Stratton retains WWE Women's title after double countout

Tiffany Stratton retained the WWE Women’s Championship but left the ring battered after a chaotic rematch with Jade Cargill on the Sept. 12 episode of SmackDown in Norfolk, Virginia, that finished in a double countout. The non-finish saw both competitors spill to ringside and clash through the barricade, after which Nia Jax rushed the ring and assaulted both women, leaving Stratton stretchered from the area and later declared unfit to compete at an upcoming NXT Homecoming show.

The brawl culminated after an extended back-and-forth sequence on the apron. Stratton landed a Death Valley Driver and attempted her signature moonsault, only for Cargill to pull her down and respond with a Blue Thunder Bomb. The struggle continued outside the ring, where Stratton missed a moonsault and took a hard landing, then appeared to be speared by Cargill through the barricade. The referee called for the bell on the double countout, which by rule allowed Stratton to retain the title. Nia Jax then entered and delivered an Annihilator to Stratton, according to accounts of the broadcast.

NXT General Manager Ava announced on social media that Stratton was not medically cleared to compete at Homecoming,...