A controversial moment in the Women’s Title match raises the question: Should WWE treat every pinfall as real?
A thrilling battle for the WWE Women’s Championship fell apart in seconds after a critical mistake near the end.
Tiffany Stratton defended her title against Nia Jax and Jade Cargill in a triple threat match on Friday’s SmackDown. In the closing moments, Cargill hit Jax with a version of a Boss Man Slam before moving in for the pin.
Jax appeared to anticipate Stratton breaking up the pin, but when Stratton didn’t arrive in time, she kicked out early before referee Daphanie LaShaunn reached three.
Stratton then covered Jax. But as LaShaunn brought her hand down for three, Jax did not raise her shoulder. Knowing that wasn’t the planned finish, LaShaunn pulled her hand just above the mat and signaled a two-count, despite Jax clearly not kicking out.
After a moment, Jax and LaShaunn were seen speaking briefly before Jax eventually lifted her shoulder, although LaShaunn’s count had long since stopped.
Confused fans at Orlando’s Kia Center soon showered the performers with boos as the match continued. Shortly afterward, Stratton hit Jax with the Prettiest Moonsault Ever and secured the victory.
Friday’s incident is part of a growing trend of wrestlers either delaying kick-outs for dramatic effect or missing them altogether — a mistake that breaks the illusion and reminds fans the action is scripted.
During a world title match between Seth Rollins and Damian Priest at Money in the Bank in 2024, Rollins hit Priest with a Falcon Arrow and went for the pin. Referee Rod Zapata began the count but abruptly stopped before three, despite Priest failing to kick out, confusing both Rollins and the fans.
Following the bout, WWE Chief Content Officer Paul Levesque defended Priest, saying, “Human beings in a ring, mistakes happen, things happen. It is what it is.”
Speaking with the New York Post, Priest pushed back on the idea that he had forgotten to kick out.
“The idea that I forgot to kick out, that’s not a thing,” Priest said. “That’s not a thing. We don’t forget to kick out.”
However, according to WWE referee Charles Robinson, a 30-year veteran, wrestlers do, in fact, forget to kick out.
During an interview with media personality Chris Van Vliet, Robinson shared his technique for counting pins, saying, “A lot of times I’ll say, ‘Kick out,’ when I get down there so they know to kick out, ‘cause sometimes guys forget.”
Robinson explained that referees don’t count pins literally. If a wrestler fails to kick out, instead, they will pull their count by swiping their hand, as LaShaunn did on Friday. If a mistake happens, officials will course-correct as best they can.
“We’ll try to fix it some other way,” said Robinson.
In 2022, Jack Doan, who was a referee for WWE for more than 20 years, revealed WWE’s policy for handling such situations under then-boss Vince McMahon.
Speaking with Dr. Chris Featherstone on the UnSKripted podcast, Doan said that there was a time when McMahon grew frustrated with wrestlers dragging out false finishes, causing the referees to stop counting.
“We went through (a time) where guys were just, like, waiting way too long, and Vince was like, ‘Start counting them out,'” said Doan.
In a 2012 match between CM Punk and Jack Swagger, Doan did exactly that when Swagger didn’t lift his shoulder in time. He said Punk wasn’t happy with the situation, but that McMahon gave him a bonus for doing his job.
While Friday’s incident may not have been the planned finish, the outcome would have been the same had LaShaunn counted Stratton’s pin on Jax. The real issue would have arisen if the roles were reversed and Stratton had failed to kick out.
One of the most notable instances of such a case happening came at WrestleMania in 2000.
During a hardcore battle royal for the Hardcore Title, Crash Holly was supposed to retain the championship. In the waning moments of the match, Hardcore Holly pinned Crash with just a few seconds left to win the title.
The original plan was for time to expire and the bell to save Crash. But when the pin happened with time still remaining, referee Tim White counted the fall. After some confusion, Hardcore Holly was declared the new champion, although Crash had begun to leave the arena with the title.
To make up for the mistake, Crash was booked to regain the title the next night on Raw.
If these incidents keep happening, WWE might need to treat each pin attempt as real — and find ways to correct mistakes after the fact, rather than shattering the illusion mid-match.
Category: General Sports
