Nia Jax

Nia Jax (birth name: Savelina Fanene) is an American-Australian professional wrestler born on May 29, 1984, in Sydney, Australia. Nia Jax is related to The Great One, "The Rock." She is known by the nickname "Irresistible Force" in WWE. The Queen of the Ring and Women's Champion performs on SmackDown, as of October 2024. The former Women's Tag Team Champion also wrestled under the ring name Zada.

Early Life

Nia Jax was born in a Samoan family. She did her schooling at Carlsbad High School in California. She was raised in Honolulu, Hawaii. Her father Joseph Fanene is of Samoan Ancestry and is the cousin of Peter Maivia the Grandfather of "The Rock." Her mother Renate Fanene is of German Ancestry. Nia Jax did her college at Cal State University and completed her degree in Marketing. She also played basketball during her college days. She also practiced Karate, Judo, and Kickboxing. But she was kicked out for getting other people hurt. Even in WWE, she continued the same and gained a reputation as an "unsafe worker."

Also Read: Nia Jax Family

Professional Wrestling Career

NXT

Before she arrived in WWE, Nia Jax was an established basketball player and as well as a plus-sized model. Her initial name was Zada but she changed it to Nia Jax later. In 2014, she made her debut on NXT where she faced Evie in a singles match. Nia Jax was portrayed as a heel and even teamed up with Eva Marie during her time in NXT. Some of her opponents include Carmella and Alexa Bliss. She used the Samoan Drop as her finisher which was renamed "Annihilator." She started a feud with Bayley and faced her for the NXT Women's championship but lost the match. In 2016, she was involved in a feud with Bayley and Carmella where she attacked them with the help of Marie. And at that, Asuka saved both from the attack. This led to her involving in a feud with Nia Jax for the NXT Championship later on. After Nia Jax won the triple-threat match against Carmella and Alexa Bliss she went on to face Asuka for the Championship at the "NXT Takeover: The End" pay-per-view. Also, she lost on another different occasion to Asuka. This was her last match in NXT.

Also Read: Nia Jax Wrestlemania Record And Appearances

Nia Jax in RAW

Nia Jax was called up to the main roster soon after and went on a rampage, defeating enhancement talent. After Nia Jax's debut, she feuded with Alicia Fox and had a few matches with her in which Jax had the upper hand. She also faced Sasha Banks in Nia Jax had her first win against Sasha Banks at the Elimination Chamber later on she lost the match at Fastlane 2017. Nia Jax was then involved in the main event matches for the RAW Women's Championship. She wrestled against Charlotte Flair, Bayley, and Sasha Banks for the title but lost. Later on, in No Mercy's pay-per-view, she competed in a match against a match in which she lost. Also, she has competed in the Survivor series on two different occasions (2017,2018) on behalf of Team RAW but was eliminated from the team. She would also be booked in an on-screen romance with Enzo Amore before he departs from the company. Nia Jax turned face before WrestleMania 34, where she feuded against Alexa Bliss. Nia Jax won the RAW Women’s Championship at WrestleMania 34.

Nia Jax winning the RAW Women's Championship at Wrestlemania 34

Shortly thereafter, she would lose the title when Nia Jax challenged Ronda Rousey and had Alexa Bliss cash in her RAW Women’s Championship during the match. After losing her title to Bliss she started to feud with Ember Moon. Nia teamed up with her on an episode of RAW and defeated Mickie James and Alicia Fox. She eliminated her at the Evolution pay-per-view. She defeated Moon later on RAW. Nia Jax had a match with Ronda Rousey and was unable to defeat her at TLC, to become RAW Women’s Champion.

She then entered the Royal Rumble 2019, where she lasted for 11 minutes until she was eliminated by Becky Lynch. Also, she entered the Men's Royal Rumble the same night after replacing R-Truth after attacking him backstage. She was attacked by Randy Orton who delivered an RKO to her and Rey Mysterio delivered a 619 and eliminated Jax from the Rumble. Nia then teamed with Tamina to compete for the Inaugurated Women's Tag team but got eliminated. Also, they lost to Ilconics at Wrestlemania 35. She then left the company due to an ACL Ligament injury for nine months. After Jax returned she teamed up with Shayna Baszler to take on the Sasha Banks and Bayley for the Women's Tag Team titles. They won the match and became the new champions. But soon they lost the title to Asuka and Charlotte Flair. She then went on to face the team of Asuka and win the title for the second time. They became the two-time tag team champions. They went on to defeat the team of Naomi and Lana, Mandy Rose and Dana Brooke, Tamina, and Natalya. On Wrestlemania, 37 they successfully retained the title against the team of Natalya and her former partner Tamina. Then lost the title to the same team on an episode of SmackDown. In September 2021, She was attacked by Shayna after their match on RAW and they got separated. This was her last appearance on RAW. She left RAW to return after a Mental Break. In November 2021, she was released by WWE. Jax is yet to join another promotion or make a return to WWE.

A Look at All the Wrestlers from the Anoa'i Family Tree

Return to WWE (2023-present)

Nia Jax returned to WWE in September 2023 and attacked Raquel Rodriguez and Women's World Champion Rhea Ripley. Regardless of going on a series of wins against opponents like Shayna Baszler, Rodriguez, and Zoey Stark, Jax failed to win the Women's World Title in a lethal at Crown Jewel. Jax's title pursuit continued, however, she couldn't defeat Ripley in the headliner of Elimination Chamber: Perth.

After being drafted to SmackDown in the 2024 WWE Draft, Nia Jax won the Queen of the Ring competition and earned a WWE Women's Title match at SummerSlam. At the event, Jax defeated Bayley to win the championship with help from her new partner, Tiffany Stratton. She successfully retained her title in her first defense against Michin in a street fight and again at Bad Blood against Bayley.

Championships and Accomplishments

Nia Jax Family

Joseph Fanene and Renate Fanene are the parents of Nia Jax. She has German lineage from her mother and Samoan from her father. Jax's father was a pro wrestler while her mother was seen at Breaking Ground in 2018. Nia has two brothers and their names are Ben and Patrick Fanene.