SmackDown Women’s Triple Threat Ends in Chaos, Fans Slam Main Event Botch

According to multiple sources and fan reactions, the match was clearly intended to see Jade Cargill win the Women's Championship. There's no way to be certain of that, but execution issues turned the finish into an embarrassing spectacle and a total mess that left fans wondering what was really supposed to take place.

In the closing moments, following a tilt-a-whirl sideslam and broken-up pinning attempt by Cargill, Nia Jax was hit with a dropkick by Tiffany Stratton. She seemingly forgot to kick out at the appropriate time. The referee suddenly stopped the pinfall count. Moments later, Stratton delivered her finishing move -- The Prettiest Moonsault Ever -- and scored a pin on Nia. No one quite seemed to know what went wrong, with Jax yelling at the official, the ref looking around for answers, and Stratton trying to make it work and getting to the finish as quickly as possible.

Who Was To Blame Here?

Many pointed out that referees are supposed to count as if a competitor will hit the mat a third time, leaving the onus on the performers to kick out when required. In this instance, the breakdown made Nia Jax look disoriented and left Jade Cargill—who was busted open in the process (on another move that Jax is being criticized for)—looking like the innocent victim of the mismanaged finish.

“Either this was a botch by the referee, or Nia Jax simply forgot she was supposed to kick out,” one fan wrote online. “Either way, it’s a terrible look.” Observers noted that Stratton, the defending champion, also contributed to the confusion by going for the pin in a situation that didn’t make logical sense. In her defense, it would have looked odd if she had simply stopped her pinning attempt without a kickout.

Jax has faced her share of criticism in the past, but her recent run has been generally applauded for the significant improvement she's shown since returning to WWE. This match will set her back quite a ways in the eyes of the fans. The officiating will also be publicly berated because it was awkward to stop counting, which the official should have simply finished her count. If Jax didn't kick out, that's on her.

The end result is now that the entire women's division on SmackDown is being lumped in with this one “perfect disaster” of a bout.