WWE SmackDown
courtesy WWE

Coming off a concussion protocol that lasted for the past few days, Tiffany Stratton headed back on WWE SmackDown this week for her next championship defense and emerged victorious in the end. With this win, she has now booked herself in a champion vs. champion bout set for next month’s Crown Jewel premium live event in Australia.

In the main event of the September 26 episode of WWE SmackDown, Tiffany Stratton (c) defeated Nia Jax and Jade Cargill in a Triple Threat Match to retain the WWE Women’s Championship. The Women’s World Champion Stephanie Vaquer was in attendance at the blue brand show, and she had prior backstage face-offs with all three participants of the match.

Cargill already was Stratton’s challenger at SummerSlam after she won the Queen of the Ring in Saudi Arabia, while the former champion Jax had been on a mission to recapture the title that she lost to Stratton upon the latter’s Money in the Bank contract cash-in on her at the beginning of the year on WWE SmackDown.

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WWE SmackDown: Tiffany Stratton pins Nia Jax to retain her title

As the three-way match progressed last night, Cargill came close to becoming champion when she delivered Jaded to Stratton, almost pinning her for a three-count, until Jax pulled the referee out of the ring. Cargill and Jax then spilled the fight outside of the ring, and in the process, Cargill also sustained a cut above her eye.

The finishing sequence of the match on WWE SmackDown saw miscommunications, as Jax forgot to kick out of a pin attempt by the champion. Stratton kept Cargill out of the ring with a drop-kick, delivered an elbow drop on Jax before finally gaining the three pin-count on Jax upon hitting the Prettiest Moonsault Ever.

After the match was over on WWE SmackDown, Women’s Champion Tiffany Stratton vs. Women’s World Champion Stephanie Vaquer for the Women’s Crown Jewel Championship was made official at Crown Jewel 2025 PLE in a Champion vs. Champion outing. Both champions shared a face-off in the ring to close the weekly show on the USA Network.

Meanwhile, Stratton successfully went through the ninth defense of her title reign that now stands on the 267th day. On January 6, 2025, in an episode of WWE SmackDown, she won the belt via a MITB cash-in on Nia Jax and has since defended it against the likes of Charlotte Flair, Trish Stratus, Jade Cargill, and more.

Arindam Pal

A WWE writer passionate about the sports.