WWE: Nia Jax And The Road To Finding a Fitting Persona

Nia Jax has been a steadily improving presence on WWE Raw, but how should the evolution of her character develop in 2018?

Ever since arriving on WWE NXT TV with a unique look and an indelible smile, Nia Jax has stood out in a big way. Immediately launched into the third brand’s title picture, Jax was understandably positioned to impress from the outset and physically, she’s performed well under quite immense pressure. However, from a distance there seems to have been a presentation struggle at times. Wrestling characters often fall into single archetypes, and Jax’s size quickly shoehorned her into the silent monster one, even though there’s always been a sense that she was miscast in that role.

Nonetheless, Jax is the kind of character that needs focus as she simply can’t just be another women wrestling standard television matches. That’s obviously not her fault and instead just the way wrestling works but it meant that Nia’s introduction couldn’t be as gradual as that of her peers. The perfect example of that is her start on NXT TV too, as she found herself in a title match with Bayley just two months after her debut. To make the pressure even more intense, that TakeOver event took place in front of a raucous London crowd, further raising expectations.

I don’t think anyone is arguing Bayley’s ability to lead a less experienced wrestler but all things considered, Jax performed very well and showed great instincts in doing so. As you’d expect, Nia’s mannerisms and such were that of a performer still finding her feet but this match quickly established her potential impact, bringing a style of psychology not usually possible in the women’s division. Either way, Bayley escaped London with her title intact and Nia moved back to TV showcase matches until returning to the title picture in the summer of 2016.

That brief time of seasoning had visibly helped too, as Jax shined in a triple threat with contemporaries Carmella and Alexa Bliss before having another fun TakeOver title match opposite Asuka. Watching these showings immediately after that initial Bayley bout highlights her progress. In the same way, it’s still quite a distance below her level of performance in 2018, which is a testament to her consistent improvement. Regardless, there was more confidence to Jax’s work and it showed with each outing, including her final NXT clash with Bayley before the 2016 draft.

Of the six NXT acts called up, Jax was one of just three that was picked on television as she made the move to Monday Night Raw. A brief feud with Alicia Fox followed and Jax was then quickly transitioned into a fringe contender role that she remained in for quite some time. Don’t get me wrong, Nia was well protected and featured relatively often, but often felt on the outskirts of Sasha and Bayley’s conflicts opposite Charlotte. That didn’t stop her from being in the brand’s WrestleMania title match though, joining those three in an enjoyable Fatal-4 way match.

As has become a trend in recent times, Jax was spotlighted magnificently in the multi-woman match before eventually succumbing to the numbers game. Two weeks later, the aforementioned Bliss arrived on RAW, and interest in an alliance quickly emerged. However, through no fault of either woman, there wasn’t much consistency in the duo’s on-screen pairing as Alexa’s attempts to befriend her seemingly received a different response depending on what week it was. It was all just rather messy and that’s indicative of some of RAW’s creative issues last summer.

Nonetheless, Jax’s own performances only continued to improve and that was never more apparent than in the women’s main event gauntlet match. Battling for a title shot, Jax competed in the match’s full duration and seemingly got better with each minute, aggressive and dominant at times but frustrated and weakened at others. It really was a wonderful heel performance and combined with Sasha Banks’ miraculous babyface efforts in the match’s final portion, it made for a quite enthralling affair. Banks came out the winner on that occasion but it felt like a watershed moment for Jax all the same.

Either way, Nia’s impressive dynamic with Banks continued to show as the pair then put on an engaging and dramatic match on RAW last August. That was likely the finest performance of Jax’s young career thus far and it was an excellent one too until Banks eventually got the win once again. Though Nia had fallen short once more, it felt like she was in the midst of something bigger here and that suspicion came to fruition two weeks later, when she turned on Bliss after a main event title win. For everything I said earlier, people genuinely reacted to Jax’s betrayal of Alexa and that trend continued in the weeks that followed.

Though at the time it felt like just the start, the pair’s brief feud culminated at No Mercy in a Fatal-5-way of all things. I mentioned earlier a trend in which Jax is spotlighted well in these match types and that was never more evident than here. Nia was the match’s main story and shined in a big way as the live crowd reacted tremendously to her every move. Though Bliss understandably left with her belt that night, it’s quite astonishing that their conflict was never really furthered from that point. In fairness though, their on-screen relationship has been mostly continued which may suggest that a pay-off is still to come.

Regardless of her eventual location on the WrestleMania card though, this Sunday is a major match for Nia. Facing old and current rival Asuka, Jax has another chance to show her own impressive progression opposite one of the division’s most revered performers. Last month, these two gelled really well in a very solid TV match and will hopefully be able to top that effort at Sunday’s Elimination Chamber event. In fairness, if her recent showings are anything to go by, one can be pretty confident that this match will certainly deliver once the bell actually rings.

Over the last 28 months, Jax’s presentation has been interesting to follow. With her background in modeling being pushed alongside a mute dominance, things felt slightly unclear as to who she really was at times but as of late, I think that important adjustments have been made. Jax can still be a destroyer in-ring without being a silent monster character and that’s been shown recently as her natural personality has come more to the forefront. Though her size advantage quickly placed her in a more traditional heel role, Nia has a genuine likeability that’s perfectly represented by the crowd’s increasing support of her.

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It’s easy to forget that though she’s been on television for a while now, Jax is still relatively early in her professional wrestling career and with that comes kinks that can only be straightened out by time and experience. In-ring, Nia has continued to improve and now more than ever, her character work seems to be finding its correct path. From day one, there’s always been a hint of something different about Jax and it’s really just been about channelling that in the correct way. Time will tell as to where Nia finds herself at ‘The Grandest Stage of Them All’ but one thing is for sure, her constant progression is worth admiring and hopefully, deserving of a more continued focus sooner rather than later.