The September 26, 2025, edition of WWE SmackDown featured Tiffany Stratton defending her WWE Women’s Championship in a high-profile triple threat match against Nia Jax and Jade Cargill, but the bout has been widely panned — with veteran wrestling journalist Dave Meltzer going so far as to call it “the worst WWE match of the year.”
Speaking on Wrestling Observer Radio, Meltzer was blunt in his criticism, expressing surprise at the level of execution from all three competitors.
“I thought it was the worst WWE match of the year. I was shocked at how bad it was in a lot of ways… There were so many botches of stuff that nobody else in the company botches. It wasn’t just Jade — Nia didn’t look good. Tiffany looked really green, more than she’s looked probably since she was really green — stuff that she always hits was not there.”
The match’s controversial finish also drew attention. After Jade hit her “Eye of the Storm” finisher on Nia, referee Daphanie LaShaunn appeared to stop her count despite no visible kickout. Stratton followed up with her Prettiest Moonsault Ever to retain the title, but the sequence left fans confused.
Meltzer revealed that the ending may have been intentional but poorly executed:
“The finish — what I understand is they’ve done this match at house shows. It’s a practiced match. It’s the same match they’ve been doing, and the finish is the spot where the referee stops counting. That has been the finish at house shows. So I believe that was the final spot here too… I don’t think it was anyone’s fault on the finish, the referee just stopped counting. I guess she didn’t know.”
The match was already under scrutiny after Jade Cargill suffered a legitimate cut during a ringside spot involving the steel steps, and the awkward finish only fueled further criticism online. Despite the backlash, Stratton retained her championship, but the bout’s negative reception has sparked debate over WWE’s handling of the division’s top stars.
"I thought it was the worst WWE match of the year" More on the WWE SmackDown main eventhttps://t.co/dvWPW0BwON pic.twitter.com/zBQnqwP9Bt
— Wrestling Observer (@WONF4W) September 30, 2025
