Flair returned on the July 31 episode of "SmackDown", saving Becky Lynch from an attack by Carmella. She later defeated Carmella to be inserted into the championship match between Carmella and Lynch at SummerSlam, making it a triple-threat match. At the event, Flair pinned Lynch to win the SmackDown Women's Championship for a second time in her career. With the win, Flair became the second woman in WWE history to hold seven women's championships, alongside WWE Hall of Famer Trish Stratus. After the match, Lynch attacked Flair, igniting a feud between the two, which led to a match at Hell in a Cell on September 16, in which Flair lost the title to Lynch. Flair defeated Lynch via disqualification at Super Show-Down and fought her in a rematch two days later, on the October 9 episode of "SmackDown", which ended in a double count-out. As a result of this, Flair received another title opportunity against Lynch in the first Last Woman Standing match at Evolution, in which Lynch defeated Flair.