Hooded Individual Crashes Damage CTRL's Title Defense On WWE SmackDown
A mysterious, hooded figure influenced the outcome of IYO SKY & Dakota Kai's WWE Women's Tag Team Championship defense against Liv Morgan & Tegan Nox on the 12/16 "WWE SmackDown" in Chicago, Illinois.
Towards the closing stages of the bout, SKY and Nox battled on the outside, until a mysterious figure appeared from the crowd and blindsided Nox with a vicious kick. Thereafter, WWE security officials began chasing down the hooded figure, who quickly retreated through the crowd.
Back in the ring, the outside assistance allowed SKY to hit a moonsault on Nox for the pinfall victory.
It was revealed later – via WWE's social media channels – that the hooded figure was none other than Xia Li, who had been off WWE TV since the 11/11 episode of "WWE SmackDown" where she was part of six-pack challenge to determine the #1 contender for Ronda Rousey's title. Subsequently, Li lost to Emma at a pair of WWE live events a few weeks ago but had not appeared on any WWE programming in over a month.
EXCLUSIVE: After a mysterious stagehand costs @YaOnlyLivvOnce and @NixonNewell their WWE Women’s Tag Team Title match against #DamageCTRL, she reveals herself to be none other than @XiaWWE backstage before heading into @ScrapDaddyAP’s office. #SmackDown pic.twitter.com/pgo7aRBUAh
— WWE (@WWE) December 17, 2022
At this point, it's unknown if Li has joined the Damage CTRL faction, or if she targeted Nox owing to some unresolved issues from the past. It's worth noting that Li & Nox were briefly tag team partners in 2019, teaming up at a live event in Melbourne, Australia that year.
Meanwhile, Damage CTRL's victory Friday was their first televised title defense since SKY & Kai captured the titles from Alexa Bliss & Asuka at the Crown Jewel premium live event last month. In recent weeks, the WWE Women's Tag Team Champions have defended their titles against Asuka & Mia Yim at various WWE live events.