This week’s WWE SmackDown continued the Elimination Chamber qualifying matches for both men and women. On the women’s front, Tiffany Stratton wrestled Zelina Vega in her second SmackDown match since making her main roster debut. Stratton had a great showing in the women’s Royal Rumble match and that momentum has continued throughout the last few weeks.
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As soon as the bell rings Stratton is on Vega, exercising her power early with a powerslam to Vega. Although Vega is much smaller than Stratton, it allows her to move around the ring quickly which she does. Stratton tries to go for the Prettiest Moonsault Ever early but Vega is able to counter with the 619 straight to her shin. Vega attempts to win the match with a meteora but Stratton kicks out and rolls to the outside.ย
After knocking Stratton to the outside, she dives off the top rope on top of her. The camera pans to Legado del Fantasma’s Elektra Lopez who is sitting ringside with the rest of the group. She catches Vega’s eye who refuses to get distracted by their appearance. She doesn’t have to worry too much as members of the LWO — Carlito, Joaquin Wilde and Cruz Del Toro — come out to ringside to even the odds and make sure there is no funny business during the match. Eventually, Stratton shoves Vega straight into the barricade at ringside right in front of Lopez. As Lopez talks trash in her face, Vega has had enough. She pulls her by her hair over the barricade and then back over to the other side, yelling in her face. It distracts her enough for Stratton to slam her down once again, hitting the Prettiest Moonsault Ever and picking up the win to advance to the Elimination Chamber.
Stratton’s only been wrestling for two years which is precisely when her WWE career first began. Stratton was a key piece of NXT 2.0/NXT. She would eventually win the NXT Women’s Championship and hold it for four months, eventually dropping it to Becky Lynch. Those two women would go on to have a very memorable feud that would end in an Extreme Rules match that really made way for Stratton on the main roster. This win marks her first time qualifying in the women’s Elimination Chamber. Stratton joins Liv Morgan, Lynch, and Bianca Belair, three women with a real stake to claim in a title match with Rhea Ripley at WrestleMania 40.
