Nia Jax was signed by WWE in 2014 and was a staple on WWE television since her debut in October 2015.
Jax was released by the company on November 4 after being off television following Shayna Baszler turning on her in September 2021.
Speaking to Renee Paquette on The Sessions, Jax open up about her final year in the company and why the energy was off.
"I feel really good," Jax opened by saying when asked how she's doing now. "Happy. It's almost like Stockholm Syndrome, right? I was in this crazy, almost like slightly abusive relationship with a company, but there are good parts to it, but now it's done and I kind of get to be myself again, which I haven't been in a long time. I feel good, but it's also a scary part of, 'Okay, who is Lina now that she's not Nia Jax?'"
She continued by saying, "I have the best brothers, family in general. Before I got the call (to be released), a year before that, I was like, 'Oh my gosh, it doesn't feel the same to me anymore. I'm not as super excited about it.' I would get butterflies before traveling and excitement. He was like, 'maybe it's time to start worrying about yourself and start thinking about Lina.' It was a weird concept. You're a cog in the wheel and you're just going. 'I have to be so loyal to this company.' Finally, when the call came, which caught me by surprise. He was like, 'this is good.' He was calming me. My brothers are the best."
Jax has been off television for a year following WrestleMania 35 following double ACL surgery and returned as the pandemic started.
When discussing her return in April 2020, Jax said, "I had left and surgeries. I had my double ACL surgery and I was sitting at home waiting to come back and they were like, 'we're not going to use you.' COVID hit and it set the tone for the whole year. I was laying in bed and I got a call from [Talent Relations], this is when we were filming at the [Performance Center]. 'You're needed, we're filming your return in two hours.' 'Wait, what?' I was texting Paul Heyman because at the time he was running Raw. 'What is going on?' I came back and the energy was different. Obviously, we're trying to work through a pandemic and everyone was scared. Nobody seemed happy. It was a weird and tense filming. We were at the PC and trying to make the best of it. Something in the air didn't feel the same. There was a change in guard on the corporate side. Things just started shifting and it didn't seem what it used to feel like. We used to have a family comrade and would get together and have a good time. something shifted and a lot of people were like, 'What's up?' Then we had those massive cuts. Nothing was making sense. The whole last year, I felt like I was in a constant dryer, just being tumbled in different directions and I couldn't get settled."
With the energy feeling off for Jax, she felt like she needed a break, which is ultimately when her release came.
"I walked into Johnny's [John Laurinaitis] office, just after a crazy couple weeks in wrestling, and I was like, 'I need a break. Something is off. I don't feel right. I need a break.' He gave it to me," she recalled. "When I was on the break, I did not miss it. I hit Johnny up and was like, 'I know my break is coming up, but I don't feel right, right now. Is there any way we could extend it to Rumble?' That was on like a Wednesday, I hit him up about that. On Thursday he called me and I thought, 'Oh, he's calling to talk about this.' I pick up the phone and he's like, 'Hey kid, I hate to do this.' Instantly, I was like, 'Am I getting released?' 'Yeah. I'm so sorry. Due to budget cuts.' The whole spiel. 'Okay, I'll take a paycut if that's what's needed,' just because I knew it was a whole script. 'Oh, that's not it.' 'So you just want a total different change?' 'Yeah, we're going to put you on your 90-days.' I hung up the phone and I was relieved."
Following her release, Jax said she was taking a mental health break and had asked for time off. She also said in her post-release statement that her vaccination status was never mentioned and she wasn't given any choices or options.
Speaking on her vaccination status, she said, "I stood my ground on things that I know they not happy about. I chose not to get the vaccine. It was a personal choice and I remember sitting down with Vince because the entire two years I was there, we were tested every day, I never popped positive or had COVID. He said, 'Well kid, you're not going to be able to fill some of your contractual duties.' I was like, if that's the case, then that's the case. It's a business. I understand you have to run your business. I feel relieved because I made the decision for myself and I stood my ground. I stood by how I felt and my gut feeling. If it doesn't feel right in my stomach, I can't force myself to do something I feel good with."
When asked if she would change anything, Jax replied, "Absolutely not. I was asked to be a locker room leader. 'You have to set an example.' I'm not a stooge. I'm not going to go and stooge anybody out. You want to know somebody's personal business, go ask them. I don't play by the thing, 'people are going to listen to you and follow suit.' If they do, that's on them. I sit back and think, I got caught up in the blurred lines of Nia Jax. It's Nia Jax 24/7 and shit gets blurred. I can't sit here and be something they want me to be just to appease them. At the end of the day, am I going to feel good about myself? There are plenty of stooges in the locker room."
Jax has since come out and said that she is unlikely to wrestle again following her WWE release.
When asked about a future in wrestling, Jax said, "I never want to say never because I do love the feeling I get in the ring and I loved wrestling. I didn't like the shit, the politics, the BS, but I'm not getting any younger and I'm trying to find my man so I can start popping out babies."
During the interview, she did say that she invested in land and was working on business plans for natural remedies and hemp. She also said she regretted that she didn't get an official goodbye.
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