Charlotte Flair Says Her Father Ric ‘Has A Long Road’ Ahead In Her Return To Smackdown


Charlotte Flair returned to Smackdown on Tuesday night and gave another positive update about her legendary father, Ric Flair. The Nature Boy’s daughter gave an interview backstage at the WWE Smackdown taping in North Little Rock, Ark., saying her father will have “a long road” but seemed optimistic about his recovery.

Flair has been in the hospital for about two weeks now dealing with multiple organ problems, but Flair’s return to the WWE stable indicates his situation is improving. Flair’s fiancee gave a more positive update earlier in the week, saying that she “witnessed a miracle” in his improving health. Charlotte wasn’t nearly as dramatic, but said the family is getting better after a difficult stretch.

“It’s probably the hardest two weeks I’ve had,” Charlotte said. But man, my dad’s a fighter.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FEb-jDRGIcs

It’s the second time that Charlotte has publicly spoken about her father, though the first time she’s done it in person. Charlotte said her father is recovering, but was cautiously optimistic about when fans will see him in the public eye again.

‘He has a long road I’m not saying he’s going to be back next week strutting, but definitely the prayers and the positive vibes definitely help. I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t think it was OK. So everything’s looking good and this is where I belong and I’m glad to be back.”

Flair said her family, and especially her father, was appreciative of the kind words they’ve received over the last fortnight, as WWE fans hoped for positive news about a living legend.
“He’s got nine lives,” Charlotte said, nervously laughing. “I just want to thank everyone for the messages, the prayers, Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, text messages. I know it means a lot to me. It means a lot to my family. And most importantly, I know my dad would really appreciate it.”

Charlotte said the time away from WWE was difficult because of her bond with her father. In a world where wrestling is work, it was hard to be away from WWE for so long.

“When you’re used to doing something every single day and then it’s taken away for two weeks,” she said. “And especially since my bond with my dad is this. So, like, I just kept thinking sitting there ‘How am I going to talk to my dad about work?’”

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