Savelina Fanene (born May 29, 1984) is an Australian professional wrestler. She is signed to WWE where she performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name Nia Jax ( NYE-yə).
Fanene signed to WWE in early 2014 and was first assigned to the developmental brand NXT. She debuted in May 2015 under the ring name Zada, which was changed to Nia Jax in August that year. As part of the 2016 WWE Draft, she was promoted to the main roster. Fanene was released from her WWE contract in November 2021, but after a brief appearance at the Royal Rumble in January 2023, she re-signed with the company, making her return in September.
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Early life
Savelina Fanene was born in Sydney, Australia on May 29, 1984, and raised in Honolulu, Hawaii. She is of German and Samoan descent, and is the second cousin once removed of Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson as her father Joseph was Johnson's grandfather Peter Maivia’s cousin. She later lived in San Diego, California, and attended Carlsbad High School. She attended Palomar College in San Marcos, California, where she played college basketball, and graduated from Cal State San Marcos with a marketing degree in 2005. Prior to professional wrestling, she worked as a plus-size model.
Professional wrestling career
WWE
Jax was signed by WWE in early 2014 and was assigned to their developmental territory NXT, based at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida. She made her in-ring debut on May 7, 2015, at an NXT house show under the ring name Zada teaming with Devin Taylor in a defeat to Bayley and Carmella in a tag team match. In August, her ring name was changed to Nia Jax.
After a series of introductory vignettes throughout September, Jax made her debut on October 14 episode of NXT defeating Evie in a singles match. Following her debut, she was shown slowly turning heel while going on a winning streak, defeating various enhancement talents and NXT Diva Carmella. In November, Jax formed an alliance with Eva Marie and started her first feud with Bayley over the NXT Women's Championship, cementing her heel status. Jax earned a title match on December 16 at NXT TakeOver: London, yet she was unsuccessful in winning the title.
On the January 27, 2016, episode of NXT, Jax returned to the ring after a month of inactivity due to a storyline injury with a win over Liv Morgan. On the February 10 episode of NXT, Jax assisted Marie in an attack on Bayley and Carmella after their championship match until Asuka made the save that led to a tag team match on the February 24 episode of NXT where Jax and Marie scored the victory. On the May 25 episode of NXT, Jax won a triple threat match over Alexa Bliss and Carmella to become the number one contender to Asuka's NXT Women's Championship. On June 8, Jax lost her title match at NXT TakeOver: The End. On July 20 episode of NXT, Jax was defeated by Bayley. On December 28 episode of NXT, Jax lost to Asuka for the NXT Women's Championship in her last match in NXT.
Shortly after being drafted from NXT to the Raw brand as part of the 2016 WWE draft, which took place on July 19, 2016, Jax started a winning streak against various competitors. In September, Jax was placed in her first feud with Alicia Fox, which led to a match between the two on the September 12 episode of Raw that ended in a no contest after she performed a spear on Fox through the ringside barricade. In a rematch between the two that took place at the Clash of Champions pre-show on September 25, Jax defeated Fox via pinfall. On November 20 at Survivor Series, Jax was a part of Team Raw in a five-on-five elimination tag team match and was eliminated via submission by Becky Lynch.
In December, Jax started a feud with her mentor Sasha Banks, whom she injured as part of the storyline. This led to two matches between the two, where Jax was first victorious at the Royal Rumble pre-show on January 29, 2017, but lost on March 5 at Fastlane. On April 3 at WrestleMania 33, Jax competed in a fatal four-way elimination match against Banks, Bayley and Charlotte Flair for the Raw Women's Championship, but she was eliminated first. On the June 26 episode of Raw, Jax competed in a gauntlet match to determine a number one contender for Alexa Bliss's Raw Women's Championship, eliminating Bayley, Mickie James, Dana Brooke and Emma consecutively before being defeated by Banks. On September 24 at No Mercy, Jax took part of a fatal five-way match for the Raw Women's Championship, but she failed to win the title. On November 19 at Survivor Series, Jax once again was a part of Team Raw in a five-on-five elimination tag team match from which she was eliminated by countout.
Return to WWE
Jax returned in the 2023 Women's Royal Rumble for a one-off appearance as the 30th entrant and was eliminated by the combined efforts of the remaining 11 women in the ring. Jax made her full-time return to WWE on the September 11 episode on Raw, attacking Raquel Rodriguez and Women's World Champion Rhea Ripley. At Crown Jewel on November 4, Jax failed to win the title from Ripley in a fatal five-way match also involving Rodriguez, Zoey Stark, and Shayna Baszler, who Ripley pinned to retain. Over the next few months, Jax went on a winning streak, defeating Baszler, Rodriguez, and Stark in several matches. Jax reignited her feud with Becky Lynch, culminating in a match at Day 1 where Jax was victorious. At the Royal Rumble on January 27, Jax entered the women's Royal Rumble match at #19, scoring a record-tying eight eliminations before being eliminated by the debuting Jade Cargill. After the Royal Rumble, Jax continued feuding with Ripley, culminating in a title match in the main event of Elimination Chamber: Perth, but Jax failed to win the title from Ripley.
After being drafted to the SmackDown brand as part of the 2024 WWE Draft, Jax participated in the Queen of the Ring tournament defeating Naomi in the first round. Jax went on to defeat Jade Cargill in the quarterfinals by disqualification after Cargill attacked Jax with a steel chair in response to Jax taunting Cargill's daughter at ringside, Bianca Belair in the semifinals, and Lyra Valkyria in the finals at King and Queen of the Ring to win the tournament, earning a WWE Women's Championship match at SummerSlam. At the event on August 3, Jax defeated Bayley to win the title after interference from her new ally, Tiffany Stratton. On the August 30 episode of SmackDown, Jax defeated Michin to retain her title in a street fight in her first title defense. At Bad Blood on October 5, Jax retained her title against Bayley after interference from Stratton. At Crown Jewel on November 2, Jax faced Women's World Champion Liv Morgan for the inaugural WWE Women's Crown Jewel Championship in a losing effort after interference from Morgan's Judgment Day stablemates, "Dirty" Dominik Mysterio and Raquel Rodriguez. At Survivor Series WarGames on November 30, Jax participated in her first WarGames match alongside Stratton, Morgan, Rodriguez and Candice LeRae against Bayley, Belair, Naomi, Iyo Sky and Rhea Ripley in a losing effort. On the January 3, 2025 episode of SmackDown, Jax successfully defended the title against Naomi after interference from LeRae and Stratton. After the match, Stratton turned on Jax and successfully cashed in her Money in the Bank briefcase, ending Jax's reign at 153 days.
At Saturday Night's Main Event, Jax faced Rhea Ripley for the Women's World Championship, but failed again to win the title. At Royal Rumble on February 1, Jax entered the namesake match at #29, scoring a record-setting nine eliminations. Jax finished in third place, being eliminated by eventual winner Charlotte Flair. At Elimination Chamber: Toronto, Jax and LeRae were defeated by Stratton and Trish Stratus in a tag team match. Jax returned on the April 25 episode of SmackDown, where she attacked Stratton. On the May 16 episode of SmackDown, Jax failed to win the WWE Women' s Championship from Stratton. On the June 27 episode of SmackDown, Jax once again failed to win the WWE Women's Championship from Stratton in a Last Women's Standing match. At Evolution on July 13, Jax participated in a battle royal, which was won by Stephanie Vaquer. On the July 29 episode of NXT Jax returned and attacked Lash Legend. On the August 5 episode, she defeated Thea Hail. Jax defeated Legend on the August 15 episode.
Professional wrestling style, persona, and reception
Jax was given the nickname "The Irresistible Force" during her first run in WWE. She uses a Banzai drop named the Annihilator as a finisher.
Jax received increasing criticism over the years for reports of her being an "unsafe worker". In November 2018, she accidentally punched Becky Lynch in the face during an episode of Raw and gave Lynch a broken nose, lacerated face, and concussion. In May 2020, Kairi Sane suffered a cut on her head during a match against Jax after Jax threw her onto the ringside steel steps. Wrestling promoter and manager Jim Cornette attributed incidents involving Jax to her size, often mockingly referring to her as "Refrigerator Jax", and suggested that she "can hurt people whether she knows it or not", while fellow professional wrestler Deonna Purrazzo stated that she had "never walked away hurt" after wrestling Jax.
Other media
As Nia Jax, Fanene is a playable character in the WWE video games WWE 2K17, WWE 2K18, WWE 2K19, WWE 2K20, WWE 2K22, WWE 2K Battlegrounds, WWE 2K24 as downloadable content.,, WWE 2K25 and WWE 2K26
In July 2017, Jax joined the cast of the reality television series Total Divas beginning in its seventh season.
In August 2017, rapper Magneto Dayo released a song dedicated to her titled "Nia Jax".
Personal life
On August 2, 2014, Fanene and her cousin Ata Maivia-Johnson (the mother of Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson), were hospitalized after being hit head-on by a drunk driver in Clermont, Florida. The driver was subsequently charged with driving under the influence.
In April 2024, Fanene was baptized into the Christian faith at Discovery Church in Orlando, Florida.
Championships and accomplishments
Association of National Advertisers
A.N.A.’s #SeeHER Now Award (2018)
Pro Wrestling Illustrated
Rookie of the Year (2016)
Ranked No. 8 of the top 50 female singles wrestlers in the PWI Female 100 in 2018
Ranked No. 24 of the top 50 Tag Teams in the PWI Tag Team 50 in 2021– with Shayna Baszler
Ranked No. 24 of the top 250 female singles wrestlers in the PWI Female 250 in 2024
Rolling Stone
Most Overdue Yet-to-Be Title Holder of the Year (2017)
Wrestling Observer Newsletter
Most Overrated (2024)
WWE
WWE Women's Championship (2 times)
WWE Women's Tag Team Championship (3 times) – with Shayna Baszler (2) and Lash Legend (1)
Queen of the Ring (2024)
Evolution Battle Royal (2018)
