The slap, Stephanie says, was simply a response to the one Brie gave her at WWE Payback, which was the same night that the Bella Twin — facing the likely scenario of being fired by Stephanie — quit WWE. Prior to her quitting, The Authority had made clear its intentions of making life difficult for Brie and her husband, injured then-WWE World Heavyweight Champion Daniel Bryan.

Since WWE Payback, Bryan — whose injury was worse than originally feared — has been stripped of the title, and Stephanie has continued making life miserable for Brie by targeting those closest to her, namely twin sister Nikki. Stephanie repeatedly arranged for Nikki to compete in lopsided Handicap Matches, which invariably ended with Nikki being beaten down. Unable to continue watching her sister get placed into one disadvantageous situation after another, and offended by Stephanie’s suggestion that Brie abandoned Nikki, Brie let loose on the WWE principal owner on July 21, calling her “vindictive.”