I thought the storyline tension between WWE Women’s Champion Rhea Ripley and Charlotte Flair felt familiar last week, and when I thought through it a bit more this week after their backstage segment ahead of Flair’s match against Jacy Jayne, I realized we’re rehashing their story from November. Back at WarGames, Flair had to be convinced to team with Ripley to take on the other team of Asuka, Becky Lynch, Nia Jax, Lash Legend, and Kairi Sane. There were plenty of segments, including a heavily produced backstage sitdown, where Flair and Ripley met to make peace with one another, at least enough to get through the match on the same team.

In their current story, where Ripley keeps trying to tell Flair, alongside Alexa Bliss, that she should be helping them even the numbers game against Fatal Influence, Flair isn’t having it. Sure, at the end of the post-match angle where Fatal Influence had the upper hand and Ripley ran out to make the save, they shook hands, but I can’t imagine that’s the end of it, considering November’s storyline. It took them weeks to be good with one another, and even then, they barely tolerated one another (though they really didn’t cross paths or need one another in the match, anyway).

Toward the end of the night, it was revealed that Ripley, Bliss, and Flair will take on Fatal Influence in a six-woman tag team match next week. While I’m hoping Flair and Ripley can work together, I really don’t see it. Fatal Influence is still so new on the roster, and Jayne just beat Flair — they have to get the win, and I’m assuming it will be through Ripley and Flair not getting along.

Things are obviously different now than they were in November, with Ripley now holding the WWE Women’s Championship, but Flair hasn’t gone after that title for awhile now — not since changing her heelish ways in her tag team with Bliss. And, surprising for Flair, she really hasn’t given any indication she wants to at the moment. Flair’s turned over a new leaf, but apparently not enough of one to be entirely good with Ripley outright, even after all the work she did six months ago, and now, alongside Bliss. I’m sure this ends with Flair and Ripley going to war over the WWE Women’s Championship, as Ripley has no challengers for the gold, and I don’t know how I feel about the way we might be getting there.

Written by Daisy Ruth