On April 3 at WrestleMania 33, Jax competed in a fatal four-way elimination match against Banks, Bayley and Charlotte Flair for the Raw Women's Championship, but she was eliminated first. This led to two matches between the two, where Jax was first victorious at the Royal Rumble pre-show on January 29, 2017, but lost on March 5 at Fastlane. In December, Jax started a feud with her mentor Sasha Banks, whom she injured as part of the storyline. On November 20 at Survivor Series, Jax was a part of Team Raw in a five-on-five elimination tag team match and was eliminated via submission by Becky Lynch.

In a rematch between the two that took place at the Clash of Champions pre-show on September 25, Jax defeated Fox via pinfall. In September, Jax was placed in her first feud with Alicia Fox, which led to a match between the two on the September 12 episode of Raw that ended in a no contest after she performed a spear on Fox through the ringside barricade. Shortly after being drafted from NXT to the Raw brand as part of the 2016 WWE draft, which took place on July 19, 2016, Jax started a winning streak against various competitors. Main roster beginnings (2016–2018) Jax in May 2017 On December 28 episode of NXT, Jax lost to Asuka for the NXT Women's Championship in her last match in NXT. On July 20 episode of NXT, Jax was defeated by Bayley. On June 8, Jax lost her title match at NXT TakeOver: The End. On the May 25 episode of NXT, Jax won a triple threat match over Alexa Bliss and Carmella to become the number one contender to Asuka's NXT Women's Championship. On the February 10 episode of NXT, Jax assisted Marie in an attack on Bayley and Carmella after their championship match until Asuka made the save, which led to a tag team match on the February 24 episode of NXT, where Jax and Marie scored the victory. On the January 27, 2016, episode of NXT, Jax returned to the ring after a month of inactivity due to a storyline injury with a win over Liv Morgan. Jax earned a title match on December 16 at NXT TakeOver: London, but she was unsuccessful in winning the title. In November, Jax formed an alliance with Eva Marie and started her first feud with Bayley over the NXT Women's Championship, cementing Jax's heel persona. Following her debut, she was shown slowly turning villainous while going on a winning streak, defeating various enhancement talents and NXT Diva Carmella. Īfter a series of introductory vignettes throughout September, Jax made her debut on October 14 episode of NXT, defeating Evie in a singles match. In August, her ring name was changed to Nia Jax. She made her in-ring debut on May 7, 2015, at an NXT house show under the ring name Zada, teaming with Devin Taylor in a defeat to Bayley and Carmella in a tag team match. Professional wrestling career WWE (2014–2021) NXT (2014–2016) įanene was signed by WWE in early 2014 and was assigned to their developmental territory NXT, based at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida. Prior to professional wrestling, she worked as a plus-size model. She attended Palomar College in San Marcos, California, where she played college basketball, and graduated from Cal State San Marcos with a marketing degree in 2005. She later lived in San Diego, California, and attended Carlsbad High School. She is of German and Samoan descent, and is the second cousin once removed of Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson as her father Joseph was Johnson's grandfather Peter Maivia’s cousin. Savelina Fanene was born in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia on May 29, 1984, and raised in Honolulu, Hawaii. Fanene was released from her WWE contract in November 2021, but after a brief appearance at the Royal Rumble in January 2023, she re-signed with the company, making her return in September. As part of the 2016 WWE Draft, she was promoted to the main roster. She made her debut in May 2015 under the ring name Zada, which was changed to Nia Jax in August that year.

She is a former one-time Raw Women's Champion and a former two-time WWE Women's Tag Team Champion (both times with Shayna Baszler).įanene signed with WWE in early 2014 and was assigned to the developmental brand NXT. She is currently signed to WWE, where she performs on the Raw brand under the ring name Nia Jax. Savelina Fanene (born May 29, 1984) is an Australian-born American professional wrestler.

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