The WWE, the more they stay the same. At least in one of the promotion's divisions. While Jey Uso shocked the world by winning the men's match and earning a world title shot at WrestleMania, Charlotte Flair provided a more predictable finish on the women's side.

Charlotte returned to World Wrestling Entertainment at the mega-event after being sidelined for nine months with a knee injury. She returned with a bang, and she appeared to be in top-notch shape. Flair finished things off by sending upstart Roxanne Perez over and out of the ring - punching her ticket to Las Vegas in April.

It seems that she's set to face a fellow female phenom, Rhea Ripley, for the WWE Women's World Championship. However, Charlotte is keeping her options open as part of the storyline. She's set to visit NXT and confront Giulia, as well as Smackdown to have a face-off with Tiffany Stratton.

The Negative Perception of Charlotte Flair

Fans Have Seen It All Before From the Second-Generation Star

It's a scenario we've seen from Charlotte before. She's had so much of the spotlight over the years, that it was often overkill and left a bad taste in the fans' mouths. That was what appeared to happen at the Royal Rumble, and her triumphant return wasn't met with the type of ovation WWE was expecting.

The daughter of the legendary Ric Flair has always been one of the company's 'chosen ones'. She's always been literally draped in gold, as she has captured an astounding 14 world titles and two NXT championships. Anytime she leaves, she returns to almost immediate success, and the keys to the women's division are handed back to her.

Unfortunately for Charlotte, that pattern has drawn comparisons to another WWE legend and one of her father's biggest rivals - Hulk Hogan. The Hulkster has certainly fallen out of favor because of his public misgivings and the WWE Universe's perception that, when he was at the top of WWE or WCW, the company essentially rolled over for him. The popular meme "This doesn't work for me, brother" is used to joke about Hogan's creative control over the years and how much his refusal to lose has hurt upstart stars.

Of course, the comparison is made even harsher by the fact that Hogan was booed mercilessly during RAW's debut on Netflix in January. The Queen received a similar reaction from the fans in Cleveland during the Monday Night Raw after the Rumble. That's bad news for whatever WWE has planned for her. With Charlotte returning after one year and immediately drawing comparisons to Hogan, something has gone off the rails.

Fans are already complaining that Charlotte was handed her WrestleMania ticket with no buildup - which is a valid argument, particularly when there were other, more deserving women competing in the Royal Rumble. However, this isn't necessarily a new complaint about her.

Is Charlotte the Hulk Hogan of the Women's Division?

Both WWE Stars Have Played the Political Game

Charlotte's negative perception goes back to a long-running criticism that she hogs the spotlight and the company gives her way too many opportunities at the expense of younger talent. That's something that's been a 'Hulk Hogan trademark' over the years, and it's the same blueprint that Flair is following now.

It wasn't just the reaction in the arena that clued everyone in that this might not be a great strategy. Clips of Charlotte's victory on social media have drawn an overwhelming amount of dislikes, and some of the comments made by posters are downright brutal. There were several fan favorites that the online wrestling community pointed to that would have been more deserving than Flair.

On the flip side, Charlotte remains one of the most talented in-ring performers on the planet, to go along with her pedigree. She comes from professional wrestling royalty, has a marketable name, and has crossed over into some aspects of mainstream media. With all due respect to Becky Lynch and her enormous success, Flair has been the standard-bearer of the division for the longest of any woman on the roster. And, she's in the argument as one of the greatest female wrestlers of all time. However, it's how she uses her status that has become a problem.

Much like The Hulkster, she has been known to balk at certain creative ideas. Also, in the same vein as Hogan, she's lost real-life friendships over politics and jealousy. Her relationship with Lynch became severely strained when the latter began to sur her in of popularity. So, with Charlotte, the promotion appears to have a supremely talented star with an incredibly overinflated ego. Fair or not, that's the perception among fans, and in pro wrestling, perception is reality.

Will WWE Still Pull the Trigger at WrestleMania?

Based on Fan Reaction, Charlotte Flair May Not Win the Title

If things follow their normal course, then Charlotte will go on to WrestleMania and win yet another world title. More than likely, she will be a heel by the time she gets there (if she's not already considered one now). So, a victory in Vegas would be awkward, to say the least. Normally, when a major star returns from a serious injury, they are given a huge welcome back and a sort of 'grace period' with the audience, but that doesn't appear to be the case in Flair's situation.

That's why her winning the Rumble could have a further negative impact from here. Any dismissive reaction towards her crowning achievement would be seen as bad PR for the event and the promotion. With the company currently running on good vibes, it's doubtful they want to see any dark clouds hanging over their signature event - especially when this could very well end up being the biggest WrestleMania of all time.

That's why - despite Charlotte's win - the company may throw a monkey wrench at its viewers' low expectations. As the man in charge, Triple H could call an audible here and come up with a whole new game plan, one where The Queen puts over a younger talent for the sake of success. Or as it's often stated in WWE: "Doing what's best for business."