For the longest time, Ric Flair held the record for the most WWE Championship wins at 16 title reigns. It's an odd record to highlight, particularly as holding it means you must have also lost the title an awful lot!
John Cena finally tied the Nature Boy's record a few years ago and, following his recent heel turn, is now chasing a record 17th world title. The Leader of the Cenation will battle Cody Rhodes for the Undisputed WWE Championship at WrestleMania and, on RAW last week, he said:
"I am going to ruin wrestling. I am going to ruin wrestling for every fan, every wrestler, for everyone. At WrestleMania, I make history by winning a 17th championship, and finally force you to forget the name of the fun machine, jet-flying, ‘woo’, Ric Flair. You will forever say the name John Cena."
Talking to The Independent, Charlotte Flair responded to Cena's shot at her father. "You can’t erase history. History is facts. And if you erase my dad, you erase me. It’s not possible to erase the last name Flair," she stated.
"I plan on breaking my dad’s record, that’s something I want to do and will do," the 14-time Women's Champion continued. "But if John is the first to break it, then I will break John’s record."
The Queen will square off with Tiffany Stratton at WrestleMania for the WWE Women's Championship. "I don’t plan on slowing down, that’s not why I came back," she told the site. "I haven’t held that title. It’s still something new, and so is [the Women’s World Title]. I was the inaugural Raw Women’s Champion, so these titles match my DNA. Every time one of those is raised... [it affects me], but I haven’t held those two."
Flair stands a pretty good chance of beating Stratton given how dominantly booked she's been by WWE in the past. Many fans won't like that, and the response to her winning the Women's Royal Rumble last month has been largely negative.
That clearly isn't bothering Flair, though, and it will be interesting to see whether the company does indeed have the 38-year-old break her father's record.