It was announced on RAW that Sasha Banks will get her rematch for the RAW Women’s Championship against Alexa Bliss at WWE No Mercy.
Nia Jax confronted RAW GM Kurt Angle backstage. Nia was pissed off about Sasha Banks getting another shot at the RAW Women’s Championship at WWE No Mercy. Angle informed Nia that Sasha was entitled to a rematch for her title. Emma interrupted and said that she was going to start a new hashtag “give Emma chance at the women’s title”. Nia Jax got pissed off and Kurt Angle stepped in between them.
Angle then announced a tag team match for later tonight. It will be Nia Jax & Emma versus Sasha Banks & Alexa Bliss. If Nia Jax and Emma are victorious, they will be added to the RAW Women’s Championship match at No Mercy and it will become a Fatal 4-Way.
Nia Jax and Sasha Banks started off the match. Nia slammed Sasha to the canvas and Emma tagged herself in. Emma beatdown Banks in the corner and then went for the cover but Sasha kicked out at one. Emma connected with a Dropkick for a two count.
Emma leveled Banks with a Clothesline for a two count. Alexa looked pissed off on the ring apron as Emma continued to beat the hell out of Sasha. Banks finally was able to get in some offense and made her way to the corner to tag in the RAW Women’s Champion.
Emma booted Alexa in the face but Bliss responded with a flurry of punches to Emma’s face. Bliss then tagged in Sasha and she hit Double Knees for a two count. Emma desperately tried to tag in Nia but Sasha dragged her back to the corner. Alexa was then tagged in and she and Banks connected with a double Suplex on Emma for a two count.
Bliss beatdown Emma in the corner and then applied a Chin Lock. Emma broke free but Bliss grabbed her by the throat and threw her to the canvas. Alexa climbed to the top rope but Emma rolled to the opposite corner of the ring. Alexa jumped down and Emma connected with a Jawbreaker.
Nia was then tagged in and Alexa slapped her in the face. Nia then let out an angry scream and Bliss responded by screaming out of pure terror.
Nia then knocked Alexa to the mat but Bliss got back up and slapped her in the face again. Nia connected with a Samoan Drop and went for the cover but Sasha broke it up.
Nia charged at Alexa in the corner but Bliss dodged her and tagged in Sasha. Banks went for a Crossbody but Nia caught her. Sasha escaped and hit the Shining Wizard for a two count. Nia hit a shoulder tackle and then bounced off the ropes and Emma tagged herself in. Nia then hit a Leg Drop and Emma pinned Sasha Banks for the victory.
After the match, Nia Jax planted Emma with the Samoan Drop. Alexa Bliss will now defend her Raw Women’s Championship against Sasha Banks, Emma and Nia Jax at WWE No Mercy.
WWE Superstars Nia Jax and Lana had an argument on Instagram on Wednesday. Nia Jax posted a photo and an inspirational message to others who have been told they are “too big” or “don’t look the part.” The Total Divas co-stars got into it over the topic of body shaming after this post from Nia Jax:
https://www.instagram.com/p/BYbM6RlFixp/
Here’s the full exchange, including RAW Women’s Champion Alex Bliss chiming in:
Nia Jax:
“For the girl who was told, “You’re too big,” “You don’t look the part,” or “You just don’t fit. This isn’t the right path for you,” listen, maybe they’re right! Maybe that path isn’t right, that’s why I’m cutting my OWN path in this industry, one that I am in control of. I’m not like most, so why should my path be? It’s tough work, but well worth it! #NotLikeMost ?”
Lana:
“My life motto : follow your own path no matter what people think !
Btw I hear all the time I am too skinny and too fragile and not strong enough…. cough cough cough… umm wait was that what you said or @natbynature !!!! ??? ? I’m just saying
Remember that time you told me my amount of lifting weight wasn’t impressive like yours ??? Hmmmm interesting …”
Nia Jax:
“oh lord. Here we go…putting your #CrazyLana stamp on my heartfelt post ?! Making it about you…as always!!!!”
Lana:
“oh please I am just pointing out the truth…. body shaming comes in all shapes and sizes. Including being called too skinny and can’t lift enough…. some people are small some people are big, some people are flexible, some people can lift heavy. All of it is impressive and beautiful in it’s on way. I am just reminding you to practice what you preach. ?”
Nia Jax:
“hahahah! You’re delusional! Body shaming and telling someone that maybe you shouldn’t boast about lifting heavy when you could be showing a more athletic side to themselves are not even close to the same thing ?”
Lana:
“I never ever ever said I left heavy! Never ! Because I don’t ! So don’t put words in my mouth. And I have no problem posting the little amount of weight I lift because that is me and my journey and I don’t think anyone should be laughed at for not lifting as much as you do or super strong people. At the end of the day I follow my own path and share it to the world… the good bad and the ugly. Because I am the first to say I am far from perfect and have much to learn”
Alexa Bliss:
“Oh good , you found my title ! @niajaxwwe”
Nia Jax:
Typical!!!! Two of the most attention seeking women in the WWE coming on my post and trying to make it about themselves ??? @thelanawwe@alexa_bliss_wwe_ ….
Lana:
” literally never making it about myself…. actually you come on my posts and always make it about yourself ! Interesting. But anyways. All these people attacking me I was just calling her out but I wish her the best and I am all for people breaking molds… I also ?? @alexa_bliss_wwe_ ???”
– After Monday’s RAW from Memphis went off the air, Finn Balor defeated Bray Wyatt in a street fight. Earlier in the evening, Bray Wyatt made a surprise appearance during the IC Title #1 Contender’s Battle Royal and eliminated Balor, so expect another match between these two at No Mercy.
– The main event of Monday’s RAW saw Alexa Bliss reclaim the RAW Women’s Championship from Sasha Banks. After the match, Nia Jax celebrated with Bliss, but then attacked the new champion. Backstage after the show, Nia told Mike Rome that she’s tired of waiting and will now be making her own opportunities.
WWE Superstar Nia Jax was recently a guest on former WWE Champion Chris Jericho’s podcast, Talk Is Jericho to talk about her WWE career. During the interview, Jax talks about the original plans for her WWE name and who shut it down. Here is what she had to say:
Her original WWE name:
“My first name during my first match was ‘Lena.’ I was still Lena then, just because we hadn’t gotten a name yet,.”Then I was ‘Zeda’ for half a second; I picked it and thought it was such a cool name, and it got approved, but once I kind of put it out on Social Media, someone from the higher ups and was, ‘Who the F*** is Zeda?’ They said that they were changing that name, and to go back to Lena for the time being.”
Triple H not liking ‘Zeda’:
“I submitted a bunch of names. Nia is like a Samoan girl name that a lot of women have. Jax is from Sons of Anarchy, I was super into Jax, so I threw the name Jax in there and it came about that way. I believe Hunter gets the final say on the character names. He was actually the one who didn’t like the name Zeda, so he has the final say.”
WWE Superstar Nia Jax recently did an interview with Metro to talk about a variety of topics including what it’s like to be backstage with WWE, being on the main roster alongside her friend and Monday Night RAW Women’s Champion Alexa Bliss, and Game Of Thrones character “The Mountain” visiting the WWE Performance Center and making Braun Strowman look small. You can check out the highlights here below:
What it’s like being backstage in WWE:
“When it comes to match time everyone settles down and gets into game mode, but a little bit before then there’s nothing wrong with a little fun and play. Our schedule is not easy, I don’t think any other sports team or company does what we do, we’re 24/7 and always on the road, no matter what. Every now and then it’s good to have a nerf ball fight or whatever to get rid of some of the stress we have.”
Being on the main roster with Alexa Bliss:
“Right now I’m honored to be where I am so short into my WWE career. I know that being so different does award me some things that I’m getting, but I’m grateful. Alexa and I have been best friends since I tried out in NXT, she was one of the first people to help me and ever since we’ve been close. We call ourselves ‘Team Rude’ because we’re super goofy, and that’s literally one of the words that you’ll hear out of our mouths when we’re talking. Hopefully I can continue bringing new things to the table and staying on top.”
Game Of Thrones character “The Mountain” visiting the WWE Performance Center and making Braun Strowman look small:
“Obviously The Mountain! He came over to the Performance Center when I was there, and he was sitting next to Braun Strowman and made him look little. I would love for that to come to life in WWE, that would be cool to see Braun vs The Mountain! I know this is bad and not popular, but I’m a big fan of Cersei.
“In my gear I’ve mirrored her recent outfits, she wears a black robe that comes up high on her neck with the shoulder pads, so I’ve tried to incorporate that look. I’ll literally send in pictures of Cersei to my gear lady and ask her to make things that look like her outfits. That’s why I’m in full body black, I love Cersei, her dynamic and how far she’s come.”
It now appears unlikely that Bayley will challenge Alexa Bliss for the Raw Women’s Championship at SummerSlam after suffering an injury to her right shoulder during a match against Nia Jax on Raw on Monday.
On Friday, Cathy Kelley reported in this video that the extent of her injury has not been determined due to swelling in and around the injured area. A conclusive diagnosis will be made on Monday at Raw in Toronto.
In WWE.com’s preview for Raw, an indication is given that Bayley won’t be wrestling at SummerSlam, or anytime soon for that matter.
Regarding the situation, WWE.com wrote, “Based on what we have seen, it doesn’t seem likely that The Huggable One will be getting back into the ring anytime soon.”
WWE.com also notes, “If Bayley is unable to compete at SummerSlam, who will challenge the so-called “Goddess of WWE” for her coveted championship? Hopefully, details will emerge on Raw.”
Mark Henry, Ron Simmons and The Godfather appeared on “Table For 3” last night following last night’s episode of WWE RAW. Henry discussed his future in WWE and stated that his in-ring time is coming to an end and he will transition to a behind-the-scenes employee once that time comes in a few months. Henry said that he wanted to help WWE with their new talents once his in-ring career is over. You can check out a clip from the newest episode of “Table For 3” in the video below.
Jerry Lawler was asked by a fan on Twitter if he still works with WWE. Lawler responded that of course he does and will be hosting the pre-show panel at WWE Battleground this Sunday. Lawler will also be appearing on Talking Smack following the PPV.
Rumor on RAW Women’s Championship match for WWE SummerSlam
There were rumors that there would be a Fatal 4-Way for the RAW Women’s Championship at next month’s SummerSlam PPV. Dave Meltzer recently noted on Wrestling Observer Radio that those plans have been changed. The latest rumor is that Alexa Bliss will be defending her title against Nia Jax at SummerSlam. Alexa Bliss and Nia Jax have been portrayed as friends on recent episodes of RAW.
– In the video below, check out Monday Night RAW General Manager Kurt Angle arrive for tonight’s episode of RAW in which he is set to reveal a big secret that has had WWE fans scratching their heads for the past few weeks. Angle is set to make a ‘big announcement’ alongside a loved one tonight, that could possibly taint his Hall Of Fame career:
– As we’ve previously reported, the WWE has cancelled Talking Smack as a weekly program on the WWE Network. The news has seemed to sadden a lot within the WWE Universe, however, former United States Champion Kevin Owens is not one of those sympathizers. “KO” took to Twitter to express his approval for the WWE’s move to no longer give Renee Young and SmackDown Live General Manager Daniel Bryan’s ‘nonsense’ a platform:
– After a recent house show win alongside partner and friend Nia Jax, RAW Women’s Champion Alexa Bliss took to Instagram to celebrate her and Jax’s victory. In the post “Little Miss Bliss” used the hashtag ‘#TeamRude’ making some WWE fans wonder if a tag team between the pair is on the horizon:
As we previously reported, WWE RAW Women’s Champion Alexa Bliss and Nia Jax were added to the WWE Total Divas reality show on E! network to replace the recently departed Eva Marie. It was also confirmed that Renee Young would not be returning to the show either, leaving another spot open on the cast sheet.
Rumor has it that SmackDown Live star and the now-former Ms. Money In The Bank, Carmella, could be the one to fill that void. Monday Night RAW Superstar Maryse recently posted a picture on Instagram while filming Total Divas, and Carmella was in the photo alongside her, sparking speculation that “The Princess Of Statin Island” could be on her way to E!:
https://www.instagram.com/p/BVqTWaPgBRE/
It is possible that Carmella, who is currently in a relationship with Monday Night RAW Superstar Big Cass, could only be making a brief appearance on the show, or she could be joining full-time. We’ll keep you updated…
WWE Superstar Natalya may have revealed Lana’s new ring attire in a new tweet posted earlier today. Natalya was promoting the new episode of Total Divas that airs later this evening. WWE has been hyping Lana’s SmackDown debut for the past couple of weeks and have released two videos. In both videos, Lana is seen dancing by a chair and the videos ends with “coming soon to SmackDown Live”. In the photo below, Lana’s new ring gear may have been revealed.
A fan sent a tweet to WWE Superstar Nia Jax and stated that he would love to see Tamina Snuka and Nia Jax square off in the ring. Nia Jax quoted the tweet and ensured the fan that he will see that in the future. Tamina Snuka and Nia Jax are cousins and Nia claimed that “nobody fights harder than family”.
I would love to see @TaminaSnuka and @NiaJaxWWE square off in the ring.
Nia Jax has taken to Twitter to promote positive body image. She released a photo as well as a long statement detailing her own feelings about the subject:
You may have noticed during Wrestlemania that Rob Gronkowski’s run-in was almost stopped by a security guard rushing in to stop him. It turns out that the same security guard worked the recent NXT Tapings and can be seen below escorting ‘The Drifter’ out of the arena.
The question is…how could she not have known about Gronkowski’s involvement?
wait, the security woman was at the pre-taped NXT throwing Drifter out?
-Nia Jax was very happy that she has an official action figure. Jax pointed out how figure was anatomically correct and that she was a fan of it.
I’m blown away that I actually have an official action figure! I absolutely LOVE that it is anatomically correct! Shows off all my curves. Yes, I have curves & yes I am an athlete & YES I am beautiful! Growing up playing with barbies it was hard to relate to the stick skinny dolls that I played with. Now I am a curvy action figure that young girls who are #NotLikeMost can play & relate to! #PowerOfBeingYou #NotLikeMostGirls #JaxJungle #Curvy #LoveYourself
Following Monday’s episode of WWE RAW, Samoa Joe vs. Sami Zayn and Nia Jax vs. Sasha Banks have been added to the main card for Sunday’s WWE Fastlane PPV.
In cruiserweight action, Noam Dar & Brian Kendrick vs. Akira Tozawa & Rich Swann has been announced for the pre-show.
WWE Fastlane 2017 will feature:
– Kevin Owens defends the WWE Universal Championship against Goldberg
– Bayley defends the RAW Women’s Championship against Charlotte
– Gallows & Anderson defend the RAW Tag Team Championships against Enzo & Cass
– Neville defends the WWE Cruiserweight Championship against Jack Gallagher
– Braun Strowman goes to war with Roman Reigns
– Samoa Joe battles Sami Zayn
– Sasha Banks looks for revenge on Nia Jax
– Akira Tozawa and Rich Swann face Brian Kendrick & Noam Dar on the pre-show
Fastlane takes place this Sunday from Milwaukee. Join us for live PBP beginning at 7pm.
– WWE Superstars discuss President Obama in WWE’s latest Black History Month video.
– WWE taped Sin Cara vs. Bo Dallas and Noam Dar & Tony Nese vs. TJ Perkins & Cedric Alexander for this week’s WWE Main Event in Los Angeles last night.
– As seen on last night’s RAW, Nia Jax defeated yet another enhancement talent. This time it was Sara Pierce, played by SoCal indy women’s wrestler Heather Monroe.
– WWE Hall of Famer Steve Austin was another big name backstage for last night’s RAW in Los Angeles. Here he is with Charlotte:
There is so much content packed into a three hour episode of Monday Night Raw, sometimes it takes a bit for things to register. Last night, Nia Jax demolished Sasha Banks for the second night in a row. The crowd didn’t care. They didn’t really boo when Nia Jax went after Sasha’s injured knee. There was mass confusion in this match because the timekeeper rang the bell too early and the referee had called for the bell yet. Moving past that, the goal of this segment was clearly to get heat on Nia Jax and make the WWE Universe dislike her. Sure, there may have been a smattering of boos but I think this segment was a huge failure. It didn’t help anyone. The WWE has tried to get people invested in this storyline but it just hasn’t worked. When they aired that video of Nia Jax attacking Sasha Banks while she was getting evaluated, did you care? I know I didn’t.
That was two weeks ago and here we are doing the same thing. Sasha Banks is playing up an injury and Nia Jax is taking advantage of it. Bayley begged Sasha to not fight Nia Jax last night on Raw. Sasha dismissed Bayley and ignored her suggestion. She wound up getting her ass kicked by Nia Jax for the second night in a row. After the match, Bayley helped Sasha Banks to the trainer’s room. The WWE clearly laid the groundwork for something between Bayley and Sasha Banks last night. It just got lost in the shuffle.
Nia Jax has been a failure to this point. On the main roster, she has not connected at all. Say what you want about Charlotte, at least she generates a reaction. I enjoy Charlotte’s work as a heel and I think she is terrific at cutting promos that piss people off. Her feud/storyline with Bayley has been very lame so far but that is another rant for another day. Nia Jax doesn’t matter right now. That is because she was off TV way too long and to be honest, she hasn’t had a good match on the main roster. Everything she has been a part of since joining Raw has been forgettable.
This article was supposed to be about Sasha Banks, so why did I bring up Nia Jax? I think Sasha Banks is 10x the heel that Nia Jax is. She is just playing the role of a face right now and it is not working. If it was working, people would have cared that Nia Jax was targeting her injured knee. Nobody cared. Nia Jax just isn’t connecting with the WWE Universe whatsoever and the audience has completely lost interest in Sasha Banks.
Sasha Banks needs to turn heel. If Bayley defeats Charlotte and wins the Raw Women’s Championship, she will need someone to feud with. I’m not sure if Nia Jax is the answer anymore. That hasn’t exactly panned out the way I thought it would. Banks had a particular tone with Bayley and said that “unlike some people, I am not okay with coming up short.” I took that as a direct jab at Bayley for having a smile on her face the night after losing a match for the Raw Women’s Championship against Charlotte. We’ll see what happens but I think it is time to turn Sasha Banks heel. The audience simply does not care about her right now and they do not care about Nia Jax either. Hopefully this interaction with Bayley last night is a sign of things to come for Sasha Banks.
A new video was posted to The Bella Twins YouTube channel of Nikki Bella impersonating AJ Styles. AJ was shown at the end of the video and seemed to get a kick out of it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9GGhXrRDzXc
Nia Jax posted a new video on Twitter. In the video she squatted 300 pounds with ease.
Getting it in ??this morning with my crew! Hitting my max squat 137kg (300 pounds) & increasing my max snatch ????? by 12kg earlier pic.twitter.com/QZrNVNWCN4
The WWE released a new video to hype up the Royal Rumble this Sunday. The video highlighted Kane as the most dominant Superstar ever in the Royal Rumble because he has 43 eliminations on his resume.
– WWE announced 13,145 fans in attendance for last night’s SmackDown from the Allstate Arena in Chicago. They previously announced 12,708 fans in attendance in the same building for Monday’s RAW.
– Heath Slater may have suffered an injury in last night’s SmackDown 4 Corners Elimination Match as he tweeted the following after the match:
I guess I'll be seeing the DR tomorrow…. Ahhhhhhhh
A fan on Twitter suggested a Rock vs Batista match at Wrestlemania 33. The fan suggested that Vin Diesel be the special referee. There were reports of The Rock and Vin Diesel arguing on set during the filming of Fast 8. Batista had a funny response to the fan’s suggestion.
The Wrestling Observer is reporting that Sasha Banks is going to work an injury angle for a bit and then return to feud with Nia Jax. This is good news given the fact that Sasha Banks has pretty much exclusively fought Charlotte since the brand split. Nia Jax has often not even been featured on Raw. Nia Jax has the potential to be dominant in the Women’s division and Sasha Banks is a terrific choice to have a feud with her. Most of the WWE Universe likes Sasha Banks and Nia Jax could generate some real hatred if she continues to attack Banks while she is injured. We saw a glimpse of what Nia Jax is capable last week on Raw when she had a confrontation with Sasha Banks.
– Tuesday’s WWE SmackDown ranked #3 on Nielsen’s social media TV ratings chart, behind This Is Us and The Voice. SmackDown had 58,000 interactions with 13,000 unique authors on Twitter and 79,000 interactions with 51,000 unique authors on Facebook.
– It’s been announced that NXT Women’s Champion Asuka will face RAW’s Nia Jax at Saturday’s house show in Osaka, Japan. This is the same show that will feature Shinsuke Nakamura vs. NXT Champion Samoa Joe. They took shots at each other via Twitter today, seen here:
I don't get your cryptic talk @WWEAsuka ! Get ready because this "humongous" woman is ready to beat your thong wearing butt! ?? https://t.co/8EQfKOaAn7
– WWE Universal Champion Kevin Owens will be Jonathan Coachman’s guest for the ESPN SportsCenter Off The Top Rope segment tomorrow night.
– Cesaro is fueling speculating that he could be jumping to SmackDown. After SmackDown GM Daniel Bryan tweeted that he’d love to see Cesaro on SmackDown, the Swiss Superman has since responded:
– Nia Jax is tired of squash matches and is ready to move on to the WWE RAW Women’s Championship. She tweeted the following during last night’s RAW segment with Charlotte and Sasha Banks:
Looks like a bunch of little GIRLS yelling about the #WomensTitle… maybe it's time for a new WOMAN to have an opportunity at it. #RAW
– Big Cass is celebrating his 30th birthday today.
– It was announced last night on the WWE Network that the first 5 episodes of “Holy Foley” will be available on-demand after SummerSlam goes off the air on Sunday.
– The woman who Nia Jax squashed on last night’s RAW was Texas indie wrestler Delilah Doom, using the name Rachel Levy. She was trained by former WWE star Funaki.
– Sam Roberts has announced that Kevin Owens, Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson will be the special guest this Thursday afternoon for his live podcast from Caroline’s in New York City.
– Here are some more backstage videos from last night’s RAW, Heath Slater requesting medical attention after being manhandled by Brock Lesnar and New Day talking trash aboutThe Club:
– As seen on this week’s RAW, WWE continued the trend of using enhancement talent for Braun Strowman and Nia Jax. Braun’s victim was Evan Anderholm, played by NXT enhancement talent Corey Hollis. Nia’s victim was Ariel Monroe, wife to WWE CWC talent Cedric Alexander.
– PWInsider reports that WWE CWC competitor Tony Nese has signed a deal with EVOLVE and WWN Live. Nese defeated Anthony Bennett to advance to the second round of the CWC last week.
– While Brian “Curt Hawkins” Myers did not re-debut on this week’s WWE SmackDown as expected, he was backstage. As noted, Hawkins is back with the company and will be on the SmackDown brand.
– Cody Rhodes recently confirmed that he will be filming a fight scene with Stephen Amell during his “Arrow” appearance this fall and tweeted this stare down graphic:
– After attacking The New Day during their in-ring celebration last night on RAW, Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson cut a promo backstage talking about how The Club now runs RAW and SmackDown. They said New Day are nothing but jokes and The Club and they’ll days as WWE tag team champions are numbered. The two teams will likely settle their differences at SummerSlam and will be facing each other at WWE live events through September.
– After finally making his main roster debut last night on RAW, Finn Balor asked his Twitter followers if the debut was worth the wait. Balor has been trolling fans for months, constantly teasing that he’d be showing up on WWE television.