On this past Monday's episode of RAW a bizarre, but somewhat familiar interaction took place involving Nia Jax. Her match with Charlotte Flair appeared to break down, leading to some shoot punches being thrown and a sloppy finish taking place. It was captivating for all the wrong reasons, as both women had to continue being professional despite the animosity that was clearly being shared.
Unfortunately for Jax, she has a history of derailing matches, albeit not usually in such a mutually aggressive fashion. Her botches are infamous, whilst she continues to be heavy-handed in the ring, making for a not very good (or safe) performer.
So, what does WWE do next with Nia Jax? One would think that a trip back to the Performance Centre would go a long way in helping her develop into a safer worker, but WWE appears to just accept the Jax incidents as they come. Some would even say that her penchant for botching is overstated and she is actually not that bad.
What is clear is that WWE has a Nia Jax problem and they have to find a resolution to it sooner rather than later.
Nia Jax Doesn't Know Her Own Strength
There is one common theme with all the Nia Jax incidents, she doesn't seem to know quite how powerful she is. Jax is clearly much stronger than many of the women she works with, but there have been a number of occasions where she hasn't accounted for this and caused them harm.
Perhaps the most notable example of this was when Jax faced Kairi Sane, where she hurled her much smaller opponent into the stairs causing Sane to suffer a nasty head injury. The incident was widely criticized, even internally, but Jax continued to be profiled in a decent role on RAW following the botch.
No good-natured person would suggest that Nia should lose her job, nor should she even be disciplined, as she is clearly being allowed to be reckless by her superiors. It is the responsibility of WWE to address the issue before it becomes one botch too many and someone is seriously affected.
WWE Are Being Hypocritical About Nia Jax
Nia Jax clearly has flaws that should be addressed if she is expected to wrestle week in, week out. So, it really doesn't make any sense that WWE doesn't just send Nia back to the Performance Center to make her a better worker. They've even done such a thing recently by sending Mandy Rose (who has no such history of injuring her opponents) back to NXT, so there would be absolutely no shame in it.
It is actually very hypocritical of WWE to allow her to keep wrestling on the main roster when management has decided that more experienced individuals, namely Keith Lee, have not been up to scratch. This is despite the likes of Lee being much safer workers, whilst also being much more entertaining in the ring.
However, WWE and Vince McMahon seem to care more about the style of wrestling than the wellbeing of their performers when they are in the ring. There is no other explanation as to why Jax is allowed to continue without extra training, despite the growing number of botches and injuries she is involved in.
Is Nia Being Unfairly Judged?
Despite what critics and fans may say about Jax's performance, fellow wrestlers (who know much more) seem to repeatedly defend her. Even after her latest botch with Charlotte, she has been defended by AEW wrestler Nyla Rose on Twitter. So are fans wrong to be so judgemental of Nia Jax?
Well, Jax really doesn't make it any easier when she has previously laughed off her criticisms as nothing to worry about. As fans, it is impossible to tell how much Jax tries to improve her skills when nobody is watching, but she clearly doesn't seem to care about the criticism she faces. Jax has a good personality for wrestling, a decent enough move set, and the size to be a unique performer. She just needs the carelessness that causes her mistakes drilled out of her with more time at the Performance Center.
WWE will probably continue playing with fire, hoping that she improves over time. However, it is likely that over the coming months another Nia Jax botch will make the rounds on the internet, leading fans to ask why it is being allowed to continue.