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An apparent botched finisher from Nia Jax during last week’s WWE SmackDown saw her land directly on Trish Stratus‘ face.
The incident happened after Tiffany Stratton’s match against Candice LeRae, with Jax jumping the Women’s Champion after she’d beaten her opponent. After the WWE Women’s Champion had won the bout, Nia Jax took to the ring to dispose of her rival, before being confronted by Trish Stratus. However, LeRae and Jax double-teamed the duo, with Jax stacking them both atop one another in the corner. Jax then delivered her Annihilator finisher more awkwardly than usual.
Why Nia Jax’s Annihilator ‘botch’ against Trish Stratus went viral
The Annihilator typically sees Nia Jax jumping from the corner onto the chest of her opponents, similar to WWE legend Yokozuna’s Banzai Drop. However, with Stratus and Stratton stacked on top of one another, Jax seemed to approach the move more cautiously than usual. She dropped slowly onto the pair, but because of Stratus’ positioning, she ended up sitting directly on the Canadian’s face.
The resulting image has been widely shared online:
Image: WWE / YouTube
After dropping the move, Jax repositioned herself onto Stratus’ chest. Charlotte Flair then took to the ring to gloat over rival Stratton, with the pair set to meet at WrestleMania 42.
Nia Jax & Candice LeRae vs. Tiffany Stratton & Trish Stratus is a match set for the upcoming Elimination Chamber PLE in Toronto, Canada. The event is set to take place on March 1, streaming on Peacock in the U.S. and Netflix internationally.
Jax’s move against Stratus wasn’t the only awkward moment that took place during the match. USA Network also briefly cut the feed due to a wardrobe malfunction suffered by Tiffany Stratton.
However, these incidents were overshadowed by The Rock’s return. The People’s Champ’s SmackDown promo allegedly received negative comments backstage in the WWE.
