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It's been a point of controversy since Charlotte's heel turn, but having a standout Triple Threat at WrestleMania 32 end with her father central to the finish really kicked the controversy into overdrive.
Depending on who you talk to, Ric Flair's involvement in his daughter's matches is either a new way for WWE to make women's storylines about men, or a great heat magnet.
But last week, we got the first sign that - whichever way you view the Nature Dad & Daughter - there could be a storyline resolution in sight, should Creative choose to nurture the seeds planted by an unlikely source... guest star Dr. Phil.
The talk show host and psychologist called the Women's champion to the carpet for relying on and resorting to her old man's dirty tricks. It was a meta moment, since Phil was channeling a lot of fan complaints, and totally on-brand for the Doc (who, full disclosure, I'm a pretty big fan of. Sure, his guests and topics bring the standard daytime television melodrama, but he provides sound advice about boundary setting and self-care amidst the carnival sideshow. And who are we as fans of pro graps to judge carnival sideshow?).
He builds on their segments from Raw - as well as features in some pretty entertaining bits with a couple of narcissists - during an online exclusive video WWE released over the weekend:
The Doctor is in! Get an EXCLUSIVE look at @DrPhil's @WWE #RAW appearance in #ThisWeekInWWE!https://t.co/4mLQI0NQmu
— WWE (@WWE) April 16, 2016
Having her title saved by Naitch's stratagem while in Dr. Phil's presence puts Charlotte at a crossroads...
1) She can reject the TV personality's advice and continue as she has been, hopefully setting both Ric and the champ up for a fall sometime this year.
2) She can embrace the criticism, probably slowly, and use it as an impetus for another turn somewhere down the line.
Either would be an indication that Ric's role in the "Women's Wrestling" movement has been a means to an end and not more of the same. The one thing they shouldn't do is drop this thread altogether. There are lots of paths they can take to either destination, but ignoring the points brought up by Dr. Phil not only means business as usual for the former-Divas division, but also wastes some good segments from last week's strong Raw.
But WWE would never waste a celebrity appearance by not following up on it, right? I mean, look at Jon Stewart's involvement in SummerSlam. Totally changed the character arcs for Seth Rollins and John Cena... oh wait... crap.