5 Reasons Rhea Ripley Should Defeat Charlotte Flair at WM 36 (& 5 Reasons She Shouldn't)

Many within the WWE Universe raised an eyebrow during the aftermath of the 2020 Women's Royal Rumble match. Most fans expected Shayna Baszler to win; after all, Charlotte Flair winning the big bout made no sense. She's had more than a handful of programs with current SmackDown Women's Champions Bayley and Becky Lynch, so any opponent she would choose simply did not set up a "WrestleMania-worthy" match.

Then WWE swerved audiences, and some weeks after the 2020 Royal Rumble, a program began to emerge between NXT Women's Champion Rhea Ripley and "The Queen" Charlotte Flair. Not only will this match-up make history, as an NXT title bout has never made it to WWE's flagship pay-per-view, but it also sets up a bout that audiences have never seen before. With so much at stake for both women, who will win this match? Who should win when all is said and done?

10 Ripley Win: Places NXT On The Map

Rhea Ripley Confronts Charlotte Flair On RAW Feb 3 2020

Ever since the gold and black brand hit the USA Network airwaves, it seems as if the WWE has wanted to move away from the image that NXT is merely a developmental brand. After all, it is now competing against wrestling promotion rival All Elite Wrestling (AEW) on Wednesdays nights, and it feels as if WWE wants to present NXT as a show that is on the same playing field as Monday Night RAW and SmackDown.

What better way to help this idea along than to have current NXT Women's Champion defeat main roster "Queen", Charlotte Flair? The very idea that Ripley could make Flair either tap out or win via a three-count, on the Grandest Stage of Them All, could undeniably help place NXT on the map.

9 Flair Win: Royal Rumble Winner Gloss

*Most* Royal Rumble winners tend to move on to score gold once they hit that WrestleMania stage. Of the 27 winners who have challenged WWE Champions (this includes the women too), 11 have failed at their opportunity to gain a title at Wrestlemania, while 16 have accomplished their goal. As such, the proof is in the pudding: Flair really does have very good odds of winning her WrestleMania 36 match against Rhea Ripley, if you take a closer look at the numbers. With that said, her 2020 Royal Rumble win doesn't guarantee her championship gold, but it doesn't hurt that most superstars have won their WM matches.

8 Ripley Win: The Rub

While Charlotte Flair has lost her fair share of matches over the years, she's dubbed the "Queen" for a reason, thanks to her winning record and the milestones she's achieved over the years within the WWE women's division. Allowing a (relatively) new talent like Rhea Ripley, an NXTer at that, a win would give this up-and-coming superstar a huge rub in that squared circle and help push her (and the NXT brand as a whole) over in a huge way. Especially on a platform like WrestleMania. This would help catapult Rhea Ripley as a huge female superstar leading her NXT division.

7 Flair Win: Elevate The Ratings

NXT is currently in a bit of a "Wednesday Night War" right now with AEW in terms of television ratings. While Ripley scoring a win would certainly place the brand on the map, Flair walking out NXT Women's Champion could really change the game, and elevate the show, on so many different levels.

A WrestleMania 36 win for Flair would tack on another championship reign to her already impressive resume (11-time champion, wwooo), and this would essentially mean that Flair could move over to the NXT brand. Would many fans follow her on this move? Most likely, which would expose NXT to a larger fan demographic in the long run and potentially help increase ratings.

6 Ripley Win: Why Would Charlotte Move?

Sure, Charlotte could win the NXT Championship, move to the black and gold brand, dominant the women's division, and potentially help increase NXT's rating; however, does this really make sense for Charlotte Flair's in-ring persona and character development? Could NXT really benefit from having a superstar on the roster that has "done it all"? Or is there more for Flair to do on RAW? Especially with Shayna Baszler potentially moving to the red brand (she's participating in WWE's Elimination Chamber PPV in March).

Looking to help NXT is one thing, but Flair is one of the top stars on the red brand right now, could they afford to lose her? It just wouldn't make sense for her to move, especially since she's already held the NXT Women's Championship ... many moons ago.

5 Flair Win: She's "The Queen"

Still, there are no real "set" rules in the WWE when it comes to storylines, and while the company states that they have them, they tend to break them all the time too. Charlotte Flair could win her WM 36 match against Rhea Ripley and then turn around and vacate the title because she simply wants to stay on Monday Night RAW, which leads to a major reason why Flair should win her match at WrestleMania 36.

Simply put, she's The Queen - winning high-profile matches is exactly what she does, all the time, and she does it with a certain "Flair" (wwwooo).

4 Ripley Win: The Shock Value

Let's face it: when most within the WWE Universe think about Rhea Ripley versus Charlotte Flair, the outcome seems pretty clear: Flair for the win. After all, you have a superstar who is undeniably set to become a WWE Hall of Famer, has an incredible win-loss record and has shattered barriers over the years for the women's division during the women's wrestling revolution. How could Ripley even stand a chance? Which is exactly why Rhea should win this Wrestlemania 36 match. The win would create shock waves within the industry, and it would be an outcome most fans won't necessarily be expecting.

3 Flair Win: She's Suffered Enough Losses

Now before everyone living in Internet land explodes: the truth is, while Charlotte Flair has been given plenty of opportunities over the years, and has won plenty of matches (her 10-time title reigns are proof enough of this), she suffered a ton of losses during her program with Becky Lynch to help increase and intensify The Man's push in the main event spotlight and as the top face (male or female) of the WWE.

Is it time for Flair to take a loss to help elevate Ripley? Hard to say. The two women could have an incredible match, where both superstars look strong and end with a Flair win, and this wouldn't affect Rhea's long-term run with the company in the least.

2 Ripley Win: The Fans Want To See It

There has always been a certain stigma placed on Charlotte Flair and her "push", but has escalated in recent years since her BFF feud with Becky Lynch, circa the 2018 SummerSlam season. She's undeniably talented in the ring and on the mic, and she clearly puts the work in; however, there are some fans that believe she's given high-profile matches (i.e. inserted into the WM 35 main event, turning it into a triple threat, when most wanted to see Lynch versus Ronda Rousey as a singles bout), and opportunities (and wins), because of her father, two-time WWE Hall of Famer Ric Flair. So, there would be a nice number of fans out there that would love to see Ripley conquer The Queen and pull out a win, come WM 36.

1 Flair Win: WWE Won't Allow For It

It's clear that the WWE "powers that be" love Charlotte Flair. Not only because of her gene pool, but because of her work ethic, talent, and abilities. Which leads to the biggest reason why Flair will most likely win against Rhea Ripley come WrestleMania 36: WWE management won't allow for it to end any other way.

While she has a ton of tenure in the business, Flair's still in a position where her "Queen" brand might still need a push, which makes sense if you look at her track record in the last few months. Will WWE management even allow Flair to lose on the Grandest Stage of Them All? Probably not.

NEXT: WrestleMania: 5 Reasons Why Charlotte Flair Vs. Rhea Ripley Is Best For Business (& 5 Why It Isn't)