Chelsea Green remains WWE Women’s Champion after navigating one of her most difficult SmackDown title defenses to date against Roxanne Perez. The champion ultimately countered Perez’s Pop Rox into Unprettier to score the decisive pinfall, but the result only told part of the story. Raquel Rodriguez and Liv Morgan made their presence felt around the match, IYO SKY entered the fray to even the odds, and Tiffany Stratton returned amid the post-match disorder with her briefcase in hand.
The championship match was built around Perez’s ability to isolate Green’s arm and capitalize on every opening available, while Green repeatedly had to fight through both the challenger’s offense and the outside distractions created by Judgment Day. Perez came close on multiple occasions, including after a Shining Wizard and during a stretch in which Rodriguez physically altered the direction of the match from ringside. Green, however, found the opening she needed at the most important moment.
For Green, the victory was significant not simply because she retained the title, but because she did so in an environment where the champion had little control over the circumstances. Perez was a relentless challenger, Rodriguez was willing to intervene, Morgan was waiting after the bell, and the appearance of SKY added another volatile factor. By the end of the segment, Green had retained the championship, but the division around her appeared more unsettled than before the match began.
Perez Targets the Champion’s Arm
Green started the contest aggressively, backing Perez into the corner and using the turnbuckle to bring her challenger down. Perez responded by going directly after the champion’s arm, an approach that shaped much of the bout. She worked the arm before rolling Green up for an early pin attempt, forcing the champion to stay alert from the opening exchanges.
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Green answered by trapping Perez in a body scissors and taking her down for a cover of her own. The champion’s approach was more physical and methodical in those moments, but Perez’s speed quickly changed the rhythm. Perez sent Green to the floor, only for Green to return with a dropkick and a crossbody after getting back inside the ring.
The action then spilled outward again when Perez rolled to the floor and caught Green’s attempted baseball slide. Once the match returned to the ring, Perez sent Green into the ringpost and continued the assault by stomping on the champion’s arm over the rope. It was a focused attack, and it created a clear weakness that Perez continued to exploit as the match progressed.
After the break, Perez maintained momentum with a superplex. Green nevertheless found a burst of offense, connecting with a clothesline, an enzuiguri and a meteora. The sequence gave the champion a needed opportunity to regain control, but Perez prevented Green from immediately ending the match by blocking Unprettier. Perez then rolled Green up, adding another near fall to a contest that increasingly seemed capable of going either way.
Judgment Day Changes the Equation
The match’s biggest shift came when Green climbed to the turnbuckle and Raquel Rodriguez pushed her off. The interference gave Perez a major opening, and she followed with a Shining Wizard. With Rodriguez now actively involved in the title match, the challenger appeared to have a significant advantage in her pursuit of the championship.
IYO SKY entered the situation and attacked Rodriguez, landing a headscissors to halt the interference. Perez responded immediately, taking out SKY with a crossbody. Rather than producing a clean resolution, SKY’s involvement added another layer to an already unstable ringside situation. Rodriguez, Perez, Green and SKY were all now connected in the same championship conflict, with each exchange carrying consequences beyond the formal match itself.
Despite the chaos, Green found her defining moment. Perez attempted Pop Rox, but Green reversed the move into Unprettier. The reversal gave Green the opening to secure the pinfall and retain the WWE Women’s Championship.
It was an important finish for Green because Perez had spent much of the contest limiting her offense and weakening her arm. Green did not simply overpower Perez on the way to victory; she survived the challenger’s strategy, avoided a finishing move, and turned Perez’s momentum against her in a split second. In a match filled with outside variables, that counter was the moment that preserved the title reign.
Morgan and Rodriguez Attack After the Bell
Green’s celebration did not last. Liv Morgan attacked the champion following the match, and Morgan joined Rodriguez in a two-on-one assault. The attack made it clear that Green’s successful defense had not removed the attention around the title. If anything, the post-match scene reinforced how many figures are now circling the WWE Women’s Championship picture.
SKY again inserted herself into the confrontation, suplexing Morgan. Perez then attacked SKY, continuing the chain of conflicts that had developed during the match. With Green having already endured the championship defense and Morgan and Rodriguez attempting to take control afterward, the scene was primed for another major development.
That development arrived when Tiffany Stratton returned. Stratton cleaned house as the chaos continued, immediately becoming the center of attention because she had her briefcase with her. After SKY landed a dropkick on Rodriguez, Morgan tried to swing Stratton’s briefcase, but she missed. Stratton had an opportunity to potentially cash in, and she visibly considered doing so.
Instead of completing a cash-in, Stratton swung the briefcase at Morgan. Rodriguez and Perez pulled Morgan from the ring before Stratton could finish any attempted cash-in sequence. The decision left the situation unresolved: Green remained champion, Stratton still had her briefcase, and no shortage of potential challengers had made their intentions known.
A Crowded Championship Picture Emerges
Green’s win over Perez settles the immediate championship match, but it does not create clarity around the title. Perez showed that she can threaten Green in a high-pressure environment, particularly when she is able to target an opponent’s arm and dictate the pace. Rodriguez demonstrated that she is prepared to physically involve herself when Perez is in danger. Morgan attacked the champion after the decision. SKY stepped in against Rodriguez and Morgan, only to become a target for Perez. Stratton’s return then created an entirely different level of uncertainty.
The key fact remains that Green left SmackDown with the WWE Women’s Championship. That matters, especially after the challenger’s sustained arm work, the superplex, the Shining Wizard and Rodriguez’s interference. Green endured all of it, countered Pop Rox, and delivered Unprettier to retain.
Yet the closing moments ensured that the champion did not get a clean, quiet ending to her night. Morgan and Rodriguez were still a threat, Perez remained deeply involved, SKY had inserted herself into the confrontation, and Stratton’s briefcase remained in play after she chose to use it as a weapon rather than complete a cash-in. Green won the match, but the final image suggested that the WWE Women’s Championship scene is only becoming more crowded and more unpredictable.
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Darryl Polo
Darryl Polo is a passionate wrestling fan covering WWE, AEW, TNA and beyond. He loves great rivalries, breakout stars and the moments that keep fans talking long after the bell. How we work.