NIA JAX

Savelina Fanene is a 40-year-old Australian-American professional wrestler and model signed to the WWE. Her ring name is Nia Jax.

Fanene is a relative of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson as her father was a first cousin of Peter Maiva. Savelina was signed by WWE in 2014 and was sent to the company’s developmental territory, NXT. In May 2015, she made her in-ring debut for NXT at a house show under the ring name, Zada. Two months later, her ring name was changed to Nia Jax. She made her television debut on an episode of NXT in a singles match where she defeated Evie.

Nia’s Main Roster Debut

Nia Jax turned heel shortly after her debut and went on a winning streak defeating various NXT talent. In December, she earned a title match at NXT TakeOver: London, but was unsuccessful. In July 2016, she was drafted to the main roster and began a winning streak on RAW. From her debut on the main roster to 2018, Jax feuded with various talent and competed in events like the Royal Rumble and Survivor Series.

At Wrestlemania 34, Nia Jax defeated reigning Women’s RAW Champion Alexa Bliss making this her first title win of her career. She lost the title back to Bliss in June at Money in the Bank. At Elimination Chamber in 2019, Nia Jax teamed with Tamina in a six team Elimination Chamber match to determine the inaugural holders of the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship. Jax and Tamina did not win the match but did compete at WrestleMania 35 in a fatal four way match for the Women’s Tag Team Championship that was eventually won by the Ilconics.

Nia Jax’s Return to WWE

Nia Jax underwent surgery in 2019 to repair tears of the anterior cruciate ligament in both knees. Jax returned to in-ring action on April 6, 2020 on Monday Night RAW. In August, Jax was suspended indefinitely from WWE for attacking an official.

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Despite her suspension, Jax showed up on August 17 2020 where she attacked Shayna Baszler during her tag team match with Asuka against Sasha Banks and Bayley. The following week on RAW, Jax and Baszler had another confrontation with Bayley and Sasha Banks which led to WWE announcing that Bayley and Banks would defend the Women’s Tag Team Championships against Jax and Baszler at PayBack on August 30, 2020.

Nia Jax & Baszler Win Tag Team Titles

At Payback, Nia Jax and Baszler won both the match and the titles, giving Nia Jax her first tag team championship. On December 20, 2020, Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler lost the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship titles to Asuka and Charlotte Flair at WWE’s TLC pay-per-view event.

At the 2021 Royal Rumble, Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler defeated Charlotte Flair and Asuka for the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship titles. During their second reign as tag team champions, Jax and Baszler had simultaneous feuds with the teams of Naomi and Lana, Mandy Rose and Dana Brooke, and Natalya and Tamina. Jax and Baszler defended their titles against both teams and were victorious.

At WrestleMania 37, Jax and Baszler successfully defended their tag team titles against Natalya and Tamina. But on the May 14th episode of SmackDown, they lost the titles in a rematch. Their second reign lasted 103 days. On the September 20 episode of RAW, Nia’s alliance with Shayna Baszler ended when Baszler attacked her after their match against each other. Baszler destroyed Nia’s arm by stomping on it while wedged in the steel steps. After the team disbanded, Nia Jax asked WWE for time off to take care of her mental health. On November 4th, Jax was released from her WWE contract.

Nia Jax Returns To WWE

At the 2023 Women’s Royal Rumble, Nia Jax returned for a one-off appearance as the 30th entrant. She was eliminated by the combined efforts of the remaining 11 women in the ring. Nia then made her full-time return to WWE the September 11th episode of RAW, attacking Raquel Rodriguez and Rhea Ripley.

During night one of the WWE Draft held on April 26, 2024, Jax was drafted to WWE SmackDown. She participated in the 2024 Queen of the Ring tournament. In the first round, Nia defeated Naomi. Then, in the quarterfinals, she beat Jade Cargill and Bianca Belair in the semifinals. She faced Lyra Valkyria in the finals at King and Queen of the Ring to win the tournament, earning a WWE Women’s Championship match at SummerSlam. At the event on August 3rd, Jax defeated Bayley to win the title.

On the August 30 episode of SmackDown, Jax defeated Michin to retain her title in a street fight in her first title defense. At Bad Blood on October 5, Jax retained her title against Bayley after interference from Stratton. Nia then faced Women’s World Champion Liv Morgan for the inaugural WWE Women’s Crown Jewel Championship. She lost after interference from Morgan’s Judgment Day stablemates, “Dirty” Dominik Mysterio and Raquel Rodriguez. At Survivor Series WarGames on November 30, Jax participated in her first WarGames match. Her teammates were Stratton, Morgan, Rodriguez and Candice LeRae against Bayley, Belair, Naomi, Iyo Sky and Rhea Ripley in a losing effort.

On the January 3rd 2025 episode of SmackDown, Nia successfully defended the title against Naomi after interference from LeRae and Stratton. After the match, Stratton turned on Jax and successfully cashed in her Money in the Bank briefcase. This ended Jax’s reign at 153 days.

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STATS

Birth Name: Savelina Fanene
Born: May 29, 1984, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Height: 6 ft 0 in (183 cm)
Weight: 272 lb (123 kg)
Ring Name(s): Lina, Nia Jax, Zada
Current Roster: WWE SmackDown
Finishing Move(s): Rampage DDT

Nia Jax’s Social Media:

Career Championships and Accomplishments

World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE)
- WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship (2 times)
- WWE Women’s Championship (2 times)
- Queen of the Ring Tournament 2024