they’re not doing heel/babyface. It’s just like they just do everyone’s a heel and everyone’s a babyface. When it comes to most of the guys Cody can be a heel or a babyface at any time. The Young Bucks can be heels or babyfaces.”

Of course, the stars of AEW—like most pro wrestling promotions—typically lean closer to either a fan favorite or villainous role, but there have been shades of gray between the two sides. WWE, however, typically has a more definitive line between heels and babyfaces, with top stars like AJ Styles and Seth Rollins obviously working in the former role and the likes of Daniel Bryan and Drew McIntyre clearly in the latter.

MORE FROM FORBESWWE Delaying Huge SummerSlam FeudBy Blake Oestriecher

There is one marquee star, however, who seems to fluctuate between good and evil almost on a weekly basis, and that would be Charlotte Flair. So, what’s the deal with WWE’s noncommittal booking of “The Queen?”Well, Meltzer recently said on Wrestling Observer Radio (h/t The Ring Report), “She’s just supposed to be a star. She’s not a babyface, and she’s not a heel.”

WWE clearly thinks quite highly of Flair, who is already a 12-time women’s champion and, at this rate, will probably have 20 or more title reigns by the time she hangs up her boots for good. Most fans who watch WWE on a consistent basis will tell you that Flair is a much more natural heel because, even though she is a fantastic in-ring performer, her strong push over the past half decade has helped her easily draw the ire of the WWE fan base. Despite that, Meltzer had reported earlier this year that WWE viewed Flair as a babyface during her NXT Women’s title feud with the very popular Rhea Ripley, which seemed almost comical.

In a sense, though, pushing Flair as a babyface and pushing her as “a star” are essentially one in the same: The idea is that she is on a whole different level from most others, and whether fans agree with that sentiment or not, WWE is certainly paying her like she’s in her own stratosphere. One could argue, however, that Flair isn’t the star WWE believes she is. Flair was reportedly move to NXT primarily to help the yellow brand defeat AEW in pro wrestling’s new “Wednesday Night War,” and yet, Flair simply has been unable to do that, with AEW absolutely dominating NXT in the viewership department throughout 2020.

Of course, there is a wide variety of factors that have impacted NXT’s inability to keep pace with AEW, and Flair is just one of many. As we’ve seen with dozens of major stars over the years, whenever a marquee name is pushed so heavily, it is typically quite difficult for that star to win over fans and be accepted as a babyface for the long term. In Flair’s case, she isn’t nearly as well-liked as more natural fan favorites like Bryan and Becky Lynch, and it certainly stands to reason that this is why WWE is committing to pushing her as a “star” rather than a babyface.

WWE probably doesn’t want her in a full-fledged heel role because full-blown heels don’t sell as much merchandise and typically don’t drive strong TV viewership the way top babyfaces do. Yet, trying to go overboard with a babyface push for Flair simply isn’t going to work because she’s resented so much by so many fans.

Thus, WWE has a built-in excuse for its decision to force Flair’s push even when she isn’t over. It could go something like this: “Well, that’s because she is not a babyface or a heel. She’s just Charlotte Flair.”