WrestleMania 41 Match Preview: Tiffany Stratton vs. Charlotte Flair

Night one of WWE WrestleMania 41 will see Charlotte Flair and Tiffany Stratton competing for the WWE Women’s Championship. Stratton comes into this match at just 25 years old and holding her first main roster Championship for a modest 104 days. Stratton has skyrocketed to the main event scene after missing WrestleMania last year. 

Flair, the veteran, comes into her seventh championship match at WrestleMania. Flair earned her opportunity by making her return and winning the Royal Rumble in February. She looks to add another world championship to her already impressive 14 reigns, leaving her just two shy of her hall of fame father’s record of 16 all-time.  

War of Words Between Tiffany Stratton and Charlotte Flair

Flair made her intentions of facing Stratton clear on the February 14th episode of SmackDown. Since the first confrontation, this rivalry has had more than its fair share of shaky moments.

The first of which came on March 21st when Flair verbally destroyed Stratton via a split-screen talking segment. Stratton showed her lack of experience and seemed to be caught off guard by the quick-witted Flair. Many saw this segment as a burial of Stratton. 

Just weeks later, on April 4th, the two women met in the middle of the ring alongside Wade Barrett. The segment itself can be described as clunky. It is not clear who went off script first or where the vitriol started.

However, the segment ended with the women getting personal after Stratton mentioned Flair’s multiple divorces. This emboldened Flair to bring Ludwig Kaiser (Stratton’s real-life boyfriend) into the conversation. This segment led to a myriad of backstage rumors and awkward fan reactions as to what just happened. 

Since the last verbal sparring contest, the women have only interacted once, physically. Flair attacked Stratton on the April 11, 2024, episode of SmackDown. It is yet to be seen if they will have one last showdown on the go-home episode this Friday. 

Two Possibilities 

If you had asked me a month ago how I saw this match going, I would have easily told you that Charlotte Flair would walk away victorious. However, since the build of this match has escalated, I would say this match could go either way.

There are many benefits to both women walking away with the championship. Let us look at our two possible outcomes and what they could mean going forward for each woman.  

Tiffy Time

If Stratton ends up walking away from her first WrestleMania with her Women’s Championship still in hand, we will finally get to see what she can do in a long-term feud. There is no chance that Flair will go away easily after just one match. Stratton winning Saturday would open the door to a three-match rivalry that could end at SummerSlam with Stratton winning her world championship back from Flair. 

We could see Stratton miss out on Backlash in St. Louis in May. Following Backlash, we come to Money in the Bank, where Stratton could drop the championship to Flair.

Leading to their third and final match at SummerSlam in New Jersey. Giving Tiffany Stratton the opportunity at her first true rivalry will show the fans if she is the true main event talent she has become so quickly. 

All Hail The Queen

Charlotte Flair walking away from WrestleMania 41 with her 15th world championship will be business as usual. Not to take anything away from Flair, but we’ve seen it all before. There are no guarantees we would see a multiple-match rivalry with Flair winning on Saturday.  

There are so many possibilities for Flair to veer off to with women like Jade Cargill being healthy and ready for the main event. Becky Lynch will be coming back soon and could renew their rivalry. Or even Nia Jax waiting in the wings to get back what belongs to her. 

We inevitably will see a rematch of Stratton and Flair after WrestleMania. However, with the way the build to this match has gone, I just can’t see Flair being excited to work with Stratton for very long if things go her way on Saturday. 

The Bottom Line 

Saturday truly could go either way, depending on how you look at it. I believe Charlotte Flair will walk away with the WWE Women’s Championship and get one step closer to her father’s record. What happens after WrestleMania is a complete unknown, but we all look forward to seeing how this rivalry unfolds once the referee has counted to three on Saturday in Las Vegas.