On April 26, after Nikki, with the help of Brie, once again retained her title against Naomi at Extreme Rules a feud started, with Naomi aligning with the returning Tamina to even the odds against Bellas, who began showing more heroic characteristics. This change in character was criticized as "sudden", "randomly", and "for no reason". This led to a tag team match between the two teams on May 17 at Payback, where Naomi and Tamina were victorious. Two weeks later at Elimination Chamber, Nikki retained her title against Naomi and Paige in a triple threat match, with Brie banned from ringside.