The young upstart from the NXT Women’s division, the same upstart who was at first perceived as a renewed interest in creating a division more akin to the 2000s Divas roster, Tiffany Stratton has now captured the world’s attention. At Elimination Chamber 2024 in Perth, Australia, Stratton stole the show with a break-out performance for her main roster run. Having won the NXT Women’s Championship last year and defended it in some hotly-touted matches, Stratton’s star has never been bigger and there’s no doubt in my mind any more as to whether or not she has that future star potential. Yes, she does.
In a time where Jade Cargill is being poised to become the face of the Women’s roster in WWE, Stratton has come in and defied all prior expectations. Having debuted as part of the NXT 2.0 generation, Stratton’s ceiling was already looking to be quite low compared to former NXT legends. The likes of Charlotte Flair, Becky Lynch and Sasha Banks all seemed to have a certain x-factor that Tiffany did not, perhaps raw talent or that they just came in at the right time. Stratton’s Daddy’s little Princess gimmick failed to get over and only echoed the ilk of the dark periods of women’s wrestling. With Vince, at the time, having his way with NXT talent (not literally, we hope), the old ways were starting to creep back into the squared circle.
However, Stratton held fast and managed to persevere through the negative spotlight. By her own admission, Stratton realised that she was very green in the ring and wanted to remain in NXT for as long as possible to build on her skillset. Throughout the course of her three-year tenure in NXT, the former gymnast did exactly what she wanted to accomplish. In May of 2023, Stratton captured her first championship title, defeating Roxanne Perez in the finals of a tournament to crown a new champion. Over the course of her reign, Tiffany leaned further into her character, which fortunately was starting to get over with the NXT crowd. The ‘Tiffy Time’ moniker started to catch on, potentially thanks to the popularity of the Barbie movie released over the summer. Fans were paying attention and the spotlight was well and truly on Tiffany.
Debuting for the main roster as part of the Royal Rumble match, Stratton lasted a fair time before being eliminated by the eventual winner, Bayley. It was a great first showing, which naturally led to her signing on SmackDown Live. Tiffany was presented as an unlikely star over the first few weeks, rubbing up fellow talent the wrong way and scoring herself a spot in the Elimination Chamber match. Many had her pegged as an early elimination, myself included, yet even in defeat Tiffany managed to stake her claim at being top-tier talent.
Hitting some crazy spots with an unparalleled energy, fans were wowed by her athletic ability and her ruthlessness in the Chamber, an aspect which rarely actually materialised in Chamber matches these days. Stratton nailed a massive swanton bomb off the top of a pod which dazzled the Aussie audience. Chants reigned down from the heavens praising Tiffany’s efforts and even continued as far as the Men’s chamber match later that night.
Despite the two Women’s championships now claimed by respective champions and challengers, this shouldn’t mean that Tiffany has to wait until after WrestleMania to have a big match. WWE need to ride this wave of momentum, much like they have done with LA Knight, and turn Tiffy into a superstar. Fans want to rally behind her and see her through to the main event.
Whether it be in a Mania undercard feud with a veteran like Naomi or Bianca Beliar, Stratton could easily be placed in a potential show-stealing encounter. Tiffany has obviously a keen eye for what makes a match, and a moment, so let her go nuts on the big stage. It’s almost shades of Jeff Hardy in a strange roundabout way; fans know that they need to keep their eyes on Stratton on any occasion, just in case she pulls out a highlight reel-worthy moment.
The young star has only just started to scratch the surface with her main roster potential. I guarantee that by the end of 2024, Tiffy Time will well and truly be underway and we’ll be seeing a bright star flourish under the WWE banner. It’s high time the Women’s division is given some depth with these new additions, let’s just hope they don’t mess this one up!
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