The Stomp Heard 'Round the Internet
If you spent your Friday night watching SmackDown instead of having a social life, you witnessed Alexa Bliss getting her arm turned into origami. Jade Cargill took a steel chair, wedged Bliss's arm inside the metal frame, and stomped it into the canvas like she was trying to kill a cockroach. The sound of the kayfabe snap was loud enough to wake up the dead, and the visual of Bliss's elbow bending in ways that defy basic human anatomy had the internet losing its collective mind.
Within minutes, the wrestling subreddits were flooded with arguments about whether we had just watched a work or a career-altering disaster. Bliss, who returned to the company at the Royal Rumble in 2025 after a two-year maternity leave, has always had one weird superpower: she is double-jointed in her elbows. She famously used this hypermobility to gross everyone out during her 2018 feud with Ronda Rousey, and she dusted it off again last Friday to give Cargill some massive heel heat.
But the drama did not end when SmackDown went off the air. Bliss went straight to Instagram to post photos of severe bruising and a video of herself wearing a heavy-duty arm brace. As WrestleTalk reported, she is keeping the sell alive, and you can see the footage of her sporting the brace on social media as she continues the narrative.
The Mark-Outs Who Believe the Hype
On the SquaredCircle subreddit, fans are calling the spot a masterpiece of physical storytelling. One user noted that Bliss's hypermobility is the ultimate cheat code, allowing her to create a visceral reaction that most wrestlers cannot replicate with ten minutes of standard offense. They argue that this physical commitment is what keeps kayfabe alive in an era where everyone knows the backstage secrets.
Over on Cageside Seats, another poster argued that having Cargill's crew hold down Charlotte Flair in the corner while Cargill snapped Bliss's arm was pure wrestling theater. It gives the babyfaces a clear reason to seek revenge and establishes Cargill as a limb-targeting monster. For the enthusiasts in the comments section, this post-match beatdown is booking done right.
They also point to the long-term storytelling implications of keeping Bliss off television. If Bliss is out of action selling the arm injury, it leaves Flair isolated against Cargill's faction heading into SummerSlam. Fans are already spinning theories that Bliss will return to turn on Flair for failing to protect her, finally breaking away from the shadow of Flair's babyface run.
The Skeptics Who Have Seen It All Before
Meanwhile, the skeptics on WrestleZone's forums are groaning loud enough to drown out the SmackDown crowd. A common complaint is that the double-jointed elbow trick is a one-note gag that Bliss has used to death. Once you know she can bend her arm backward at will, the shock value disappears and you are left looking at the booking flaws of a story that lacks real emotional depth.
The skeptics also hate the pairing of Bliss and Flair in the first place. They argue that WWE is using Bliss as a human shield to get Flair cheered by a crowd that would otherwise boo her out of the arena. Tying Bliss to a stale Flair act feels like a cheap way to build babyface sympathy, and the critics are not buying it.
Furthermore, they argue that the actual match last Friday was a clumsy mess before the post-match angle saved it. The singles match lasted only five minutes before the post-match chaos erupted, leaving fans with a sour taste. Cargill is still struggling with her in-ring pacing, and the chemistry between her and Bliss was non-existent during their brief clash.
The Contrarians and the Cargill Conundrum
Finally, Twitter is blaming Cargill. The general consensus among the contrarians is that she is being pushed too fast. They point out that Cargill, despite her incredible physical presence, still relies heavily on B-Fab and Michin to hide her limitations in long singles matches.
Bliss turning heel is another sticking point. Critics argue that turning Bliss heel is a massive mistake because fans naturally want to cheer her. Forcing a babyface who returned to a massive pop in 2025 to play the bad guy just to feed her to Flair is viewed as a waste of her star power.
They want Bliss chasing gold. They believe she has spent enough time playing sidekick to Flair's quest for another title reign. Keeping her in the midcard selling injuries is preventing her from reaching the top of the division where she belongs.
Why the Believers Have the Right Side of the Fight
Look, I love to roast WWE booking as much as anyone, but the skeptics need to take a deep breath. Yes, the double-jointed elbow is a trick, but it works every single time to create actual drama. Bliss sold that stomp like her career was over, and in an era of backstage leaks, anything that makes you check your phone to see if a bone actually broke is a massive win.
The Jade Cargill criticism is lazy. She is a star, and stars do star things, which includes breaking people's arms with steel chairs. Her alliance with Michin and B-Fab gives her the numbers advantage that makes the eventual showdown with Flair feel like a war rather than just another match on the card.
The real test is the return. If she comes back just to be Flair's sidekick again, then the skeptics will be proven right. But if she turns heel, snaps Flair's arm in a chair of her own, and runs wild on SmackDown, we will look back on this stomp as the spark that saved her run.
For now, Bliss is sitting at home. She is probably laughing at the internet arguments she created with a single elbow. If you want to follow the latest updates on her recovery and the buildup to SummerSlam, you can follow WrestleTalk on Threads.
