Posted on 2/03/126 by Colin Vassallo
Nia Jax sat down with Chris Van Vliet in London, England to
discuss her WWE return and why it has been much more
successful this time around, punching Becky Lynch and the
backlash that followed, responding to online critics, taking
an RKO from Randy Orton in the Royal Rumble, yelling “My
Hole” during a match on Raw, taking a stinkface from Rea
Ripley at a WWE live event, crushing Lyra Valkyria, getting
hit by a drunk driver before her wrestling career started,
being cousins with The Rock and more!
How did you find out that you were going to 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?”
Did you know who you had spots with?
“Yeah, it was Andrade, it was Ali, Randy, Rey and Dolph. 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*ck 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*ck. I’m like, Randy. He’s like, Yeah? I’m like, ‘I’m
nervous. I don’t want to f*ck 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*ck. I just can’t f*ck up
the RKO. We get into it. I beat up Truth, poor Truth, and
beat the sh*t 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*ck, did I just hit him too hard? In my mind, I’m thinking
sh*t, 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 sh*t. And then whatever we run through, do the
RKO, I take the 619, the RKO. I’m like, Holy sh*t, 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.”
When you got released from WWE in 2021 you didn’t work
anywhere else. You have never worked a match outside of a
WWE ring. When you got released, was there the thought of,
I’m gonna do the Indies or I’m gonna go elsewhere?
“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.”
Do you think about how much longer you want 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.”
The moment with Becky Lynch, when she became The Man. Did
you realize in that moment how big this affected both of
your 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*ck. 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 sh*t! 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 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 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, ‘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, sh*t’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. Sh*t 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
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 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.”