Nia Jax Reported to Walk Out; Granted Leave of Absence

[Richard Blonoff]

https://www.cagesideseats.com/wwe/2017/10/17/16492336/nia-jax-wwe-leave-of-absence-report

So it appears that Neville isn't the only one who may be on the way out of WWE.

According to multiple reports, an upset Nia walked out of Raw Monday night, but no concrete proof as to why was unearthed. She is reported to be dealing with personal problems, and requested a leave of abscence and reports are she has been granted said leave.

I don't want to speculate on what her personal issues may be, I don't know the gal, but I could definitely buy her being upset over her push. She is pushed as a monster, but has no real credible wins to her name and has served as Alexa's sidekick more often than not.

If she is dealing with something serious, I wish her the best, but with Neville and Nia both rumored to have walked out on back to back Mondays, things may not be so great in WWE Land.

 

[Psykohurricane55]

I feel like she just needed to take time off to deal with something in her personal life and as nothing to do with wrestling or her push right now.

The fact is right now she getting more exposure on tv then a lot of the others women's on the raw roster, plus if she leave wwe, she won't be able to go and make a living on the indy's like a neville would.

In the end, if it's career related, I wouldn't be surprise if she goes see her cousin The rock and ask him for advice about what to do next. If it's not, then I just hoped she gets take time to deal with whatever she dealing with and gets better because she got a bright future in wrestling if she stick it out and stays with them.

 

[Khalifa]

If it is legit personal reasons then I hope all works out for her but if it's just her having a cry over her push then come on, look in the mirror Nia. Who is getting a push that doesn't deserve it as much at this current time? She isn't better than Banks, Bayley, Charlotte, Becky, Bliss or Natayla who have been the women in the spot light. What are you crying out Nia? You're constantly featured on the top wrestling show in the world and you barely even lose on that. She's still as green as anyone on the main roster. Neville kind of has a few points I think, but if Nia is just leaving because of her push then I say I'll help you out that door Nia if I was Vince or any of WWE management. Could you imagine Braun Strowman walking out at the end of last year because he was only beating jobbers and occasionally Sami Zayn. Good god.

Like I said I hope Nia is all good but I also hope this isn't some cry about her push, which is legit better than most people on the roster. Imagine being Natalya for the last 6 years. Easily the best worker in the division and has a farting gimmick and only tasted the gold once before this year.

 

[The Perfect Max]

As a fan, I'm selfishly hoping that Nia Jax is stepping back because of a personal issue, and not because she wants to leave. I'm a Nia fan who believes she could be so much more than she already is, but in a division so small as the women's division is, she really couldn't be that much more prominent. That's why I question whether she is upset with the company over her position. Other than being champion, she can't really go much further.

I hope that whatever the issue is, she is back sooner rather than later. She could be a real theat to Asuka and that is a collision I very much hope we get to see soon. If it's about her place in the company, then I don't know, can she actually be that much better off?

 

[Navi]

Well that sucks I really like Nia. Hopefully if it is personal reason's then she can get them sorted out to her benefit. I'm thinking with Asuka coming on board though, Nia will get pushed further to the end of the line. Just look at Emma.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

I get the feeling that this is about legit personal issues going on in her life, at least that's what I'm hoping. Like most others have said so far, I like Nia and I'd like to see her stay on as she's been coming along nicely.

If, however, she's left because she's upset about her role in the company, then it sounds like she's already developing an attitude without really doing anything to earn it. Nia Jax is still extremely green, she's come along way but she's also someone who still has a ways to go before she's ready to embark on a long term title push, especially when compared to Alexa Bliss, Charlotte, Sasha and several others already. Nia has a lot less to be pissed off about, if she is pissed off about something, than Neville does.

 

[stingray11214]

The rumor is that it is "compassionate leave". It is known via Total Divas that she is very close with her Mother. A Compassionate Leave is usually for something major with close family. Keep Nia in your prayers.

 

[THTRobtaylor]

Everyone will assume this is the same as Neville and some of it MIGHT be, but it does sound like she has something big going on at home, maybe her mother, maybe a pregnancy (or losing a baby...remember Kharma) which could be impacted by that big car smash she had a few years back with Rock's mom.

One thing is clear, as a cousin of The Rock, she will get WAY more latitude than most do in these situations. They won't want to piss Dwayne off, so even if she is just being a moaner, she'll get a different treatment to others.

More interestingly is that there seems to be a lot of people who are either deciding "this isn't worth it" or that something else is more important than what WWE has for them "right now"... It was once that someone literally had to be dying or you had to fight to take time off, and even then it killed your push (Rick Martel or Rick Steamboat) if you dared go through with it.

Now people seem, for the first time to say "you know what, if this is what you got for me, I'd rather go home for a bit...or leave" and that is alien territory for Vince, he can't blackball them all.

 

[The Life Of Pablo Ren]

Sports Illustrated is reporting that it has to do with her position in the company and pay.

Nia has been severely mis-used in the short time she's been on the main roster. I get that there's a section of the fanbase out there who are gonna say she should be lucky she has a job, she only has one because of family and her size and that's you know what.... The fact is, for the majority of this year, she's been the epitome of a stop/start push and I don't care who you are or what your perceived talent level is, that's reason to get anyone frustrated.

Now her trouble and bad booking might just be a microcosm of WWE's booking of women this year as a whole, and you could make the argument that others like Bayley and Sasha have been booked just as bad, if not worse. But that doesn't mean that Nia should just sit there and do nothing.

I applaud her, but I hope this isn't a permanent thing.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

Sports Illustrated is reporting that it has to do with her position in the company and pay.

Nia has been severely mis-used in the short time she's been on the main roster. I get that there's a section of the fanbase out there who are gonna say she should be lucky she has a job, she only has one because of family and her size and that's you know what.... The fact is, for the majority of this year, she's been the epitome of a stop/start push and I don't care who you are or what your perceived talent level is, that's reason to get anyone frustrated.

Now her trouble and bad booking might just be a microcosm of WWE's booking of women this year as a whole, and you could make the argument that others like Bayley and Sasha have been booked just as bad, if not worse. But that doesn't mean that Nia should just sit there and do nothing.

I applaud her, but I hope this isn't a permanent thing.

When it comes to Nia's booking, I have to disagree. I've never seen her in the midst of a stop and go push, I've always seen her as essentially the monster that's dominated the division that the top babyfaces have had to overcome. Nia Jax has been on the main roster for about 15 months and was in NXT for about 13 months, so she isn't exactly a veteran and not being rocketed straight to the top is something that was, once upon a time, called paying your dues.

If Nia is upset about her spot in the company, I can't say I have much sympathy for her because I don't believe she has been misused. As I said in my earlier post, she's come a long way but she's still pretty green. She's okay in the ring, but she's not great and the only time I've really see her look great in any 1 on 1 situation has been against Sasha Banks. She's not especially charismatic, her mic skills are average at best and there are simply better female wrestlers on the roster.

Again, if she's ultimately mad because she's not the star she thinks she should be, then I've got no sympathy for her. She hasn't been made to look bad, she hasn't been forced to participate in any embarrassing or humiliating storylines, she's frequently used and booked as a top talent among the women on the main roster so I don't see what the problem is professionally.

If she requested leave due to some sort of personal issues, then it's totally understandable and I hope things work out for the best. If it's just her being a "diva" in that she isn't getting what she feels she deserves, then I dunno what to tell her. If she wants to be the main event among the women, keep working hard, keep improving and earn it. I know that sounds shitty when you take into account Jinder Mahal's spot on the roster, and it probably does leave a bad taste in a lot of people's mouths, but Vince is essentially hoping to ****e Jinder out for a good long while so that WWE will get more Indian WWE Network subscribers; If only about a quarter of a percent of the population were to sign up, that'd be over 4 million new subscribers.

Or who knows? Maybe she's found out the hard way that pro wrestling is hard work and not the cake walk many other athletes and models figured it'd be. Doubtful, considering her family lineage, but I suppose the possibility is there.

 

[Richard Blonoff]

So many people are like "She doesn't deserve to be upset, she doesn't even deserve her position, blah blah blah."

So like we have zero idea what Nia was promised when she put pen to paper on her contract. If WWE promised to put the title on her and give her a year long undefeated run, then she deserves that because WWE promised it. I'm guilty of it as well, but far too often as fan we forget who the billion dollar company is and who the fans behind the keyboard are and we rush to attack anything we see as unfair or unfit for our superior tastes.

The truth is we have zero idea what is going on behind the scenes with Nia. I hope it is just some minor personal issues, but we have no clue what she was promised and told she would get, and if she isn't getting what she was promised then I'd be pissed too.

And forget all that paying your dues noise, if you are good then you are good. You wouldn't see Bryce Harper or Mike Trout getting shit on just because they didn't spend seven years toiling in the minors before they got called up to the bigs. Yeah, it isn't a perfect comparrison, but WWE saw money in Nia and ran with it. That isn't her fault.

 

[The Life Of Pablo Ren]

When it comes to Nia's booking, I have to disagree. I've never seen her in the midst of a stop and go push, I've always seen her as essentially the monster that's dominated the division that the top babyfaces have had to overcome. Nia Jax has been on the main roster for about 15 months and was in NXT for about 13 months, so she isn't exactly a veteran and not being rocketed straight to the top is something that was, once upon a time, called paying your dues.

If Nia is upset about her spot in the company, I can't say I have much sympathy for her because I don't believe she has been misused. As I said in my earlier post, she's come a long way but she's still pretty green. She's okay in the ring, but she's not great and the only time I've really see her look great in any 1 on 1 situation has been against Sasha Banks. She's not especially charismatic, her mic skills are average at best and there are simply better female wrestlers on the roster.

Again, if she's ultimately mad because she's not the star she thinks she should be, then I've got no sympathy for her. She hasn't been made to look bad, she hasn't been forced to participate in any embarrassing or humiliating storylines, she's frequently used and booked as a top talent among the women on the main roster so I don't see what the problem is professionally.

If she requested leave due to some sort of personal issues, then it's totally understandable and I hope things work out for the best. If it's just her being a "diva" in that she isn't getting what she feels she deserves, then I dunno what to tell her. If she wants to be the main event among the women, keep working hard, keep improving and earn it. I know that sounds shitty when you take into account Jinder Mahal's spot on the roster, and it probably does leave a bad taste in a lot of people's mouths, but Vince is essentially hoping to ****e Jinder out for a good long while so that WWE will get more Indian WWE Network subscribers; If only about a quarter of a percent of the population were to sign up, that'd be over 4 million new subscribers.

Or who knows? Maybe she's found out the hard way that pro wrestling is hard work and not the cake walk many other athletes and models figured it'd be. Doubtful, considering her family lineage, but I suppose the possibility is there.

I did say her misfortune is a microcosm for how WWE has been booking all their women this year, it's been pretty terrible, it isn't just her. But her booking has been wildly inconsistent. I don't think it's of not getting what she thinks she deserves, I think it's more a case of just not being happy where she is. There's a difference, ever so slight but there is one. She'll be in matches for the title at WrestleMania and SummerSlam, built as this unstoppable force. But then lose, and then do nothing for a while. She'll get put into a very lowkey rivalry with someone like Bayley or Sasha just so people don't completely forget about her, or team up with Alexa as a way to keep her relevant but not a contender. Granted I know there's only one title and she can't ALWAYS be competing for it, but while Charlotte, Sasha, Bayley and Alexa have all held it not just once, but multiple times, she hasn't even held it once, despite them trying to tell us how much of this unstoppable threat this is.

I think she's justified in being upset.

 

[Mantaur Rodeo Clown]

She's one of the least talented women on the roster, and we're talking about women's wrestling here so that's saying something. She's also chubby and has a lazy eye. There's nowhere to go but down for her when you have someone like Asuka coming in, who is slightly less chubby and for all intents and purposes has two straight eyes.

If only there was some 205 Live: Gals Edition you could ship her off to, where she could plop down leg drop after leg drop to her hearts content to half empty arenas, maybe she's stick around like Neville and Aries.

 

[Dagger Dias]

Apparently I am in the minority here in that I will not miss Nia if she did indeed leave. I've never liked her. Now, if it is something personal then I do wish her the best. I have no problem with her as a human being. I just always found her to be rather boring in the ring and her promos weren't much better.

 

[Y 2 Jake]

I think she's an absolute babe and, while limited, she has a look that separates her from the pack. It's unlikely she'll have a women's match of the year, but it's unlikely Bliss will too, however both have different things to offer a ladies division.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

Apparently I am in the minority here in that I will not miss Nia if she did indeed leave. I've never liked her. Now, if it is something personal then I do wish her the best. I have no problem with her as a human being. I just always found her to be rather boring in the ring and her promos weren't much better.

Personally, I say let her go. When it comes to talent, she's pretty low on the totem pole compared to most of the other women, and I genuinely mean talent and not some smarky joke about her weight. When it comes to charisma, personality, ability in the ring and/or on the mic, she can't touch Charlotte, Becky, Bayley, Sasha, Naomi, Natalya, Emma or the debuting Asuka. I say call her bluff as I doubt there's any other company where she'll make as much as she does on WWE. Sure, there are other promotions that have women's divisions and there are entire promotions that feature nothing but women's wrestling. Impact Wrestling has the only viable women's division in American wrestling but I don't see them ponying up a mega paycheck for Nia. ROH has the Women of Honor, which amounts to nothing more than one or two female matches on the undercard every once in a blue moon and an all Women of Honor TV episode once every 3 or 4 months but that's not gonna bring in the money. AAA might be an option, I doubt she'll make more than she would in WWE but the schedule will be lighter. She could make her rounds on the indie scene but, like Ryback, I think there's a strong possibility that she's not worth nearly as much as she thinks.

With that being said, I can't say that I blame her for trying to get all she can. That's been the nature of pro wrestling since...well since always. She has some leverage so she's gonna make use of it just like most other people would and I can't really fault her for that. She doesn't deserve the moon and stars but she might as well take it if WWE's dumb enough to offer it to her so she'll come back to work. Not saying she deserves it for what she brings to the table, because she doesn't in my estimation, but there've been a whole lot of people in WWE, and wrestling in general, that've ultimately wound up getting a lot more than they deserved.

 

[Mantaur Rodeo Clown]

I think she's an absolute babe

I agree

Spoiler

It is true that Nia Jax offers something that Alexa Bliss or Bayley or Charlotte can't, but I'm fairly sure you could slot Tamina Snuka into literally any programme with Nia Jax and you'd have the same tepid response Nia gets.

Exotic look? Check. Family lineage? Check. Swanky leather pants? Check and check. She's ticking all the boxes. One is just a slightly off brand Tesco version of the other, whose father ALLEGEDLY murdered someone. Otherwise, its a wash.

 

[Wildcat66]

This is one of those situations where I have to question the dirt sheets. The only reason I can see Nia taking a leave of absence is that she's got some family issues or she's entering a midlife crisis and needs advice from The Rock or someone.

I'm not really sure what she has to be upset over either, she has a decent enough push, has consistently been a part of big feuds and while still not great is at least improving in the ring.

 

[BaconBits]

It's being reported now that Nia is due back for the European tour and that all the reports of her being unhappy and all that jazz was untrue, and that she didn't leave an event, she wasn't even there to begin with.

I think that they WWE has really started working the sheets. A new level of kayfabe in a world where kayfabe doesn't exist anymore.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

As of right now, you've got two different stories going about. Sports Illustrated said she walked because he's unhappy with how much she's making and how she's being used, plus SI is now saying that the Rock encouraged her to walk. Then, you've got Dave Meltzer saying that it's all untrue, that it's been blown way out of proportion and that she was simply taking a little time off.

As much as I'm not a huge fan of Meltzer, the Killer of Kayfabe, I'm going with him for this one for a couple of reason. For one thing, it's extremely difficult for me to believe that the Rock encouraged Nia to leave; this is the first time I've heard of anything about the Rock encouraging her to walk out and I just couldn't see the Rock encouraging her to go unless she is being royally and monumentally screwed over by the company in a way that few others can compare to. That's never remotely been the vibe I've gotten from this whole story. For another, and this is most important reason, Nia herself posted a Tweet just a little bit ago, seemingly in character, commenting on a pic of Nattie and Tamina with the #undersiege thing going on:

"Listen here Maude & Marge! Don’t think I’ll forget what you & your lame crew did to team Red. Just wait until #SurvivorSeries @TaminaSnuka"
https://
twitter.com/natbynature/st
atus/922698645476200448*
…
2:29 PM - Oct 25, 2017

So yeah, unless Nia's account has been hacked, this is pretty much the smoking gun that she didn't walk out, that she's not unhappy and all that. Employees who're in the middle of leaving the company or pissed off about how they're being treated don't post in character Tweets hyping an upcoming event and teasing they might be part of it.

 

[BestSportsEntertainer]

Why exactly did she walk out? Apparently she felt she was being misused, but I don't think she was. She's just not as good as other women on Raw.

If she wasn't happy, then it might be best for her to walk out. Hopefully she can still make enough money, but that's clearly not her primary concern. Maybe it works out for her.

 

[Psykohurricane55]

The thing is, i don't believe anything that written on the sports illustrated website about wrestling because a lot of it seem to be made up or pick up from sites that don't have any sources to back up their claim. So i feel like this is one of those made up story especially since it was confirm not only by meltzer but also by Alexa bliss that Nia just needed time off.

The problem is that the writer of the Sports illustrated report didn't like to be proven wrong yet again and decided to write a follow up article on this which after what Nia twitted in character about Natalya and Tamina fells like total bullshit again.

If i was Sports illustrated right now, i would really look into how the wrestling section of their site is run because right now, this section makes them look like total amateur because they have somebody that just write stuff about wrestling without checking if they are true or not and that's the third time a believe that he was proven wrong with his reports. So either hire somebody that will actually try to do his job and confirm that those stories are true or just stop posting wrestling reports on their website.