At WrestleMania 34, for the first time in over a decade, Nia Jax will compete in one of two singles Women’s Title matches when she challenges Alexa Bliss for the Raw Women’s Championship.
In an interview with Mirror Sports, Nia Jax shares her thoughts on her title opportunity and the surrounding controversy involving the body shaming plot.
On her Women’s Title Match at WrestleMania 34: I’m over the moon. I mean, I can’t even think of the last time women have had a singles match for the title on the WrestleMania card. [WWE Women’s Champion Melina defeated Ashley at WrestleMania 23 in 2007.] Obviously you think back to Trish and Mickie [Mickie James defeated Trish Stratus to capture the WWE Women’s Championship at WrestleMania 22 in 2006]. But I’m just sitting here thinking ‘this is crazy, we have two women’s matches for the title on the WrestleMania card’. I’m just blown away. Plus we have a mixed match on the card as well, so it’s pretty amazing.
Thoughts on the storyline involving Alexa Bliss insulting and bodyshaming her: I think it’s amazing. I think it’s something that people know but they don’t want to talk about it, they always want to keep it hidden. I feel like we’re tackling it head-on and it should be [tackled]. Young women and young girls, and boys, should actually be hearing this and seeing the conflict that we go through and seeing somebody stand up for themselves and not have to allow somebody to bully them, because of the way they look, what their shape is, or the colour of their skin is. You should always stand up for yourself. So I think it’s amazing. I’m very honoured to be a part of it.
On dealing with body shaming in real life: You know, growing up… it’s crazy how real this storyline is to my real life. And especially with Alexa being such a close, best friend of mine for so long, she has seen it. She [her character] has hurt me [my character], because I’ve confided in a lot of these stories that have happened to me. It surprises me that it has become such a big storyline in WWE, because it relates to me completely. Growing up I was made fun of for always being bigger. I specifically remember, at one of my junior high basketball games, a man, a grown man was making fun of me and my size, as I was playing basketball. They didn’t realise that my Samoan father [Joseph Fanene, first cousin to Peter Maivia, grandfather of Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson of the Anoa?i family] was in the audience. And he, he err… beat the crap out of them, but that’s a whole ‘nother story! But yeah, that’s something I’ve dealt with my whole life, people making fun of me and my size. Everything from having a huge forehead, to the size of my feet, and not being able to wear the same size shoes as my friends, definitely.
What did you think of the interview? What have been your thoughts on the Alexa/Nia storyline? Would you like to see WWE create more storylines handling these issues? Let us know in the comments below!
