Hell in a Cell 2018 Charlotte Flair v Becky Lynch

Charlotte Flair and Becky Lynch’s friendship has already gone to hell in the metaphorical sense. Might as well make it official.

The Queen will defend her hard-won — or ill-gotten, depending on whom you ask — SmackDown Women’s Title against The Irish Lass Kicker at the WWE Hell in a Cell pay-per-view, bringing one of SmackDown LIVE’s most furious rivalries to a head and cementing a championship picture that was all but unthinkable only six months ago.

After spending most of 2018 as allies, Charlotte and Becky found themselves on parallel tracks to the SmackDown Women’s Title when Flair earned her way into the planned Carmella-Becky title bout to make it a Triple Threat. Despite a strong effort from Maiden Ireland, The Queen snatched away Becky’s aspirations of championship glory at SummerSlam when she snuck up from behind and drilled the Irishwoman with Natural Selection to reclaim the title.

Though the victory was technically fair, it snapped something in Becky all the same: The former champion’s response was to ruthlessly attack Charlotte every chance she got, from a blistering verbal takedown two days after her loss to a brutal mugging from behind after Charlotte defended her title against Carmella. It was enough to catch the support of the WWE Universe, who still back Becky despite her ruthlessness, and garner the approval of SmackDown LIVE General Manager Paige, who sanctioned the title match for Hell in a Cell.

So, Charlotte is the true champion no matter how you slice it, and The Queen is never as dangerous as when she’s guarding her throne. Becky, however, is tired of missing out on her moments, and she has clearly decided to take a new track in finishing what she started. On Sept. 16, we’ll see who comes out on top.