ORLANDO, Fla. _ Charlotte Flair entered the ring in 2017 in front of a packed house of 75,000 fans at Orlando's Camping World Stadium for WrestleMania 33.
Now, three years later, she's back in Central Florida seeking her 10th world championship at WrestleMania 36.
This time, though, it's in an empty studio in Orlando _ the city she calls home.
No doubt about, Charlotte Flair, one of the WWE's biggest superstars, has pretty much seen and done it all in professional wrestling.
She's a nine-time women's world champion. She's a Royal Rumble winner. She grew up watching her father, Ric Flair, "WOOOOO!" his way into professional wrestling history.
But the most important moment of her illustrious career, she says, might very well be Sunday night when a TV audience sees her take on NXT champion Rhea Ripley at WrestleMania 36 in an empty production studio in East Orlando without any fans.
Originally, WrestleMania was going to be at Tampa's Raymond James Stadium in front of nearly 70,000 fans with an economic impact of nearly $200 million, but, like all other sporting and entertainment events, it was canceled. Correction: It was rearranged and pre-taped in Orlando and turned into a two-night televised event (Saturday night and Sunday night) on the WWE Network and ESPN.
No problem, Flair says. Even without the massive amount of fans and the atmosphere they create, she looks at this as an opportunity, not a setback.
"I look at this as a chance to prove to the millions watching at home that I don't need an audience to dig deep into my emotions and tell a story," Flair said during a radio interview with Marc Daniels and I on FM 96.9 The Game on Friday. "What's great about WWE is it's family-oriented and you see the reactions and hear the chants of the kids, the parents, the grandparents. The talent feeds off the crowd, but now is my chance to prove I don't need that.
"My first WrestleMania was at AT&T Stadium in front of 101,000 fans," she added. "Then I wrestled at the Citrus Bowl (in front of 75,000 fans) and then New Orleans (in front of 78,000 fans). Now this is part of my story part of my path. This is a WrestleMania in front of no one. Every year, I want to top myself. When I walk out, I'm not saying to myself, 'There's no audience.' I'm saying, 'OK, how do I prove to the millions watching at home that I'm the greatest of all-time.' "
Flair is particularly fired up that perhaps the defining moment of her career will be in her adopted hometown during a WrestleMania she thinks could be the most-watched in history. Not only that, but it was moved to the place where she got her start _ the WWE Performance Center at Full Sail University. The Performance Center is the main training ground for the NXT brand, which is the farm system for the WWE's next generation of superstars.
"I'm so proud of the company (WWE) as a whole for being able to pull this off," Flair said. "Especially with the NXT Performance Center being here in Orlando, with me living in Orlando and with the NXT Women's Championship being defended for the very first time at WrestleMania in the Performance Center _ it all just sort of works with my story.
"I'm NXT homegrown, meaning I didn't have any prior experience in professional wrestling or sports entertainment before NXT. Having that title match in the Performance Center here in Orlando _ and if I am able to capture the NXT Women's Title _ it adds to my story personally. And, for the company as a whole, it goes to show how important that Performance Center is. For us to be able to film something like WrestleMania, which is our Super Bowl, from our own backyard is incredible."
