Charlotte Flair Shared How Her Brother Reid Still Motivates Her Wrestling Career

WWE

Charlotte Flair, the current SmackDown Women’s Champion and one-third of WrestleMania 35‘s main event, is the subject of the latest episode of WWE Chronicle. The documentary leans heavily kayfabe and features a lot of promo work, but begins with a moving story from Flair’s real life.

The episode opens showing Flair at the grave of her brother Reid, who died of a drug overdose in 2013. She reveals that “when I got my first action figure, the first thing I did was come here and give it to Reid.” Charlotte describes how Reid motivated and continues to motivate her in her WWE career, though he never saw her perform:

“He’s never seen me wrestle. It’s like this is another milestone or moment that I can’t believe he’s not here to see. How is the one person who got you into it not going to be there I don’t know. Maybe he’s just always with me being my wings. That’s what I always say. He’s my wings. Maybe I caught on so fast because I had some extra help.

There’s a Facebook message that I saved in screenshot from when he was in Japan right before he died, and he’s like – my nickname’s Winky – he was like, ‘Winky, when I get tired running I always think of you and how hard you work and it makes me keep going and I push harder.’ So I just think of that message and I just… replay it in my mind every day.

So I guess when I feel tired or nervous or don’t even know why I’m doing this, I just think that I’m doing it because I guess he can’t. I have a lot of reasons why I need to succeed or want to succeed or be the best or continue my dad’s legacy.”

In a talking head segment, Flair connects the fact that her brother’s passing prevented her from going to WrestleMania 29 at MetLife Stadium to her headlining WrestleMania 35 at the same arena this year, saying,

“Him passing right before I was supposed to go to New Jersey, New York, when that WrestleMania was there and then here I am main-eventing the same arena that I was supposed to be at when he died, you can’t tell me that’s not destiny. You can’t write this stuff. So the one I missed because he passed is now the one I’m going to and main-eventing. That’s destiny.”