Teddy Long recently lavished praise on WWE for crowning a returning Charlotte Flair as the new SmackDown Women's Champion.
The Queen returned to WWE after a seven-month hiatus on this week's SmackDown. She came out moments after Ronda Rousey had defended the SmackDown Women's Title against Raquel Rodriguez in a hard-hitting affair. Flair challenged Rousey to put her title on the line, which the latter accepted.
As it turned out, Charlotte Flair took a mere 40 seconds to put away Ronda Rousey to win the SmackDown Women's Championship. Though many fans have criticized WWE for yet again crowning Flair as a champion, Teddy Long believes it was the right decision. Speaking on Sportskeeda Wrestling's One on One, Long stated that Rousey never looked like a "wrestling person" to her.
"Nothing against Ronda Rousey but Rousey, she's just not a wrestling person to me. Great woman in person, I had a chance to meet her at one of the WrestleManias, but sometimes, there's this thing about this business. You have to have it; some people have it in their genes."
The former SmackDown General Manager strongly believes WWE did the right thing by having Flair take the Women's Title from Rousey.
"You take Randy Orton, you step in the ring with him, and you know he has inherited it from his father and grandfather. Charlotte Flair did learn a lot from her father. So like I said, they did the right thing by putting it on Charlotte Flair. No better decision you could make," said Teddy Long. (19:00 -19:40)
Check out the full video below:
Charlotte Flair puts several legends on notice
On the recent episode of The Bump, Charlotte Flair name-dropped several WWE legends she was willing to step inside the ring with. The Queen stated that apart from those on the current RAW and SmackDown roster, she wants to collide with Mickie James, Michelle McCool, and Lita, among other veterans.
"So I think there's a whole new roster on SmackDown that I've never faced," Flair began. "So obviously, I'm not calling them mountains, but I think they're great opportunities to have rivalries with, but in terms of people that maybe no one would have ever thought about, I always say Mickie James is someone I've always wanted to face. Michelle McCool is another person. I think those two... Oh! And I've never had that one-on-one with Lita. So those three women, definitely those feuds are so different like those dream feuds. Those three women would be my choices, but I'm looking forward to the rosters on RAW and SmackDown because there's so many new girls back."
With Charlotte Flair’s win tonight she becomes a 7x World Champion with 1 world title. (The SmackDown Women’s Championship)
— Steve Flight⚡️ (@Steve1oftheMany) December 31, 2022
The only other woman to have 7 with 1 is Trish Stratus. pic.twitter.com/TRnibsYwZ1
One legend whom Charlotte Flair has already faced is Trish Stratus at SummerSlam 2019. The Queen came up victorious in the match, which featured Stratus turning the clock back with a tremendous performance.