On the September 26, 2025 episode of Friday Night SmackDown, the unthinkable happened in the main event. No, it was not a 5.0 star classic. No, it was not an epic superstar return (*cough* please come back, Bianca Belair). It was, in fact, another Nia Jax botch that has become so infamous to the point that it is trending more than the returns of AJ Lee and Brock Lesnar this past summer. However, this botch was not as clear cut as Nikki Bella's botch at Clash in Paris in her IC Title Match against Becky Lynch. It was actually as multifaceted as a riveting crime mystery on Law and Order.
Correlating that botch to a crime mystery is not hyperbolic by any means because this match had blood, sweat, and tears. There was blood all over Jade Cargill's face after she was recklessly hurled into the steel steps by Nia Jax. There was sweat running down Tiffany Stratton's cheek, as she panicked and did not know what to do next after missing her cue to break a key pinfall attempt. There were tears running down the faces of fans worldwide once the referee failed to make the three-count even though Nia Jax kicked out at the hypothetical count of five with Booker T on commentary.
This distasteful botch in this match sparked a heated debate in the IWC. Some fingers were pointed at Tiffany Stratton and the referee for why the chain of events happened. However, most of the blame was on Nia Jax for causing most of these issues, especially since she has a notorious history of recklessly injuring other wrestlers on the roster and going off script in a manner that sparks negative attention, rather than entertaining buzz, towards the product. Instead of pointing fingers at anyone in particular, here is why Nia Jax's incidental actions were an eye-opening wake up call for WWE.
(1) WWE matches are eminently micromanaged and overproduced.
It is to no one's surprise that WWE matches have become way too formulaic with predictable sequences that elicits little to no realism for the sport. It is understandable that pro wrestling is choreographed and that a lot of the focus is on theatrical long term storylines and in-ring psychology that would get fans at the edge of their seats. However, for pro wrestling fans who have watched this sport for at least a decade or two, any of those fans can see that there is a lack of innovation to the in-ring performances since WWE has a formula as to how the wrestlers interact in the ring.
The formula is simple. Usually, matches conclude once a superstar delivers their signature maneuver. However, in triple threat matches, there is a third party who can sneak in a victory through nefarious means. Here, Cargill delivered her finisher, which would have ended the match if it was a one on one with Jax. However, Stratton was supposed to break the pinfall and steal the win after Cargill did the heavy lifting. Since Stratton was late to break the pin and send Cargill out of the ring, Jax had to kick out to save the match from a faulty finish, as Stratton, not Cargill, was the scheduled winner.
Thanks to Stratton missing her cue, it would now look awkward for Jax to stay down for the three-count when she already kicked out at two in an emergency situation. In order for the next pinfall to be believable, Stratton would have to deliver another big move onto Jax to finish the match properly. However, Stratton neglected to do that, as she stuck to the original plan and went for the cover even though she missed her cue. And, what made this even more baffling is that Jax actually stayed down for the three count, which confused the referee to the point that she worked herself into a shoot.
Granted, in the heat of the moment with time constraints on a live TV show, it can be quite difficult to keep track of all the moving parts in the match. Miscommunication can lead to massive blunders, and this mind boggling scenario unfortunately happened here. All participants in this match are human beings at the end of the day, and they do not need any further ridicule for their mishaps here, but it is clear that the formula WWE has infiltrated into the system hindered them from improvising with fluidity, as their stubbornness to stick to the original plan is what made this situation much worse.
(2) Inexperienced wrestlers need more time in NXT.
Now, if superstars like Bianca Belair, Iyo Sky, and/or Rhea Ripley were put in this position, they would have handled it so well that most fans would not even notice it was a botch. That presumption is valid because Belair, Sky, and Ripley are experienced enough to improvise well in the heat of the moment. In fact, they have done so in the past. Bianca Belair had a debilitating finger injury in the middle of her triple threat world title match with Rhea Ripley and Iyo Sky at WrestleMania 41 this year, and none of the fans even noticed that was the case. That match even stole the show for WrestleMania weekend.
What do Belair, Sky, and Ripley all have in common? They all spent a significant amount of time in NXT to develop their skills in the ring, on the microphone, as well as enhance their connection with the audience. Cargill was never granted that opportunity in WWE when she arrived from AEW and Tiffany Stratton was rushed to the main roster and into the main event scene faster than Jamie Lloyd was when she was running away from Michael Myers. The amount of inexperience in that ring was foreseeably a recipe for disaster, and adding Nia Jax to that mix was inevitably the icing on the cake.
(3) Embracing mediocrity is more effective than hiding behind it.
With that being said, it makes no sense for WWE to cry over spilt milk, but they should be ashamed that this triple threat botch-fest was a match originally scheduled for WrestlePalooza. That PLE was already graded a "C" by ESPN. If this match took place at the event in retrospect, the PLE would have been handed an even lower grade of a "D" or maybe even an "E" for its ESPN debut show. WWE barely mentioned WrestlePalooza at all on Raw and SmackDown this week and they constantly tried to hide from the backlash they received for what was overall an overhyped yet underdelivered show.
If WWE needs a psychologist for just a moment, they need to know that it is more effective to embrace their fears of mediocrity than hide from it. They are hiding from it by continuously having a picnic at the beach when they should really be swimming in a small pond as the big fish. That fear is what is hindering them, and fear is merely false expectations appearing real (FEAR). Blaming Tiffany Stratton, the referee, and even Nia Jax won't get WWE anywhere. Instead of searching for micro-problems, WWE needs to look inward at their macro-problems and turn this circus into a carnival.
If you're not down with just that and would like even more WWE SmackDown Coverage from Mark Justice, check out more of his articles right here on Daily DDT and subscribe to his YouTube channel by clicking HERE. Thank you.