Truth Behind Massive WWE SmackDown Botch Revealed
More details have emerged about what went wrong during the WWE Women’s Title match on SmackDown.
In the main event of WWE SmackDown in Orlando, Tiffany Stratton defended the WWE Women’s Title against Jade Cargill and Nia Jax in a triple threat match.
The three women went on to have an entertaining match, with Stratton, Jax, and Cargill all experiencing nearfalls during the match.
Unfortunately, there was a spot in the match where Cargill suffered a cut on her head, and she looked into the camera to show her bloody face.
During the final moments of the match, Jade hit the Eye of the Storm spinning slam on Jax for two with Jax kicking out on time. Stratton dropkicked Jade, and it’s possible that was supposed to be what broke up the pin attempt, but Stratton was a bit late with it. That’s when the awkward moment happened as Stratton covered Jax for two because the referee, Daphanie LaShaunn, stopped counting even though Jax didn’t move.
After the referee stopped counting, Jax talked to the referee, and Jax lifted her right shoulder up with a delayed kickout. The fans booed loudly because it looked awkward. The referee communicated with Stratton and Jax, so Stratton hit an elbow drop. Stratton went up top and hit Prettiest Moonsault Ever on Jax for the pinfall win after about 14 minutes.
What Happened During The WWE SmackDown Main Event?
TC of Wrestlevotes explained on X/Twitter that Stratton was always supposed to win the match, but there were communication issues.
Tiffany was always scheduled to win, but Jade bleeding made them come up with a finish on the fly resulting in the clunkiness we saw.
It’s extremely difficult to communicate & execute everything on the fly so quickly when the show has less than 3 minutes until its off the air.
TC of Wrestlevotes also mentioned the producer of the match, and more about the finish.
TJ Wilson (aka Tyson Kidd) was the producer of the WWE Women’s World Title match tonight on #SmackDown
The sequence at the end was obviously altered on the fly due to Jade Cargill’s gash but the winner of the match was always intended to be Tiffany Stratton.
Not surprisingly, wrestling fans on social media are complaining about the finish and using the word “botch” because that’s the term that is used when a mistake is made in wrestling. The reality is that pro wrestling is not easy to do, and mistakes do happen, even at the WWE main event level.
ROUGH ENDING AS TIFFANY STRATTON RETAINS THE WWE WOMENS CHAMPIONSHIP #SmackDown
— FADE (@FadeAwayMedia) September 27, 2025
Whether Stratton, Jax, Cargill, or Lashaunn will be blamed for it is unknown, but it serves as a reminder that mistakes can happen at any time.
On the WWE YouTube channel, they showed the whole Stratton-Jax-Cargill match, except for the messed up pin attempt in the final moments.
The win by Tiffany Stratton means she is still the WWE Women’s Champion and will go on to Crown Jewel on October 11th, where she’ll face the Women’s World Champion Stephanie Vaquer. Whoever wins that match will be this year’s Women’s Crown Jewel Champion.