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When it comes to on-screen WWE programming, most things are kept professional at all times. It is rare to see matches fall apart due to disagreements, or to see performers taking liberties and going into business for themselves. However, on the rare occasion in which issues do seep through the cracks, it is usually quite noteworthy. That was certainly the case when it came to Charlotte Flair and Nia Jax, who, mid-match, seemed to fall into a real shoot fight. Some fans will remember this happening vividly, as it was very strange to witness, but they may not know exactly why this situation came about and why it happened, as the entire situation was confusing.
Both Charlotte Flair And Nia Jax Are No Stranger To Controversy
On the August 30, 2021, Charlotte Flair, who was reigning as the Raw Women’s Champion at the time, went toe-to-toe with Nia Jax, who hadn’t really been a regular part of the main event scene, with her competing in the tag team division alongside Shayna Baszler. On paper, it felt like just a filler match to tick over to the next week, with the expectation that Charlotte Flair would win the match due to her being champion, gaining a victory to further improve her stock as champion.
Few fans would have expected this match to become the most talked about moment of the week, but it ultimately did, as their match ended in complete chaos. Flair and Jax have both been in the eye of controversy at times, with Jax often getting criticized for her stiff work, being accused of botching and injuring opponents, with a notable moment being when she punched Becky Lynch in the face, giving her a concussion and bloodying her. In the case of Flair, she would fall into a scandal a few months after this event, as she and Becky Lynch went off-script during a title exchange segment, which was another very awkward moment to witness.
Charlotte Flair And Nia Jax Got Into A Real Fight During A Match
The match began very normally, with a collar and elbow tie up and simple back and forths of headlocks and shoulder tackles. Things developed, with a neckbreaker over the top rope, a spinebuster, and a blocked moonsault. It was towards the end of the match where things got heated, and the match completely broke down. Upon a second watch though, the early stages of the match were noticeably more stiff and awkward, implying that there was an issue before the bell even rang.
At one point, Flair didn’t sell a move and kicked out at just one, with some rough shoving taking place too. It seemed as though things kept building throughout the match, which got even worse when Flair slapped Jax in the face twice, to which Jax returned a shove to the face of her own. They got into what looked like a legitimate struggle, with shoving and hair pulling. Flair tried to get back into the match with a chop, to which Jax no-sold the move. Jax could be audibly heard saying “Don’t” as Flair continued shoving, before she then hit Flair legit in the face a few times.
The match then got as back on track as was possible under the circumstances, as Jax hit a powerbomb to pick up a clean win over the champion, which was quite a surprise. It was speculated that Jax changed plans to pick up the win, but that wasn’t the case, as she was surprisingly the scheduled winner, setting up a rematch for the title which Flair would win. Overall, the match was awful, with the rating on cagematch.net showing that fans hated it.
Nia Jax Stated That Things Went Bad Due To A Miscommunication
Jax herself shed some light on the situation, or rather confirmed that the whole ordeal was just as confusing as fans found it. On an episode of The Sessions with Renee Pacquette, Jax stated that "There was a miscommunication, I don't know where it was, but she started laying into me." She then continued later on, saying, "I didn't know what was going on. It was definitely intense. She is one of my best friends, so I wasn't sitting there, and we were super mad, but there was some sort of miscommunication."
Following the culmination of the match, the pair made amends almost immediately, agreeing that things unintentionally and pointlessly got out of hand. Thankfully, they were able to not fall into the same miscommunication in their rematch the following week. It was definitely a weird situation, and one which has always seemed like there was more to it than simply a miscommunication, but fans will likely never know what really caused this shoot fight inside the ring (if there even was a reason), as neither Jax nor Flair have stated that there was a legitimate issue.