WWE: Nia Jax vs. Alexa Bliss Has Been Both Inspiring And Uncomfortable

At WWE WrestleMania 34, Nia Jax will challenge Alexa Bliss for the Raw Women’s Championship, but her road to this title match has been a rocky one.

Since her debut, Nia Jax has helped energize the women’s division as one of the few plus-sized female superstars in the WWE. Inside the ring she’s known for her strength and ferocity. (Check out her recent match with Asuka at Elimination Chamber as an example.)

Outside of the ring, Nia sparkles with confidence and fun, and is great at using social media to connect to her fans while also sharing her passion for dogs, fashion and body positivity. Nia has been working as a reliable heel since her debut, but her charisma and skills are undeniable. She could thrive in any role in the WWE– including as the Raw Women’s Champion.

In the current Raw storyline, Nia and Alexa Bliss’s friendship recently ended in a dramatic way. Alexa repeatedly body-shamed and belittled Nia on camera, mocking her size and intelligence in increasingly brutal ways until Nia broke down and started fighting back. Things came to a head when Kurt Angle, disgusted by Alexa’s abuse of Nia and the poor example being set by the Raw Women’s Champion, informed Alexa that her title would be on the line in a match against Nia at WrestleMania.

It’s a huge push for Nia, with big stakes and the potential payoff of her first WWE title. So why is this worrying some of her fans?

It’s exciting to see Nia get this opportunity, but the way the plotline has hinged on negative statements about Nia’s body has made many viewers uneasy. There are few large-bodied female athletes that have the kind of platform Nia does, which is why Nia’s personal focus on body positivity is so meaningful. Her Twitter and Instagram feeds are full of fans thanking her for inspiring them to be active and love their bodies regardless of size, and she is a passionate and unapologetic advocate for them.

More from Daily DDT

Nia is also an open book, and she’s been honest about the difficult realities and prejudices she’s faced as a plus-sized athlete. Seeing something we know has been a painful part of her actual life exploited as a plot point is uncomfortable, even if it’s well-intentioned. Additionally, Alexa’s body-shaming bullying is pretty realistic, and it will hit close to home if you’ve been through it before. Any large-bodied person will feel a sting of recognition at Alexa’s “blubber” taunts or airport jokes.

It’s an uncomfortable angle, especially given how aggressively WWE has marketed the women’s division to young girls. Champions represent the brand, and the young girls watching at home are now seeing a champion repeatedly picking on a fellow competitor for her size. One hopes the girls who see themselves in Nia won’t take Alexa’s bullying to heart, or be inspired by Nia’s resilience instead.

Many people don’t trust WWE with plotlines like this and for good reason: WWE has been historically disrespectful towards its women’s division, and the company seems more interested in praising itself for its future than reckoning with its past. Previous plus-sized women’s wrestlers like Bull Nakano had to tolerate abuse from commentators, fans, and even fellow wrestlers just to compete.

Even if you weren’t a plus-sized wrestler, your body could still be used against you for storyline purposes. Consider the infamous “Piggy James” storyline, where Mickie James was also mocked for her (notably unremarkable) size in cruel, public ways. James has alluded to how difficult this plotline was to participate in. Seeing James come back to WWE and act as Alexa’s sidekick only to be embroiled in yet another body-shaming plotline has been jarring and weird, and it seems to indicate that WWE is not as removed from those old attitudes as it would like us to believe.

Some people frame the bad times women have had in WWE as artifacts of the “old” era, before the Women’s Evolution solidified their public commitment to treat women’s wrestling with respect. This may be true, but elements of this storyline seem shockingly insensitive to the women participating.

For example, Alexa Bliss may be the villain in this story, but she’s Nia’s close friend in real life. She’s also bravely shared deeply personal stories about her struggles with anorexia and how important wrestling and her support network of friends and family have been to her recovery. Regardless of the intent, WWE has put Alexa in a position where she has to say toxic, judgmental things about body size and exploit her best friend’s real insecurities in order to move a storyline forward.

Aspects like this are unsettling, and raise questions about judgement at WWE despite their best intentions. We can’t make assumptions about how Nia, Alexa, and other participants in this story are being affected by it, but we can hope they are being treated with respect and consideration behind the scenes as they continue to put in great performances on behalf of WWE.

While there have been uncomfortable moments, there have also been moments that give fans hope. The framing of the story has made it clear that Alexa’s title is on the line because of her body-shaming comments and bullying of Nia, and that the kind of cruelty she’s shown Nia is portrayed as absolutely unacceptable for the Raw Women’s Champion. Nia has also done plenty of work outside of the ring to help things land in the right place with her fans.

She has spoken publicly about how proud she is of the plotline, and how she hopes people will take it as inspiration to stand up for themselves as she does. (It’s also fun to watch her Samoan Drop her bullies in front of a cheering crowd. Who wouldn’t want to do that?)

In the last episode of Raw, Nia spoke candidly and emotionally about how hurt she was by Alexa’s taunts, but also spoke about how she didn’t stop bullying from letting her love herself or achieve great things- not in spite of her size, but because of it. Nia loves herself exactly how she is, and she’s providing a powerful example to inspire others to do the same. Judging from the reception she’s gotten from fans and colleagues, she’s hitting her mark.

Next: Will Daniel Bryan And Shane McMahon Be Able To Work Together?

Nia continues to inspire and overcome, and it’s been great to see this new facet of her character get the spotlight. On Sunday, Nia will be facing down her bully at WrestleMania, and there is every reason to believe she’ll be leaving as the new Raw Women’s Champion. If she does, let’s hope Nia gets the championship reign- and the respect -she deserves.