Nia Jax has discussed the interesting reaction WWE Chairman Vince McMahon had after she had inadvertently caved in Becky Lynch’s nose on Raw.
On the road to Survivor Series 2018, the battle for brand supremacy was on as Raw and SmackDown went to war. On a memorable episode of Raw, the women of SmackDown invaded the red brand, emboldened and led by their fearless leader Becky Lynch.
Lynch first attacked Raw Women’s Champion Ronda Rousey in the locker room before joining her cohort in blue in the ring where they were doling out more punishment to Raw’s women’s division. With bodies everywhere and chaos reigning, Nia Jax inadvertently caught Lynch with a punch that broke her nose. And in doing so, launched an image that helped carry The Man all the way to the main event of WrestleMania 35.
Speaking to Renee Paquette on The Sessions, Nia Jax has reflected on that ill-fated moment and maintains that it was a pure accident:
“It was right before Survivor Series, where I think her and Ronda were going to have a singles. 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.’”
“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. 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.”
After the incident, Nia Jax recalled Vince McMahon’s reaction and how McMahon changed the proposed finish to the Team Raw vs. Team SmackDown women’s match to have Jax as the sole survivor because of the crowd response she was getting following the errant punch:
“I go to Vince and I was like, ‘I’m so sorry.’ He’s like laughing, ‘Well, it’s not ballet.’ So then I walk away and I was leaving alone, then I’m texting Becky, making sure she’s okay, just bugging the sh*t out of her. Of course, Becky’s like, ‘Oh, I’m fine, you know.’”
“He was like, ‘Actually, we’re gonna have Nia go over,’ because he wanted the heat. When my music hit, the crowd was booing the sh*t out of me. It was insane. Vince was like, ‘All those babyfaces should be thanking you. You’ve got a true legitimate heel here. You go out there and you point at that fist and you smile.’”
The broken nose kept Becky Lynch from meeting Ronda Rousey one-on-one at Survivor Series with Charlotte Flair taking Lynch’s spot instead. After winning the Royal Rumble, Rousey can pick either one of those women to meet at WrestleMania 38.