Charlotte Flair Apologized To Referee For Acting Like A Heel After Title Win, 'Old Habits Die Hard'

Charlotte Flair isn't used to being a babyface.

Charlotte took a lengthy hiatus from WWE after losing the WWE SmackDown Women's Championship to Ronda Rousey in an I Quit match at WWE WrestleMania Backlash. In storyline, Rousey had injured the arm of Flair, which put her on the shelf.

Charlotte returned on the December 30 episode of WWE SmackDown, confronting Rousey and baiting her into a SmackDown Women's Title bout. Flair was victorious, much to the delight of the audience.

Speaking to Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful, Flair was asked for her thoughts when they told her she would be winning the title on her first night back.

"This isn't the first time [laughs]. What, me? I think I was excited, but my only hesitation was, winning it off the bat, I truly felt like people had missed me, feels heelish in itself. Heelish by default, but the audience was so great and I was like, 'it's an opportunity, go with it.' I felt like winning it off of Ronda that way did make sense considering payback is a bitch from breaking my arm," she said.

When it was noted that Flair snatched the title from the referee, who was trying to raise her hand, Flair said that she apologized for acting like a heel.

"I apologized profusely backstage. That was just habit, 'Give me that title, I'm leaving.' Old habits die hard," she said with a laugh.

Flair has said in previous interviews that she had left her gear at home as she wasn't expecting to win the title when she returned.

Asked what she was expecting to do, Flair replied, "I think it was just being back, because I had never been gone that long. Just coming out with an entrance, whether it was Ronda or another opponent, just setting up something for the future and being like, 'Hey, I'm back,' kind of felt like enough."

Flair is set to defend her WWE SmackDown Women's Championship against Rhea Ripley at WrestleMania 39.

Fans can check out the current lineup for WrestleMania 39 night one by clicking here.

Watch the full interview with Charlotte in the video above.

Get exclusive pro wrestling content on Fightful Select, our premium news service! Click here to learn more.