WWE Monday Night Raw went off the air this week with a returning Nia Jax standing tall over WWE Women’s World Champion Rhea Ripley. Moments earlier, Ripley had been defending her title against Raquel Rodriguez before Jax hit the ring, attacking Rodriguez and helping Mami win the match. After the match was over, Jax turned her attention to Ripley, laying her out and re-asserting her dominance in the WWE women’s division.
Fightful reports that the long-rumored WWE “hiring freeze” ended this summer and that Jax has been re-signed with the company for about a month. The report goes on to say that Jax is the first talent to be signed since Vince McMahon forced his way back into the promotion to make their way onto main roster WWE TV. Several people within WWE apparently believed that Jax would be back on WWE TV sooner than this. While the timing of Jax’s return and the WWE and UFC merger seems like it could be connected, it does not appear that they are in any way.
Furthermore, WrestleVotes is reporting that Jax is now positioned as the number two heel on the WWE Monday Night Raw brand. She overtakes Trish Stratus and Zoey Stark on the internal Raw heel list, who broke up at WWE Payback after Stratus failed to defeat Becky Lynch inside a steel cage.
Prior to her release in 2021, Jax had been teaming with Shayna Baszler, whom she held the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships with twice. Baszler was actually Jax’s final opponent before her release when the two faced off on an episode of WWE Raw. The Queen of Spades was able to pick up the victory, but that wasn’t enough for her as she took Jax outside the ring and repeatedly smashed her leg into the steel steps.
Jax made a one-off appearance earlier this year as the surprise thirtieth entrant in the Women’s Royal Rumble match but was unsuccessful as she was eliminated by the eleven other women in the ring, including Rodriguez and Ripley. WWE Fastlane takes place on October 7 from Indianapolis, IN, and it would appear Jax is now positioned as a possible opponent for Ripley, or maybe Rodriguez as well in a triple threat.