Australians will be behind Rhea Ripley at Elimination Chamber: Perth but perhaps New Zealanders should be backing Nia Jax?
Jax’s heritage has been a hot topic of discussion on the ground in Perth, Western Australia, with many finding out for the first time that the former Raw Women’s Champion was actually born in Sydney.
“I have an Australian passport, and even on my United States passport it says born in Australia,” Nia confirmed to NZPWI.
But that’s not all – there’s also a Kiwi connection…
“My mom and dad met in Sydney, they got married, they had my brother, and then they had me, and my dad’s actually from Auckland,” Jax revealled.
“My dad was born and raised in Auckland and he’s one of eight children so I have family everywhere. I have cousins all over. But my dad decided to move to Hawaii and go to the States to help out Dwayne [Johnson]’s grandmother in their wrestling business, and that’s how we ended up in the States.”
Nia’s uncle, William Fanene, also serves as a police commissioner in New Zealand, she said.
Despite her dual-citizen status, Nia hasn’t been able to sway a vocal Australian audience from supporting Rhea Ripley. That said, Nia still welcomes what is presumed to be tonight’s main event for the WWE Women’s World Championship.
“I definitely feel like this is Australia’s WrestleMania right now, and I’m super excited to be in this amazing stadium,” she told NZPWI on location at Optus Stadium.
“The crowd has so much energy and I really love it and I can’t wait – when we go out there and put on a show and I win the title – to hear all the fans.”
WWE Elimination Chamber streams live tonight, February 24, from 11pm (NZDT) on WWE Network.
