Why are Charlotte Flair, Rhea Ripley, and Nikki A.S.H. meeting at SummerSlam?

The Raw women’s division will be showcased at SummerSlam in Las Vegas on Saturday with Raw Women’s Champion Nikki A.S.H. defending her Raw Women’s Championship belt against former champions Charlotte Flair and Rhea Ripley in a triple threat match.

The trio have spent the past month of television trading blows with one another and everything will come to a head under the bright lights of Allegiant Stadium.

Why are they fighting?

Storyline perspective

Following Wrestlemania, Charlotte and Rhea Ripley spent the spring and summer battling each other for the Raw Women’s belt, ultimately resulting in Charlotte taking the title at the Money in the Bank pay per view.

Enter Nikki A.S.H., who after transforming her persona into one of an “almost superhero”, scored an upset by capturing the MITB briefcase. 24 hours later, A.S.H. once again shocked the WWE Universe by cashing in her briefcase on Charlotte to become the champ. A triple threat was thus ordered for SummerSlam with all three women competing for the red brand’s top prize.

Real life perspective

Pitching the superhero idea to Vince McMahon himself, Nikki has become a fan favorite and her being involved in such a high profile match at an event like SummerSlam is a tremendous elevation from where she was just three short months ago.

This is just another big-time championship match in a litany of matches for Charlotte while Rhea Ripley is still building her resume on the main roster. Ripley’s title reign earlier in the year could be described as lukewarm so this is an opportunity for her to show out in front of a large crowd.

Prediction

Rhea Ripley

I think they stamp Ripley as a powerful heel champ here with a win at the expense of Nikki. Her program with Charlotte has run its course whereas there’s potential for having months of matches with Nikki down the road.