Just about every time Charlotte Flair and Sasha Banks have stepped into a ring against each other over the past four months, there have been plenty of fireworks. More often than not, the WWE Raw women's championship has changed hands.
Already a leading candidate for the most intense feud within WWE, the two female superstars authored another unforgettable chapter to their rivalry during Monday's episode of Raw as Banks captured the title for the third time since July 25 -- with all three victories taking place on free TV.
Less than one month after Charlotte regained the title in their violent Hell in a Cell match in Banks' hometown of Boston, the roles were reversed on Monday as Banks ruined Charlotte's homecoming in the city her character was named for.
Banks' victory by submission in their main event match at the Spectrum Center -- which featured stipulations such as no disqualification, no count out and falls count anywhere -- marked the fifth title switch between them since WWE launched its latest brand extension with a draft in July.
In a storyline twist, Charlotte's legendary father, Ric Flair, walked down to the ring after the match to celebrate with a victorious Banks, who dedicated the match to him before the start of the main event. Flair has been estranged from Charlotte in storyline since she fired him as her manager on May 23.
The match between Banks and Charlotte began earlier in the broadcast, but ended in a double count out --- allowing a conniving Charlotte to retain her title -- as the two wrestlers brawled into the crowd. Raw general manager Mick Foley intervened, however, rescheduling the match for the main event with new stipulations.
"The final chapter of this historic rivalry deserves to end in something more than a double count out," Foley said.
The resulting match lived up to the expectations for physicality that the two wrestlers had set in previous months. Banks provided violent use of a kendo stick she pulled out from under the ring. Charlotte, meanwhile, countered with a boot to the chest that dropped Banks from the ring apron and hard onto the floor, appearing to hit her head on the way down.
After they brawled up the ramp and into the announcing area, Charlotte pulled off the most stunning spot of the evening when she landed a moonsault off the table and to the floor below.
Moments later, with the crowd at a fever pitch as they continued to brawl into the audience, Banks executed her Banks Statement submission move in unique fashion by using the handrail in the stands for leverage, forcing Charlotte to submit.