Nia Jax explains why she punched Becky Lynch on WWE RAW
Nia Jax was told before she injured Becky Lynch in 2018 that the segment needed to “look real” and she could “say sorry later.”
The SmackDown women’s division invaded the RAW women’s division six days before Survivor Series 2018. Jax legitimately broke Lynch’s nose and gave her a concussion during the brawl, which meant The Man could not face Ronda Rousey at the pay-per-view.
Speaking on Renee Paquette’s The Sessions podcast, Jax recalled how the women involved in the segment were instructed to be more physical than usual:
“It was right before Survivor Series, where I think her and Ronda were going to have a singles," said Jax. "SmackDown was invading RAW. The producer of that match, won’t name names, basically was like, ‘This needs to look real, say sorry later.’ We were all like, ‘Okay, cool, let’s go, let’s have fun, whatever.’”
"Take my word, with a severe concussion and a broken face, I can STILL kick Ronnie's a**." - #TheMan @BeckyLynchWWE #SurvivorSeries #SDLive https://t.co/MtfHBpXWOm
WWE was forced to cancel the Champion vs. Champion match between Lynch and Rousey at Survivor Series 2018. Charlotte Flair replaced her former best friend and faced Rousey instead.
Nia Jax thought she had injured Lana, not Becky Lynch
Remember her AND her face? #TheMan's coming around, @NiaJaxWWE... #WWETLC @BeckyLynchWWE https://t.co/xkkRFroWv1
With the producer’s advice in mind, several members of the SmackDown women’s division targeted Nia Jax at the start of the invasion segment.
Jax repeatedly received punches to the back of her head while she was working in the corner with Naomi. In frustration, the former WWE Superstar turned around and punched Becky Lynch, but she initially thought she had hurt Lana.
“I continue to get punched in the back of the frigging head, and I was like, ‘Good lord,’ so I just turn around and I really go to clear the person," Jax continued. "My fist wasn’t closed, I didn’t [intentionally] punch her, but it did connect. I didn’t even realize it was Becky. I honestly thought it was Lana.”
As the segment continued, Jax said she saw blood everywhere but did not know where it came from. The 37-year-old only fully understood what had happened when she returned backstage.
Please credit The Sessions and give a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription if you use quotes from this article.