Jade Cargill, Tiffany Stratton and Nia Jax’s SmackDown Match Slammed as WWE’s “Worst of the Year”

The September 26 episode of WWE SmackDown featured a triple threat match between Jade Cargill, Tiffany Stratton and Nia Jax that was supposed to deliver drama and star power. Instead, it became the talk of the wrestling world for all the wrong reasons.

Dave Meltzer called it the “worst WWE match of the year” on Wrestling Observer Radio, while Bryan Alvarez described how the bout completely fell apart in real time. Meltzer explained that despite the match being rehearsed at house shows, it was riddled with errors from start to finish.

“By the way, I watched that match… I thought it was the worst WWE match of the year.”

He went deeper into the issues, pointing to the lack of chemistry between the performers and their inability to adjust when things went wrong.

“There were so many botches—stuff that nobody else in the company usually 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. Like, just stuff that she always hits was not there.”

Meltzer also revealed that the finish was a repeat of the match’s house show version, but the referee accidentally botched it on live TV.

“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 ref stops counting. That’s been the finish at house shows. So I believe that was the final spot here, too.”

He added that Jade Cargill even interacted with negative comments about the referee on social media, something he described as very unlike WWE’s usual approach.

“I didn’t think the finish was anyone’s fault. The ref just stopped counting—I guess she didn’t know. It was a mess.”

Meltzer summed up his view of Cargill’s performance with a sharp critique.

“With Jade, it feels like she’s out there trying to memorize the match. She just moves to the next thing she remembers. It doesn’t feel like a natural match at all.”

Bryan Alvarez backed up Meltzer’s assessment, saying the three women visibly froze when the match went off-script.

“They froze. Nobody improvised. It all fell apart.”

Alvarez added that Tiffany Stratton looked completely lost during the botched finish and had to be told by the referee what to do next.

“Tiffany just stood there like a deer in the headlights. She had no idea what to do. The ref had to go over and tell her to go up and do the moonsault.”

This match was meant to be a showcase for Cargill, Stratton and Jax, but instead it’s become a case study in how quickly things can unravel when communication breaks down in the ring. With Meltzer calling it WWE’s “worst match of the year” and Alvarez detailing the collapse, the SmackDown bout is now a hot topic among fans and insiders alike.

Please credit Ringside News if you use the above transcript in your publication.