Ric Flair called daughter Charlotte 'hardest worker' in WWE, insists she is in the title picture on

• Charlotte Flair is one of the most successful female pro wrestlers in the world today.
• She's also got one of the most famous fathers in Ric Flair.
• Ric swats aside criticism that she's there because of nepotism by saying she's the hardest worker.

WWE icon Ric Flair said on his "To Be The Man" podcast that his daughter Charlotte Flair — a pro wrestling superstar in her own right — is "the best worker in the business today," saying she is in WWE on merit, not because of nepotism.

As a former 16-time world champion and two-time WWE Hall-of-Fame inductee, Ric, 74, is widely heralded as one of the greatest pro wrestlers of all time.

Charlotte, meanwhile, made her first appearance in WWE at age 6 and has gone on to become a 14-time world champion herself.

She is days away from a WrestleMania match against longtime rival Rhea Ripley at SoFi Stadium in California.

But, ahead of the big show, another wrestling icon — Lita — told Forbes that unlike Ripley, who earned her spot, Flair got there through her lineage.

Charlotte has commented on it before, saying that "on paper" she just looks like the heel (or villain, in pro wrestling terminology) as opposed to the face (the hero).

"I just look like the bad guy," she told the Daytona Beach News-Journal earlier this year.

Elaborating on why, she said she's "Ric Flair's daughter, 5-foot-10, athletic, blonde, [and with] 14 titles."

Flair compared Charlotte to 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin

For Charlotte, she found it difficult to get the audience to connect with her in a positive way because of her family connection and so she instead channeled it to play a heel.

Ric, meanwhile, is confident that his daughter's prominence is because of how hard she works — something that's reflected when he says he gets calls from other WWE icons like Bret 'The Hitman' Hart.

The elder Flair said his daughter deserves to be in main events and even compared her to 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin.

"Why wouldn't the best performer in the company, regardless of time off or time on, not be in the main event? Give me a break," Flair said on his show.

Charlotte Flair and Ripley, meanwhile, are one of the numerous significant matches taking place at the WWE's two-day event this weekend.

Other matches include John Cena challenging Austin Theory for the WWE United States Championship, Seth Rollins against Logan Paul, and Roman Reigns in a singles match for the WWE Universal Championship with Cody Rhodes.

Watch:

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