WWE: Charlotte Flair is back, now what?

Charlotte Flair had a successful return after six months away from the ring. But what is next for her and her “partner” is the real question at hand.

Charlotte Flair is back. She walked through the curtain as a “surprise” partner for Asuka as they battled Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler for the WWE Women’s Championships. But now what? One of the most important women to perform in recent memory has returned to the ring, but many voices across the wrestling social space were apprehensive to completely celebrate her comeback. It is understandable to hesitant about Flair’s place in the pecking order of WWE women’s roster, but this is an opportunity for WWE to show viewers they are making an honest attempt to change their product.

Regardless of fans’ complaints about Flair’s frequently strong booking, she is always going to remain near the top of the roster. Even when she does not have a title around her waist, decision-makers want Flair to be always a champion-level talent – even if that means showing up the person who is the champion at the time.

The question, “now what?” immediately came to mind once Asuka and Flair were strapped up as the new tag team champions. Since Asuka’s call up to the main roster, Flair has been a thorn in her side – and fans have noticed that fact. Why would Asuka be so quick to work with her? How long will they be able to work together until Flair sets her sights on the WWE Raw women’s title? Those are important questions that can create intriguing television if booked with care and creativity – two things WWE has not shown capable of doing recently.

It is a matter of time before Flair is challenging Asuka for that women’s championship. Everything leading up to that moment is an opportunity for WWE to begin to reestablish the depth that is the women’s division in the entire promotion. The WWE Women’s tag team titles were originally seen as a method to book important tag team matches across brands. Unfortunately, that has not happened. The Golden Role Models made some brief stops in NXT, but beyond that, the full capability of the champions floating from brand to brand was never realized.

Flair and Asuka do not need to be tag team champions, but they can add prestige to the titles if they go back to the reason why these titles were established in the first place. We know the end goal will see Flair standing across from Asuka in a title bout, but what happens before that moment is just as important. Their run does not have to be long, but just enough to get heat on a women’s team that can take the ball and run with it further – a team like the Riott Squad, for example.

Many wrestling fans have not been pleased with the way the women’s division has been booked in recent months. One major complaint was the lack of development outside of the Four Horsewomen. Flair winning the NXT Championship at WrestleMania did not help either, as it had a major impact on how Rhea Ripley was booked in the months that followed. Flair is always going to have a prominent role in the division. Her return is a chance to further that reputation, but also build up the rest of the roster at the same time. The question is whether WWE creative will show that they are willing to “do it with Flair.”