Nia Jax Tried to Keep Her WWE Family Ties a Secret During Tryout

Nia Jax didn’t ride the family coattails into WWE—she buried the headline.

During an interview with Going Ringside, the former Women’s Champion opened up about her journey into wrestling and dropped a bombshell: she intentionally kept her famous lineage under wraps while trying out for WWE. That’s right—despite being part of the Anoa’i dynasty and The Rock’s cousin, she wanted to earn her spot on her own terms.

Jax explained how her love for athletics and family history played a role in her decision to pursue wrestling, but she wasn’t about to name-drop to get ahead.

“I’ve always been into athletics and so there was the Performance Center opened up here in Orlando and he said, ‘Why don’t we have you try out and see if like, you know, you really like it? Like let’s get you into the nitty-gritty of it. Like get your bumps going, like you know, take the hits.’ And so I tried out and um thankfully tried to keep my name or whoever I was related to like under wraps and I made it.”

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Rather than leveraging The Rock’s influence, she went through the trenches like everyone else. In fact, she holds the distinction of being the first person to ever try out at WWE’s NXT Performance Center when it opened in Orlando.

“So that’s how and then the rest is history. I’ve been here ever since it opened when I—so I was the first try out inside the NXT facility.”

That move set the tone for her entire career, and she’s proud of the evolution she’s seen since those early days.

“It was just like the one building and now it’s spread out to like I think three or four buildings now. It’s really—it’s cool because sometimes I’m like I feel like I was just here. I feel like I was just learning the ropes and like figuring things out.”

Nia Jax may be part of wrestling royalty, but make no mistake—she fought her own way into WWE, without leaning on family fame. That choice says more about her character than any storyline ever could.

Please credit Ringside News if you use the above transcript in your publication.