Sanji vs Queen really is like the climatic end of Sanji’s WCI arc. Queen is almost a stand in for Sanji’s entire family, but now it’s in the setting where Sanji’s fighting abilities are needed most, which coincides with his exoskeleton awakening. A necessary consequence to win the war, but one he hopes to see through to the end as himself, atleast.
Appears that Queen may have hit the Geisha all along. Knew Oda wouldn’t allow Sanji to hit her, even if he is in the process of changing. What matters is that Sanji thought he did, which started his inner crisis.