WWE is using Charlotte Flair to protect Ronda Rousey

The WWE is using Charlotte Flair to protect Ronda Rousey, and that’s a huge disservice to Becky Lynch and passionate wrestling fans.

Under most circumstances, we’d be fine with the prospect of seeing Charlotte Flair being inserted into a WWE Women’s Championship match. It’s not the right call for WrestleMania 35 though. Unfortunately, WWE officials are more concerned with protecting Ronda Rousey than giving fans the main event they really want to see.

Monday’s story line development that saw Vince McMahon insert Flair into the WrestleMania title match instead of Becky Lynch is obviously heading towards a three-way match for the belt. The company is using the tried and true method of putting authoritative obstacles in Lynch’s way as a way of making sure she continues to build momentum heading into the biggest show of the year. WWE has gotten that part of the story line correct.

Sadly, the company’s dogged determination to protect Rousey is causing them to muddy the waters. WWE officials are terrified that Rousey will get booed out of the ring if she heads into WrestleMania with a singles match against the universally-popular Lynch. That could torpedo the company’s efforts to brand Rousey as a vanilla babyface.

Perhaps more importantly, if Rousey does get booed on the biggest stage in wrestling it could cause her to sour on her enthusiasm for performing for WWE. That’s the real reason why McMahon and company are throwing Flair into the mix. They understand that her involvement in a three-way match can draw the boos away from Rousey.

When Flair is allowed to work as a heel she’s one of the best in the business. Everything about her entrance at this week’s Monday Night Raw makes it clear she is going to play the role of villain heading into WrestleMania. The hope from WWE’s perspective is that Flair soaks up enough jeers to allow casual fans to keep cheering Rousey. That plan certainly might work, but it’s a huge disservice to Lynch and the amazing work she’s done over the last several months.

The right move for the company would be to allow Lynch to enter WrestleMania as the white-hot star she is currently. She may never garner the mainstream recognition that makes Rousey appealing to the company’s higher-ups, but she is a much better bet to stick with WWE over the long haul. Simply put, her lifetime value to the company is greater than Rousey’s.

Putting Flair into the WrestleMania match won’t ruin things altogether, but it’s going to go down as a huge missed opportunity to turn Lynch into the company’s biggest star. Protecting Rousey’s feelings shouldn’t be the bigger priority for WWE.