The closing moments of Friday’s WWE SmackDown women’s main event had fans buzzing for an unexpected reason — a botched pinfall that briefly threw the finish into question.
During the WWE Women’s Title Triple Threat Match, Tiffany Stratton appeared to have Nia Jax down for a three-count, but referee Daphanie LaShaunn (formerly known on the indies as Aja Smith) only registered a two despite Jax not kicking out. The hiccup was quickly overshadowed when Stratton went on to hit the Prettiest Moonsault Ever for the actual finish, but the moment didn’t go unnoticed.
LaShaunn later addressed the incident on her Instagram Stories, showing humility and appreciation in her response:
“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.”
According to reports, the finish of the match had already been slightly reworked after Jade Cargill suffered a cut earlier in the contest. Stratton was always planned to leave with the victory, but the sequence leading up to it ended up playing out differently than scripted.
As is often the case with live TV, WWE quickly cleaned up the mistake for its official YouTube upload, editing the missed count out of the footage.
While the botch sparked chatter online, LaShaunn’s professionalism and accountability in addressing the situation have earned her plenty of respect from fans. Mistakes may happen, but Stratton still got her big win — and SmackDown closed with the intended result.
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