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.
This Match Will Be Very Good
I might as well get the easiest reason to care about this match out of the way, and I will fully admit that what attracts me the most to pro wrestling is what goes down in that ring. And if you’re the same way, then I’m sure I don’t need to convince you that Charlotte Flair and Ruby Riott are two of the best female wrestlers in the world.
Charlotte’s credentials are so well-established that they are almost beaten over our heads on Tuesday nights. She’s “The Queen” for a reason, because she is a five-time Women’s Champion, in addition to being a one-time NXT and Divas Champion. Her work with Sasha Banks and Bayley over on Raw was truly exceptional, and while she hasn’t had a marquee feud on SmackDown Live, she’s put together decent matches with Natalya and Sarah Logan.
NXT fans know that Ruby Riott isn’t someone to sleep on, and her work in the ring is definitely crisp. She put on a great closing program with Sonya Deville before heading up the Riott Squad, and she has a catalogue of great matches outside of WWE as Heidi Lovelace. Ruby has seamlessly transitioned from being a hard-nosed babyface who never taps to being a devilish heel.
This match should honestly be Charlotte’s best on SmackDown Live, and it better damn well be. Because if the WWE dragged out this storyline for months without a great match for the fans as the payoff, then we’re all fools for having tuned in to watch.
At the end of the day, this is a chance for Riott to have a star-making performance on the main roster inside the squared circle, and Charlotte does have a way of helping others look good (even if she’s the babyface now).
Riott’s Motivations Are Clear
Say what you want about how much the storyline has detracted from women on the roster like Natalya and Carmella, but at least Ruby Riott, Liv Morgan, and Sarah Logan have done their parts to try and get this all to make sense.
All along, the Riott Squad wanted to get Charlotte’s attention. They beat her friends up. They beat her up. They goaded her in promos. What Ruby Riott wanted was for Charlotte to get so fed up that she’d put her title on the line. They knew they couldn’t earn a shot by beating any of the babyfaces one-on-one without cheating, so they had to find another way to get an opportunity at the SmackDown Women’s Championship.
Again, the same championship that hasn’t been defended since Dec. 17. The Riott Squad finally put Charlotte over the edge by almost costing her the title (via an attempted Carmella cash-in) and later winning a tag match. Ruby got her wish, and now it’s time for her to make a statement in the ring now that she has her chance at the champion.
Ruby Riott just wants to make a name for herself. That’s why she has a squad, that’s why she named the squad after herself, an that’s why she’s done everything to get under the skin of SmackDown Live’s self-proclaimed Queen.
Nowhere To Go But Up
If you were among the many who disliked the Riott Squad vs. Charlotte/Becky/Naomi story, then the great news is that it’ll be over and done with after Fastlane. Riott will have very likely lost her chance at the SmackDown Women’s Championship, but by taking Charlotte to the brink in her first title defense of 2018, Ruby will have earned everyone’s respect on the main roster as a competitor. Which, you know, is kind of the whole point of this story from a writer’s perspective. (And yes, I know that it isn’t easy to see the point.)
Furthermore, the Riott Squad may lose influence and may move on to other things. Maybe we’ll get to see more of Natalya and Carmella on television, since some of us have missed watching the two of them. More importantly, it could open things up for Naomi and Becky. I know some fantasize about a heel turn from Becky and a Becky/Charlotte WrestleMania match. While that doesn’t seem to be likely, it isn’t impossible. (Cue the, “So you’re telling me there’s a chance…” GIF.)
Oh, and there’s a Superstar Shakeup/Draft coming after WrestleMania, if you really want to think long-term.
Either way, SmackDown Live will have no choice but to do something different – and likely more interesting – with their women after Fastlane concludes this Ruby Riott vs. Charlotte storyline.
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Or so I think…but hey, as I said, I’d prefer to be optimistic, and there’s a chance the “Blue Brand” decides to get its act together. After all, prior to the Riott Squad segment, they used to make an effort to get all of their women on the show in some way. Sure, it was in poorly-written segments that threw all the women together, but, hey, at least we got to see them. While it wasn’t ideal, it was better than what most fans have seen so far in 2018.