10 Things We Learned From WWE SmackDown Live! (May 2)

7. The Queen Turns

Charlotte Carmella
WWE.com

After her top billing in the 'Superstar Shake-up' and competitive contests with SmackDown Live! Women's Champion Naomi, the Charlotte Flair babyface turn looked imminent, but it took a fortnight of beatdowns from the newly christened 'Welcoming Committee' to trigger the crowd-pleasing switch.

The simplistic-but-satisfying feud has been one of the most solid stories in the company since the various roster trades, with Charlotte's domineering presence on the blue brand threatening the security of established heels Natalya, Carmella and fellow draftee Tamina.

He instant success forcing a union between the villainous trio, Charlotte was the prime target at the conclusion of her title match last week, with champion Naomi also getting caught in the crossfire after the competitive contest.

Flair was taken out again this week, but gamely recovered from the backstage assault to join the champion as a tag team partner at the tail end of her handicap beating from Nattie and 'The Princess of Staten Island'.

The reaction from the crowd vindicated the excellent decision to make the switch, with Charlotte receiving a thunderous response as she tagged in and took control on the heels. It would ultimately be for naught, with the Welcoming Committee's numerical advantage allowing James Ellsworth to distract Naomi long enough for Carmella to pick up the huge victory.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett