ESPN.com spoke with former RAW Women's Champion Charlotte ahead of her history-making Hell In A Cell match against rival and current champion Sasha Banks at tonight's RAW brand pay-per-view.
During the discussion, the former champ, who also held gold in NXT, told a story about an even earlier period of her career as a pro wrestler, as she spoke about being trained by her late brother Reid Fleihr, who passed away back in 2013.
"I was at the WWE Hall of Fame for the Four Horsemen in Miami, and John Laurinaitis was at dinner with my family and he asked me, "Why aren't you doing this?" I told him, "I never thought about it." My little brother, Reid, was like, "Oh my god! We can do it together!" I was personal training at the time, so I thought, I'll give it a shot. I don't know how Reid convinced me. Even when I was driving to Tampa with the U-Haul packed, I thought, "What am I doing?!" I never wanted to be a wrestler. When I got there though, the wrestling -- the physical part -- was super easy. I've played sports, and I've been a tomboy my whole life. But I didn't have a goal. After my brother Reid passed away in 2013, I realized this was what I was meant to do. And I just got better."
The top contender in RAW's current Women's division also spoke about issues she felt she had in expressing emotion and connecting with the audience and how she ended up handling it.
"The hard part for me was not the wrestling -- it was showing emotion, telling a story and being able to connect with fans. Coming out as Ric Flair's daughter and being called athletically gifted, it's hard to say, "Hey, like me! You can relate to me!" It wasn't working, so I completely switched my character. I find it easier to pretend to be the person everyone already thinks I am versus being who I am."
Check out Charlotte in action in the first-ever Women's Hell In A Cell match, as she takes on "The Boss" Sasha Banks with the RAW Women's Championship on the line.
WWE Hell In A Cell 2016 takes place tonight live from the TD Garden in Boston, Mass. Join us here this evening for live play-by-play results coverage of the show.
