WWE Hall of Famer Booker T has shared a blunt and unforgiving review of the WWE Women’s Championship triple threat match from the September 26 episode of SmackDown, labeling the contest a “botch” and declaring that “it wasn’t a good night at all.” Speaking on his Hall of Fame podcast, the six-time world champion, who was also on commentary during the match, was direct in his criticism of the bout featuring champion Tiffany Stratton defending against Nia Jax and Jade Cargill.

“You could tell there was a lot of miscommunication. You’ve got an NIL talent, Tiffany Stratton. You’ve got Jade Cargill, who’s pretty much fresh off her AEW run, and just think about that time in AEW for her, she probably didn’t learn a whole lot, because no disrespect or anything, but she was just put on a wing. She never really got a chance to really wrestle anybody,” Booker T explained. “And then you’ve got Nia Jax, who’s been there, of course, is gonna feel like, ‘I need to quarterback this thing, I feel like I know more than these girls.’ It could have been a plethora of things, but you could tell there was a lot of miscommunication.”

Booker T stressed the importance of a clean finish, pointing out that this match fell apart at its most crucial moment. “One thing about matches like that – the only thing they’re gonna remember is the finish. You’ve gotta get everybody to that point where that finish can happen, and it goes off without a hitch. And that didn’t happen, that didn’t happen in this match. Was it a botch? Heck yeah, it was a botch. Was it a miscommunication? Was it a screw up? Whatever term you wanna put on it – yes, it was,” he said.

He went on to compare the situation to live theater, stressing that such mistakes cannot be acceptable when broadcast on television. “But one thing I do feel about that kind of stuff – that can’t happen on live television. If I went to go and see Hamilton, and they were going home, and the guy slipped on his butt and he forgot his lines, I think I would be pretty upset about that too… They went out there, and it wasn’t a good night. It wasn’t a good night at all.”

Despite the messy execution, Tiffany Stratton ultimately retained her title. The match also saw Jade Cargill busted open after a collision with the steel steps, and the final pinfall sequence caused major confusion. The referee appeared to halt a count on Nia Jax, who had not kicked out, forcing an awkward pause before Stratton hit her moonsault and scored a second pin on Jax to officially close the contest.