By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)
Insight With Chris Van Vliet with guest Nia Jax
Host: Chris Van Vliet
Podcast available via Podcasts.Apple.com
On how she found out she would be in the Men’s Royal Rumble? “So we had rehearsals that day, the Women’s Rumble, because it was me, Becky and Charlotte at the end of that one. So the doors were opening, and we were in Arizona, I believe. I was walking back, and Johnny Ace was like, ‘Hey, kid, you got to rehearse more.’ I said, ‘Oh, what are we doing?’ He was like, ‘You’re in the Men’s Rumble.’ I said, ‘What?! Doors are open, Johnny. When am I going to rehearse?’ [He said] ‘Oh, we’re just gonna rehearse this part with Truth, and then you go do the Women’s Rumble, and then we’ll talk about the guys after.’ I thought he was kidding. But then, when we rehearsed it with Truth, me beating up Truth and everything, entering at number 30, I was like, this is happening. So then I had to focus on the Women’s Rumble, because I had stuff to do with Lana in that match, and then Becky and Charlotte, and then run back. I had to go into a room with a bunch of the guys, and they’re going over stuff, and they’re like, ‘Hey guys, Nia’s in the Rumble. So run through with what you’re gonna do with her.’ I was like, I don’t get to go into a ring?”
Whether she knew who she had spots with? “Yeah, it was Andrade, it was (Mustafa) Ali, Randy (Orton), Rey (Mysterio), and Dolph (Ziggler). So they were in at the time, and they’re like, ‘Yeah, now you’re gonna come in, you’re gonna drop Truth, and then when you slide in, you’re gonna start cleaning house and then you’re going to eliminate Ali, and then there’s going to be a spot with Andrade and Dolph and Rey, and then you’re RKO’d.’ And I was like, ‘I’m going to get what?’ They’re like, yeah, you’re going to take an RKO. Before that, it was like, ‘Yeah, you’re going to go to tackle Randy, and then this happens.’ I was like, Okay. So I was just sitting there, going but what if I f— up the RKO? That’s one of the most iconic moves in WWE history. Everybody already hated me.
“So then I look at Randy, and Randy’s super cool. But you know, Randy has a reputation of being like, you know. I was like, Oh, f—. I’m like, Randy. He’s like, Yeah? I’m like, ‘I’m nervous. I don’t want to f— up your RKO.’ And he was like, ‘Don’t worry about it, kid. Just when you turn left, I’ll take you. You just turn to the left, and the rest I’ll handle.’ I was like, okay. So out of that whole match, that was the most nervous. I was like, f—. I just can’t f— up the RKO. We get into it. I beat up Truth, poor Truth, and beat the shit out of Truth. Go in there and run the spots. Go to tackle Randy. He takes a bump for me, and I was like, f—, did I just hit him too hard? In my mind, I’m thinking shit, did I just hit Randy too hard? Meanwhile, I hear Kim [Randy Orton’s wife] cussing me out. She’s yelling at me. I’m like, oh shit. And then whatever we run through, do the RKO, I take the 619, the RKO. I’m like, Holy shit, this is not happening. Then they dump me, then they drop kick me off the apron. When you’re in the moment, you don’t realize that. When I was done, I was like, that was a massive moment for me that those guys didn’t have to. They could have said no, that they just did for me.”
Whether she considered wrestling elsewhere after being released by WWE in 2021: “Not really. I didn’t think that I wanted to wrestle anywhere else, but I did know that I wanted to still wrestle. I didn’t even know if I was gonna come back to the WWE, honestly. It was just kind of, like I said, it was my whole life at the time. So when I was released, it was kind of a shock. Or it was like, What is my life? It’s kind of like I had to reset. I’m like, What is my life right now? Because my whole life has been WWE, and I really didn’t think about an after, which, you know, a lot of wrestlers get caught up in that. Because it happens to be like that. When we’re on the road five days a week, you don’t really think about the after. So I didn’t think about wrestling anywhere else. Everybody kept saying, try here and go there.”
On whether she thinks about how much longer she wants to wrestle: “No, because as many times as I’m like, Well, maybe after this, or I’ve won this title, and I’ve done this, I’m like, Oh, I can still do this. Then I see all this new talent, I’m like, Hey, I would love to work with this new talent and do stuff with them and help them out. So I haven’t really said, ‘Oh, this is when I’m going to be done.’ I hope it just happens naturally, where it’s like, Okay, I think it’s my time, where I’ve kind of given enough back to the business that’s given a lot to me. So we’ll see.”
Whether she realized the moment that Becky Lynch became The Man would significantly affect their careers: “No. I do realize in the moment when I hit her, I felt on my knuckle a little [contact], and I was like, f—. Because when it happened, this will be funny. Go back to the beginning, where we came in, and they were like, ‘Hey, we got to sell this match, go in there, give it your all. Say sorry later.’ A producer said that to us. I was like, All right. We’re in there, and naturally, I feel like I’m an easy target because I’m the biggest girl. So I kept getting punched, hit from all angles, and I’m like, mother trucker. I’m in the corner with Naomi, and we’re fighting, and somebody comes and just clinks me in the back of my head, and I just turn around. I’m like, ‘Get the F off me.’ Didn’t realize it was Becky. I thought it was Lana. I turned and connected, and I felt it, and I was just like, oh shit! I didn’t realize how bad it was until I looked down, and I just saw her bleeding all over the mat. Then she rolled out, and Dana (Brooke) was looking at her, taking care of her.
“Then we get done, and we go to the back, and I’m sitting there going, like, Oh my gosh, I’m in so much trouble. This is it. I think they’re done with me. I was getting my papers. Then Becky was in the trainer’s room, and I couldn’t go in there, they were checking her out, and I was just trying to make sure she was okay. Then I had to go talk to Vince (McMahon) and the producers, and they were all quiet, but talking to each other and not saying anything to me. Then in Gorilla, they had it on the screen, he was talking to Kevin (Dunn), ‘Let me see the footage.’ They were replaying it from every angle. I was like, oh man, it was a tough time. Then Vince was like, ‘It’s not ballet, shit’s gonna happen.’ I was like, okay, because I’ve been cussed out by Vince before for other things, so I thought, oh, for sure I’m gonna get cussed out for this. He was like, ‘It’s not ballet. shit happens, is she okay?’ I was like, ‘I don’t know.’ He said, ‘Go check on her.’
“Then from there, it just exploded all over the internet. Then I think when I tweeted out, it was a joke, and I asked Becky about it if I could, it was like I had a cut on my hand from the punch. And it was from the movie The Campaign, ‘Is anybody asking me how my fist is doing?’ I thought it was funny, just like every heel is justified. But it was definitely that people were way too sensitive to it. That’s when I went nuclear heat. I’ll never forget the next week was Survivor Series, and I wasn’t supposed to win that match, whatever it was supposed to be. I think it was Sasha (Banks) was supposed to win that match. I was still trending about the punch, and everybody was telling Vince the internet is still going nuts about Nia punching Becky in the face. Then, right before the doors open, he was like, ‘Finish change, Nia over.’ He said, ‘Yeah, when you go out there, you show your fist, and you smile.’ I was like, All right.”
Was it a similar moment when you threw Jade (Cargill) into the steps? “That was weird, because I know I’m strong. But yeah, I didn’t realize that even happened. I didn’t realize she hit her head that hard on the steps. So when I saw it, because I didn’t actually get to see the full extent of it until later, I was very shocked that she split open that badly. But it was definitely different. It was a different moment, for sure. But yeah, that was pretty scary.”
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