WWE MITB 2020: Nia Jax is The Dark Horse
By Mark Justice
WWE MITB 2020 will take place on May 10 at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT live on the WWE Network with the kickoff show beginning at 6 p.m. ET/3 p.m. PT.
The Pay Per View will feature six superstars climbing the ‘corporate’ ladder in the WWE Headquarters to retrieve the MITB Briefcase, which contains a contract that guarantees them a future championship opportunity. The following will identify and pontificate the dark horse for the WWE MITB 2020 women’s ladder match.
Head, shoulders, knees, and toes! Nia Jax has injured them all but that won’t stop her from winning this year’s Women’s MITB Ladder Match. Although there are quite a few favorites to win this match (i.e. Shayna Baszler and Sasha Banks), Nia Jax is most certainly the dark horse.
As can be indicated by recent events in the WWE (i.e. ‘essential business’), it is clear that ‘controversy creates cash’ and this alliterative proverb speaks volumes for Nia Jax’s situation in the WWE today. Every time Nia Jax botches a maneuver in the ring, the WWE finds a way to catapult her overt negligence into heel heat.
After recklessly botching a Buckle Bomb in her match against Kairi Sane on this week’s Monday Night Raw, it would not be too far fetched to see the WWE do the same thing by having her win the MITB contract this year. Here is why this could very much be the case.
Nia Jax Has SmackDown Women’s Champion Bayley’s Number
On the July 31, 2017 episode of Monday Night Raw, Nia Jax botched a powerbomb and dropped Bayley right on her shoulder. Surprisingly, the WWE did not turn this botch into a controversial storyline for heel heat but the company still rewarded Jax with critical victories.
Jax went on to win most of her matches on Raw, gain ample momentum to be included in the Raw Women’s Championship match at WrestleMania 33 with the likes of Charlotte Flair, Sasha Banks, and Bayley, win the Raw Women’s Championship from Alexa Bliss at WrestleMania 34, and win the Women’s Battle Royal at the first ever all-women’s PPV of Evolution in 2018.
Despite injuring Bayley’s shoulder, the WWE continued to push Jax as one of the top stars in the Raw Women’s Division. With that being said, would that stop her from winning the Women’s MITB Ladder Match to cash in on Bayley, who just happens to be the current SmackDown Women’s Champion? Far from it.
Considering that Nia Jax has never been a member of the SmackDown Women’s Division, it is entirely plausible. Although it would be a spit in the face to the greatest SmackDown Women’s Champion of all time, Nia Jax’s gimmick is less about spitting in faces and more about breaking faces, like she did to Becky Lynch in 2018.
Nia Jax Has Raw Women’s Champion Becky Lynch’s Number
On the Nov. 9, 2018, episode of Monday Night Raw, Nia Jax botched a knee strike and punch to Becky Lynch during a very memorable SmackDown invasion of Raw in the build-up to Survivor Series 2018. At that PPV, Lynch was slated to battle Ronda Rousey one-on-one for the first time ever in a champion vs. champion match.
Although the blood on Becky Lynch’s face made her look tougher and made that invasion unforgettable, she was unable to battle Rousey in what was a well-built rivalry and was unfortunately replaced by Charlotte Flair. Unlike the situation with Bayley, the WWE turned this botch into a controversial storyline for heel heat by calling Nia Jax the ‘Face-Breaker.’
Jax then went on to win most of her matches on Raw, become the sole survivor for the Women’s Survivor Series Match in 2018, and become an integral part of both the Women’s and Men’s Royal Rumbles in 2019. This trend of Nia Jax gaining exceeding amounts of momentum after injuring important superstars from the women’s division is no coincidence.
Despite injuring Becky Lynch’s face, the WWE continued to push Jax as one of the top stars in the Raw Women’s Division. With that being said, would that stop her from winning the Women’s MITB Ladder Match to cash in on Becky Lynch, who just happens to be the current Raw Women’s Champion? Far from it.
Considering that Nia Jax has never battled Becky Lynch one-on-one after such an incident, it is entirely plausible. However, in retrospect, although Jax got pushed for her misdeeds against Bayley and Becky Lynch, Bayley still walked out of WrestleMania 33 with the Raw Women’s Championship in 2017 and Becky Lynch still walked out of the main event of WrestleMania 35 with the Raw Women’s Championship in 2019.
Could Nia Jax’s pattern of botches be a blessing in disguise for the other superstars in the locker room? Could Nia Jax’s mere negligence be a consolation prize for the superstars who the WWE fans want to be pushed? Maybe.
Most WWE fans wanted the babyface Bayley to be pushed in 2017 when she got called up from NXT to the main roster and she won her first Raw Women’s Championship after Jax injured her shoulder. Most WWE fans wanted the babyface Becky Lynch to be pushed in 2019 when she became ‘The Man’ and she won her first Raw Women’s Championship after Jax broke her face.
Could Nia Jax’s heel heat actually be ‘work’-ing after all? Or is she just building up a ‘bad reputation?’ Another superstar who actually knows a lot about ‘bad reputations’ and also won her first Raw Women’s Championship after dealing with Nia Jax was Ronda Rousey.
https://twitter.com/NiaJaxWWE/status/1252417349665218561
Nia Jax Has Ronda Rousey’s Number
After returning from double knee surgery, Nia Jax has not only qualified for the Women’s MITB Ladder Match but has also been very active on Twitter. Thanks to Ronda Rousey’s controversial tweets about WWE being ‘fake fights for fun,’ Jax intentionally works herself into a shoot by throwing shots at Rousey every chance she gets.
For instance, after Jax botched a buckle bomb in her rematch with Kairi Sane on this week’s Raw, she kept kayfabe alive and decided to turn her negatively received botch into something positive: take another shot at Ronda Rousey. It is clear that Jax wants to reignite her rivalry with Rousey from last year’s MITB by clearly showing her that WWE is NOT ‘fake fights for fun.’
By recklessly hurling Kairi Sane into the turnbuckle, Jax was boldly showing why wrestling in the WWE can still be very dangerous. Although this is not the most moral way to show it, Jax’s bold actions fit quite suitably with her notorious gimmick.
Maybe the heel Nia Jax will win the Women’s MITB contract, cash in on the heel Bayley or preferably the babyface Becky Lynch, and defend one of the championships against Ronda Rousey when she returns. Anything can happen in the WWE, especially when it comes to Nia Jax.
When she wins this year’s MITB contract, you heard it here first. She’s not like most girls who only take just what they’re given like a plastic little princess; as can be indicated by her past success, she takes what she wants, whether the WWE Universe likes it or not.
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When it comes to climbing that corporate ladder, it seems that Jax knows how to do it better than anyone in that locker room. She wouldn’t be pushed so consistently if the corporates in the back did not appreciate her heel work. Nia Jax for Ms. MITB!