Spoilers ahead for the November 6 episode of WWE SmackDown.
Charlotte Flair is back on WWE television. Flair made a surprise return during the taping of the November 6 SmackDown, recorded Monday night at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn after Raw went off the air. ‘The Queen’ went straight after Jade Cargill.
WWE taped the episode early so talent and crew could get to Riyadh for Crown Jewel this Saturday. The taped SmackDown episode will air on Friday.
The return came during a WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship match between champions Michin and B-Fab and Fatal Influence’s Fallon Henley and Lainey Reid.
Tatum Paxley hit a body press on Cargill at ringside, which set off a brawl involving everyone around the ring. Bayley joined in, followed by Flair and Alexa Bliss. Flair confronted Cargill, and the babyfaces cleared the ring.
Why Charlotte Flair Was Off Television
Flair’s time away was part of the storyline. She was set to team with Paxley against Fatal Influence for the Women’s Tag Team Championship on the October 9 SmackDown, but Cargill, Michin and B-Fab attacked her backstage before the match.
Flair broke her silence after the sneak attack, and Bliss took her place and won the titles with Paxley that night.
That reign lasted 14 days. Michin and B-Fab took the titles on the October 23 SmackDown with Cargill’s assist, so the gold now sits with the same group that put Flair on the shelf.
After the taping, Flair posted backstage photos and video on Instagram showing off new ring gear: a printed outfit in pink, blue, yellow and black, with a matching choker and a tie-dye cape. It was her first major social media activity since the attack.
