WWE Hall of Famer Booker T has given a brutally honest assessment of the triple threat main event for the WWE Women’s Championship from the September 26 episode of SmackDown, calling the match a “botch” and stating that “it wasn’t a good night at all.” On his Hall of Fame podcast, the multi-time world champion, who was on commentary for the match, did not hold back in his critique of the contest between champion Tiffany Stratton, Nia Jax, and Jade Cargill.
“You could tell there was a lot of miscommunication. You’ve got an NIL talent, Tiffany Stratton. You’ve got Jade Cargill, who’s pretty much fresh off her AEW run, and just think about that time in AEW for her, she probably didn’t learn a whole lot, because – no disrespect or anything – but she was just put on a wing. She never really got a chance to really wrestle anybody,” Booker T said. “And then you’ve got Nia Jax, who’s been there, of course, is gonna feel like, ‘I need to quarterback this thing, I feel like I know more than these girls.’ It could have been a plethora of things, but you could tell there was a lot of miscommunication.”
He noted that the finish of a match is the most crucial part, and in this case, it did not go smoothly. “One thing about matches like that – the only thing they’re gonna remember is the finish. You’ve gotta get everybody to that point where that finish can happen, and it goes off without a hitch. And that didn’t happen, that didn’t happen in this match. Was it a botch? Heck yeah, it was a botch. Was it a miscommunication? Was it a screw up? Whatever term you wanna put on it – yes, it was,” he stated.
He compared the situation to a live theatrical performance, where mistakes of that nature are unacceptable. “But one thing I do feel about that kind of stuff – that can’t happen on live television. If I went to go and see Hamilton, and they were going home, and the guy slipped on his butt and he forgot his lines, I think I would be pretty upset about that too… They went out there, and it wasn’t a good night. It wasn’t a good night at all.”
The match saw Tiffany Stratton ultimately retain her championship. In addition to Jade Cargill suffering a nasty cut after a collision with the steel steps, the final pinfall sequence was marred by confusion. The referee appeared to stop a count on Nia Jax, who did not kick out, leading to an awkward pause before Stratton hit her moonsault and pinned Jax for a second time to end the match officially.
If you use any portion of the quotes from this article, please credit Hall of Fame with an h/t to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription.
