Backstage WWE Update On The Reason Behind Nia Jax's Leave Of Absence
Did The Rock's advice trigger her temporary departure?
Nia Jax has been absent from WWE television for four weeks now, and while there's still no clarification on what her long-term future holds, Sports Illustrated Justin Barrasso has delivered a new update on the reason behind her ongoing leave of absence.
As per the write-up, Jax's sabbatical was triggered by WWE's booking plans for her at TLC 2017. The company had originally proposed she lose clean to Sasha Banks at the pay-per-view, but Nia reportedly "baulked at the idea." She then contracted her cousin, Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson, for advice, and he "encouraged her to leave if she was unhappy."
From there, Jax either walked out of the company, as was originally reported, or asked for her leave of absence. There's currently no word on how long she'll be away for.
Jax and Banks have wrestled each other several times this year, with their last singles clash coming on the August 14th episode of Raw, when Sasha was victorious. WWE have generally done a solid job of presenting Nia as dominant, but she has never been much more than a peripheral figure in the title hunt, so her frustration is understandable.