Nia Jax Confirms She Turned Down WWE Royal Rumble Invite

For the 2022 edition of WWE's Women's Royal Rumble, the promotion reached out to several former stars, including Impact Knockout's Champion Mickie James, who returned and Impact Knockout's Tag Team Champions The IInspiration, who elected not to return. Another former talent WWE asked back was Nia Jax. Appearing on The Sessions with Renee Paquette, Nia Jax revealed WWE asked her to be a part of the Rumble. Her answer was a resounding no.

"I was in the middle of trying to get my stuff back," Jax revealed. "I had a bunch of crap; you know how it is. They're just shoving stuff in everybody's boxes or whatever. I'm in the middle of getting my stuff back. They sent me my stuff and more than half of it was missing. I was like 'what's going on?'

"So when I got the call, I thought it was about 'where's my stuff?' So I answered and was like 'hey, what's up?' It was my homie in TR. They were like 'hey Savelina (my official name). We're just calling to see if you'd be interested in participating in the Royal Rumble.'

"And I started hysterically laughing because I thought it was my friend joking with me. I was like 'oh you're friggin hilarious.' And then he was like 'actually no, this is an official call.' And I was like 'oh. Fu*k no. I'm not coming back.' And he was like 'oh, we'd like to offer you this.' I was like 'first of all, I already know I'm still under my 90 days. You're still going to be paying me anyway. So you're not offering me anything.' I was like 'no. I'm not fu*king coming back. Absolutely fu*king not. Is this all it was?' And he was like 'yes.' I'm like 'okay. Bye.'"

Nia Jax also revealed the process WWE was going through to find women for the Rumble, even putting together a preliminary list of women who might be interested before WWE owner and chairman, Vince McMahon, was presented with it and cut the list down. For Jax, it all felt like a slap in the face.

"That's exactly what it was," Jax said. "And guess what? They were accumulating a list, this is what I was told. They wanted to offer me the opportunity, to accumulate a list that they send to Vince, then Vince goes through the list and says who he wants and who he doesn't. So I was like 'you're asking me to be a part of a list to go to the next step?' I was like 'fu*k no! How much more can you sh*t on me dude?' Somebody was like 'we didn't want her to be left out. If it got around that she didn't get asked, we didn't want her to feel left out.' I was like 'fu*k you, that's bullsh*t.' You needed people."

Nia Jax then talked about how involved she got during her WWE run, putting off several things in her life only for it to lead to where she is now. She also questioned WWE's support for women's wrestlers compared to the men, saying that it was a lot harder for women talent who have been released than male talent.

"That's what it is that kind of sucks," Jax said. "It's like you are so ingratiated in this. Your whole life is in this business. I put off weddings, baby showers, family get-togethers. I've literally ostracized my family and friends for eight years and put this company first. And that's because that's what they required, even though you're an independent contractor, right? And then when you're gone it's like 'go.' And thankfully I was smart enough to save and be really smart with my money. But it is kind of that kidnapper thing. You've made me think you're the only thing that I can have, and that you're protecting me and you have my back.

"And for the ladies, it's a lot different. The guys get a lot more support and a lot more money. They get a lot more money. So when sh*t like this happens, they're not really too worried about the next step. And I hate saying that. But I do know WWE likes to play into a narrative of 'oh, we're so supportive of the women.' But are you? There are a couple of women that can probably sit back and be fine. But the majority of women, they've got to hustle."

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit The Sessions with Renee Paquette and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription