Nia Jax Reveals the Origin of Her Ring Name, Talks Modelling Career

– Nia Jax spoke with Linea Paolo for a new interview about her WWE career, starting off as a model and more. Highlights are below:

On her favorite places to visit: “This is hard, I’ve been to so many beautiful places! I was in Germany, a little town called Erfurt. I’m a big fan of European towns – they’re so quaint and charming. Seattle is a favorite too – we were just there and its beautiful! And Switzerland – I was in Zurich for a day and it was gorgeous. The number one thing I’ve learned is to sleep as much as and whenever possible. I’ve learned to sleep on a plane – which has been such a life changer for me.”

On starting out as a plus-sized model: “Fashion plays a huge part in women feeling good about themselves. Your confidence from the inside really projects to the outside. When you feel good about yourself, you’re so empowered – you can take over the world! One thing I learned really fast was how to find my “good side” – it’s my right side, the one with the dimple. Next, how to project confidence into the camera – it really comes through in the photos. And definitely how to walk a runway. People think, “oh you just walk,” but there is so much more to it. It’s not just learning to walk, it’s learning to really “own” it! Now when I walk down the ramp into an arena, I do it with purpose, so even if people don’t know who I am, they notice, they think, “wow, she’s here to do some damage.””

On her transition to WWE: “I was an athlete my entire life and had four basketball scholarship offers for college. Then one day while I was still in high school, a talent agent approached me after an event and I ended up signing with – Wilhelmina Models in New York. I never thought about modeling as a curvy girl, but then it happened. My family was always involved in sports entertainment, my cousin [Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson] especially, and I watched WWE growing up but never really considered it something I could do. The women were all so beautiful, but petite, so I never identified with them.. But my Aunt [Ata Johnson], was super encouraging, saying she could absolutely see me – some one of my height and body type being incredibly successful in the industry. And it’s amazing! Walking into an arena with all the fans cheering (or booing!) – there’s such instant gratification, an unbelievable adrenaline rush. It’s almost addictive – really. When we sign our contract, we have the option to help choose our names. At the time I was completely obsessed with “Sons of Anarchy” and Jax Teller. I thought Jax sounded cool, so I put it on my list. And “Nia” is a Samoan name, but it’s pronounced “Nee-a” but I wanted it to be “Ny-a” instead. Anyway, then they picked my name, and it was Nia Jax.”

On being an inspiration to women: “Take a chance on your dreams – you are stronger than you think! And failure is not a bad thing. Don’t ever be afraid of failure. Without taking that chance, without failure you’ll never know what you can do. I need support from the women I work with, or I wouldn’t even be able to accomplish a match. We are a huge sisterhood and have such a strong bond. These girls are my family – we are together all the time. And sometimes we don’t like each other, but it’s just like with my brothers, no one can say anything bad about them – ever. They are my family and I love them!”