Referee Blamed For Major Botch in Nia Jax Match Finally Breaks Silence

A huge botch in the ending of the WWE SmackDown match involving Nia Jax, Tiffany Stratton, and Jade Cargill has seen a referee come under fire. She has now broken her silence to clear the air.

There was a lot of finger-pointing and blaming after the rather startling botch in the ending sequence of the main event of SmackDown involving Tiffany Stratton, Nia Jax, and Jade Cargill. Fans and analysts discussed how the referee should have continued counting, regardless of what else happened, but she did not, and that led to the confusion at the end of the bout. The referee of the match, Aja Smith, had stopped counting, potentially because the end of the bout was supposed to be different.

The botch in question was a shocking moment where Tiffany Stratton kicked Jade Cargill off Nia Jax and took her place in the cover. It seemed a clear three count, but before the final count hit the mat, Smith stopped herself. It led to confusion, with Jax also talking to the referee, clearly passing instructions. The bout ended soon after with one more move.

The referee received some support from fans as well after the mistake. She broke her silence after all the blame and reactions. She said that she saw the love from fans and that she was just human after all. She promised that she would be working to do better as long as she was on her journey in WWE and that she loved everything about her journey, just like the fans. She swore that she loved it and that she would keep trying.

"I see all the love. I’m just human, but I can promise that I strive to always be better. Which will forever be my goal as long as I’m on this journey. I love this just like y’all. That I can swear to you."

WrestlingWorldCC

@WrestlingWCC

Aja Smith addresses the Smackdown pinfall situation: “I see all the love. I’m just human, but I can promise that I strive to always be better. Which will forever be my goal as long as I’m on this journey. I love this just like y’all. That I can swear to you.”

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That was not the only botch in the Nia Jax vs. Tiffany Stratton vs. Jade Cargill Triple Threat match

While the ending sequence of the SmackDown main event may have been called into question due to the botch, it wasn't the only moment where things went wrong.

Earlier in the match, there was another moment where things went wrong as well, with Tiffany Stratton trying to hit a dive to the outside, but it fell flat with her getting stuck on the ropes. Jax tried her best to save her, but the mistake by the champion meant that she fell rather badly to the outside.

On top of that, in another moment, where Nia Jax chucked Jade Cargill at the steps, things went wrong again. Cargill was unable to bring her hands up in time to protect her face, and this led to her hitting the step badly and getting injured as a result. Doctors had to get involved here, which possibly led to the match's ending being changed and the confusion that followed.