WWE Hall of Famer addresses whether Nia Jax purposely hurts opponents
WWE Hall of Famer Arn Anderson does not believe Nia Jax has ever intentionally hurt any of her WWE opponents.
At six-foot-tall and 272 pounds, Jax is significantly larger than the rest of WWE’s female performers. The Women’s Tag Team Champion has injured high-profile names including Becky Lynch and Kairi Sane in recent years. These incidents have earned Jax a reputation as someone who is occasionally reckless in the ring.
Speaking on his ARN podcast, Anderson was asked about the internet stigma surrounding Jax’s capabilities as an in-ring competitor. The former WWE producer immediately shot down any suggestions that the RAW Superstar deliberately tries to injure people.
“I can’t imagine she would hurt anybody purposely. I just don’t see that. I spoke to her many times and had [produced] a lot of her matches, had her on the road. If it’s anything, it’s just she don’t know her own strength. Let’s face it, she puts some torque on everything she does.”
Anderson used former WWE and WCW star Vader as an example of someone who, like Nia Jax, had a strength advantage compared to other competitors. He said Vader, who was billed at 450 pounds, could hurt opponents due to his size if he misjudged a move.
Theory on why Nia Jax has caused more injuries recently
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, WWE events have taken place without fans in attendance since March 2020. Arn Anderson believes performing in empty arenas affects the risk of injury as compared to performing in front of a packed audience.
“I don’t know how many of those injuries have been since we lost an audience versus when we had one, but that’s definitely a factor. If you don’t believe it, ask any talent the difference in going out into a cold arena and wrestling versus having a packed house and going out and wrestling.”
Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler are the current WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions. They will face RAW Women’s Championship rivals Asuka and Rhea Ripley in a tag team match on next week’s RAW.
Please credit ARN and give a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription if you use quotes from this article.