Charlotte Flair on Turning 40: “I Have Another Opportunity to Help Redefine Success for Long-Term Female Careers”

Charlotte Flair turned 40 on April 5 — and she has a clear sense of purpose about what this chapter of her career represents beyond just another birthday milestone. Speaking in a Sports Illustrated profile piece, Flair articulated the double standard that has long defined how age is perceived differently for men and women in professional wrestling, and positioned her current run as an opportunity to shift that narrative in a meaningful and lasting way.

“Unfortunately, men seemed to get better and women seem to get older,” Flair said with characteristic bluntness. She then placed her current moment in direct historical context alongside the Women’s Evolution she helped spark a decade ago. “These years have gone by so fast. When I was younger, when I thought of 40, I thought of the Golden Girls. That’s really what I thought of. Now, not only did I have an opportunity in 2015 to be part of the Women’s Evolution and redefine what it meant to be a female superstar — longer matches, no longer eye candy — now I’m here going, ‘I have another opportunity to help bridge the gap and help redefine what success means for long-term female careers in professional wrestling.'”

Charlotte Flair Says Women in Wrestling Are Not Disposable and She Wants to Prove That at WrestleMania 42

The message Flair delivered was one she clearly intends to back up with action rather than just words. “I hope that I bridge that gap in a male-dominated world where before it was like, ‘Everyone has to be 25. Women are disposable.’ No, we’re not.” The statement carries genuine weight coming from someone who has been at the top of WWE‘s women’s division for over a decade and is now competing on the WrestleMania 42 card heading into her 40s with the same ambition and physical capability she brought to WrestleMania 31.

Flair teams with Alexa Bliss to challenge for the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships in the Fatal Four-Way at WrestleMania 42 Night One on April 18 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. The match also features The Irresistible Forces as defending champions, The Bella Twins, and Bayley and Lyra Valkyria.