Charlotte Must Turn on Ric Flair at WWE Extreme Rules to Cement Top Heel Status

The stipulation for the WWE Women's Championship match between Charlotte and Natalya at Sunday's Extreme Rules pay-per-view says Ric Flair should not be involved, but the company should find a way to relax that ruling to allow a major swerve to take place.

Charlotte is an excellent champion and has a fine array of skills which make her potentially the top female heel on the entire roster. She's pretty much assumed that role anyway, but if the match is booked properly this weekend, she'll be undisputedly on top.

It's widely assumed that if Ric Flair comes down to the ring, it'll be to help Charlotte score another controversial victory. But what if, tired of her father's help, Charlotte turns on her father once and for all?

There are so many reasons why it makes sense, but the main one is that if Charlotte were to do it, she would solidify her status as the company's biggest heel in the women's division.

For starters, the storyline with Ric helping Charlotte out has simply run its course. Fans are sick and tired of watching Charlotte get controversial wins thanks to her father. Sure, at first it was great to elevate Charlotte and give her a heap of heat, but we've moved past all that now.

It's time for the champion to stand on her own two feet. The storyline with referee Charles Robinson at Payback—one which wasn't even expanded upon barring a single in-ring segment on Raw the following night—was the final straw for many.

A good champion is one who can attract heat in a variety of different ways. Charlotte can still cheat to win after this, but having the help of her father every single week is beginning to weaken her standing.

So how can WWE do it? Here's one scenario.

As the match—one which should be a really impressive one if the two women are allowed to wrestle without any distractions—gets to its conclusion, Ric's voice is heard. He says he's cleared it with Stephanie McMahon and is allowed to come down to ringside, but Charlotte is not happy.

She's already gone close to winning just before this and is aware she can get the job done on her own. She's incensed by her father's appearance—as well as the seeds that were planted in an interview with Michael Cole a couple of weeks ago, when Ric expressed doubts that Charlotte could get the job done:

So as Ric comes down, Charlotte hops out of the ring and screams at Ric. He tells her, with microphone in hand so that the crowd can hear, that she needs him. Suddenly she snaps, attacking him before getting back into the ring and getting the job done.

Natalya can be distracted by the attack on Ric, or Charlotte can win cleanly—it doesn't matter, as long as Ric isn't directly involved with the match.

The attack on her father—an undisputed WWE legend—totally turns the crowd against her once and for all. She gets out of Extreme Rules with the title, addresses the crowd on Raw the following night and says she's proved she doesn't need her father. In fact, Charlotte says she's shown she can beat anyone.

She declares herself the boss of the division, before Sasha Banks' music hits. Cue a two-month feud, culminating in The Boss getting the job done at SummerSlam in explosive fashion.

That's all for a later date, but in terms of this weekend, it's now time for Charlotte and Ric to put some distance between each other. It's high time Ric moved away from the storyline too, as he's in real danger of becoming a bit of a laughingstock.

Stephanie's attack on him on Raw was the latest insult, and although it will mean one more attack, the fact it's by his own daughter is simply the only way out.

It will push Charlotte into the next level in terms of being a heel and end a storyline that feels to have run its course. Everyone wins.