The Irresistible Force Nia Jax is officially Asuka‘s opponent for the upcoming Backlash event. Jax earned this shot by defeating Natalya and Charlotte Flair in a Triple Threat match.
Although it was questionable by many fans of the three that were in this match, they still put on a lengthy match. Some of which had some questionable moments, however, there were times where I thought each one of them was going to win. RAW Women’s Champion Asuka was on commentary which made the match more entertaining.
The beginning of the match saw Flair and Nattie use some strategy by keeping Jax out of the ring. After they threw Jax into the ring post she spilled to the outside and the two would go one-on-one in the ring. They would spend some time exchanging blows and also some holds which kept them pretty even. Their history with each other makes them know each other very well in the ring. Jax tries to get back in by Flair keeps her out with an uppercut.
As mentioned earlier, many fans were confused why someone like Flair who is already a champion or Nattie who has picked up losses lately would qualify to be in a number one contender’s match. Commentary stressed on the fact that all three women are former (and Flair a current) champions.
Speaking of commentary, a big spot involved Jax going through the desk. The action spilled to the outside and included Flair and Jax playing a tug of war with the hood part of the announce desk as the top was cleared off. This caused both Jax and Flair to get up on the ring apron and The Queen delivered her signature chops.
Jax attempts to get Flair up on her shoulders and is unable to. Nattie chops at Nia’s legs in order to get Flair off the apron. The two would then get Jax up and made it to the announce table where they powerbombed her through it. Asuka’s reaction to this was priceless.
Asuka seems to be rooting for Nattie to win from here on throughout the rest of the match. It is clear she doesn’t want to face Flair and certainly doesn’t want anything to do with Jax. The champion ends up getting Jax back in the ring when Nattie was alone hoping she would pick up the win, but she was unable to capitalize on it.
The remainder of the match is many submission maneuvers by Nattie and Flair. These include the Sharpshooter, Figure Four/Eight, and armbars. Whenever it seemed close to someone tapping, the third would end up breaking it up. Jax goes for a Samoan drop on Nattie but with a big boot by Flair this was thwarted.
The match ends with a Figure Four attempt on Nattie, but Jax hits a leg drop to stop it. She capitalizes by hitting a Samoan drop on Nattie and is able to get the pin and the win as Flair was outside of the ring.
This will be Jax’s first one-on-one title match since she faced Ronda Rousey for the RAW Women’s Championship at the TLC pay-per-view in December 2018. She spent some time chasing the Women’s Tag Titles before her injury at the beginning of 2019 with Tamina.
What did you think of this match? Do you see Asuka dropping the title this early at Backlash? Backlash is set to take place on June 14. Leave your thoughts in the comment section below.
