WWE Fastlane 2018: Let’s Say Nice Things About Charlotte Flair vs. Ruby Riott

Over the past month, there has been only one actual storyline in the SmackDown Live Women’s Division heading into WWE Fastlane 2018, and that’s the Riott Squad’s desire to attract Charlotte Flair’s attention. Mission accomplished, because Ruby Riott gets her shot at Charlotte next month at the pay per view.

The WWE Universe has been giving Alexa Bliss a hard time for not defending the Raw Women’s Championship in a while, but the same can be said for Charlotte Flair over on the “Blue Brand”. You see, “The Queen” hasn’t defended her title since defeating Natalya at Clash of Champions on Dec. 17.

However, Charlotte has put her SmackDown Women’s Championship on the line at WWE Fastlane 2018 against Ruby Riott, whose Riott Squad has done everything humanly possible to get The Queen’s attention. Charlotte finally relented, meaning that she will defend her title for the first time in almost three months on Mar. 11.

Most fans haven’t been pleased with the direction of the SmackDown Live Women’s Division, and I made my thoughts quite clear here. The WWE hasn’t done a good job of showcasing its women on Tuesday nights, and the lack of a real story for Naomi or Becky Lynch has been disheartening.

Meanwhile, it’s also difficult to get invested in the Ruby Riott vs. Charlotte Flair match itself. Although we haven’t seen Riott lose to Flair in a singles match, it’s just so hard to buy into the Riott Squad. They managed to defeat the three-woman tag team of Naomi, Charlotte, and Becky Lynch after Ruby hit Becky with the “Riott Kick”, but, well, does anybody actually think Charlotte will drop the title?

The problem is that it’s a little too easy to hate on this match. Yes, it’s difficult to get invested, and, yes, most people don’t care. But there are reasons to care, and I’ll briefly outline them below.

Your desire to enjoy or hate this match is obviously entirely up to you, but I find pro wrestling to be infinitely more enjoyable when we, you know, try to suspend our disbelief and keep a positive outlook. So, yeah, I’m about to say something nice things about a scheduled match that is, understandably, generating some serious fan heat.