Charlotte Flair may have technically defended her SmackDown Women’s Title against Natalya in a Lumberjack Match, but make no mistake: On a night when every SmackDown title was on the line, The Queen was battling the entire SmackDown Women’s division in more ways than one.
Carmella, Lana, Tamina and the entire Riott Squad — Ruby Riott, Liv Morgan & Sarah Logan — were ostensibly there to keep the combatants in the ring, but they quickly revealed themseles to be Natalya’s de facto enforcers during the frantic contest, while Charlotte could only count Naomi as an ally. Each time Natalya was thrown outside the ring, she was returned unharmed, but the Flair scion found herself brutalized by every Lumberjack save Naomi in a bit of deck-stacking that The Queen of Harts was more than happy to exploit. With the Women’s division shouldering most of the dirty work for her, Natalya handily seized control of the match, screaming “You like Charlotte?!” at the WWE Universe as she womanhandled Flair about the ring.
The Lumberjacks continued to pay dividends for Natalya despite the one-woman efforts of Naomi to protect Charlotte during one of the scrums on the outside. But eventually, The Queen of Harts’ security blanket turned against itself when Carmella attempted to cash in her Money in the Bank contract, only to be cut off by Ruby Riott, followed by a brawl among all the Lumberjacks outside the ring.
Charlotte dispatched about 10 birds with one stone when she swooped down on the entire Women’s division with an incredible moonsault to the outside, bringing the bout down to just champion and challenger. While The Queen of Harts seemed primed to lock in the Sharpshooter, Charlotte booted Natalya in the face and instantly applied the agonizing Figure-Eight Leglock, forcing Natalya to submit.
As an exhausted Charlotte returned to the locker room area, Natalya was approached for a post-match interview that quickly took an unexpected turn. Chastising the WWE Universe for disrespecting her and not appreciating her “carrying” the division over the last decade, The Queen of Harts declared she was “turning her back” on the WWE Universe and exited the ring in tears, with the title beyond her grasp and her future uncertain.
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