Interview: Nia Jax discusses legends returning for Royal Rumble, NXT, MMC & more
In just a few weeks, Nia Jax will make history as she steps into the ring for the first ever WWE Women's Royal Rumble. To promote the same, she was part of a special conference call with international media from across the globe.
I had a chance to ask her several questions that she answered at length. Considering that she came up through the NXT system, we asked her if there are any standouts in developmental that she has her eyes on.
The first name Jax mentioned was Aliyah, whom she considers a great talent with awesome personality. She went on to name the Aussie bombshells- The Iconic Duo.
Billie Kay and Peyton Royce. They're two amazing talents. I've had the honour to work with them. And Aliyah too, in NXT. So yeah, those three are my favourites in NXT.
I went on to ask her about being on the 7th season of Total Divas, and how difficult it was transitioning from being an in-ring performer to a reality star.
It's not too difficult for me, because I don't really change who I am on Total Divas. I'm literally myself.
Jax said unhesitantly that the only thing difficult about being on Total Divas was the gruelling schedule!
The one thing that was difficult is that we're on the road 300 days for WWE. And then adding a little more filming time for Total Divas...the schedule gets a little more difficult, you know.
Nia Jax elaborated on the timetable that a top-level WWE Superstar has to follow:
We've got to do Live Events, then we've got to go to RAW, then we've got to film Total Divas on our days off, then we've got to film other things with Total Divas on our days off, then we go straight back to Live Events and RAW. So the schedule's pretty brutal but it's well worth it.
The hot topic of conversation is the 30-woman Women's Royal Rumble. The fact of the matter is that there aren't 30 women in the current roster! Considering that there's been talk of former WWE superstars returning for the same, I asked Jax who she sees herself going up against, in this epic clash...
Oh gosh, there are so many but the one that I want to see, that I would love to go up against is Beth Phoenix.
Jax claimed that Phoenix was an inspiration for her growing up, considering how much of a dominant woman she was. While Jax would be elated to see Phoenix return, I asked her why she seemed almost disappointed to see Apollo Crews as her partner in the MMC.
(Chuckles) Well, I wasn't too disappointed about Apollo Crews as much as I was disappointed about the whole entourage, Titus Worldwide. You know I was hoping Braun Strowman would be my partner. If that didn't happen, I was okay with Apollo for sure. He's definitely a great talent.
So what was the problem then?
I was not too happy with being part of Titus Worldwide. And I'm not a part of Titus Worldwide. Let's get that clear!
I move on to MMA superstar Shayna Baszler, who seems to have taken up the 'powerhouse' role once adopted by Nia Jax in NXT. Jax wasn't too familiar with her work but seemed optimistic about working with her.
To conclude the interview, I asked her about Chris Jericho going to NJPW's Wrestle Kingdom to compete against Kenny Omega. Nia Jax had a really positive viewpoint about the same.
Chris Jericho loves to put on a great show. So it's great for him to go over to Japan and put on a great show with Kenny Omega. So I think it's awesome. Good for him, you know. He just loves entertaining people and that's exactly what he did!
Jax is well poised to create history in the first ever Women's Royal Rumble. We wish her all the best, and hope you had fun reading this interview!
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