The REAL Reason Nia Jax Was In WWE's 2019 Men's Royal Rumble
It may be purely coincidental, but on the morning of the Royal Rumble, Triple H fielded a question during an Axxess Q&A asking whether WWE would consider introducing intergender wrestling to their product - implicitly, the sort of intergender wrestling in which women are on the receiving end of men, and not just vice-versa.
Hunter was understandably coy, glossing over the subject by referencing his own intergender match at WrestleMania - during which men and women were supposed to remain separate throughout - ultimately concluding that, for now, the company are pretty happy to promote women in their own division.
After all, it's home to all their hottest stars.
Most intriguingly, whilst being delivered the poser, Triple H asked who his quizzer would like to take on. "Nia Jax?" he offered.
Reading between the lines, Nia Jax: a woman even a man wouldn't want to fight.
It's odd that the conversation would surface yesterday of all days, and it seems Triple H's suggestion was there to plant a seed. If this is a soft introduction of fully mixed matches in WWE, certainly it his thinking is in line with his immediate superior.
Speaking on the Wrestling Observer Radio following the show, Dave Meltzer mused that "the idea is to slowly bring in [women taking punishment from a guy.]" He speculated that Nia was the ideal candidate to ease intergender into the product: "If you're gonna do it, you do it with a really big woman, one bigger than most of the guys."
Assuming Meltzer's on the money - and what he "thinks" tends to be code for how things actually are - then either WWE are about to fundamentally alter their business model, or otherwise tick off a whole host of sponsors. Violence directed against women by men has been a big no-no on WWE TV since the company made the switch to PG, and it's also absolutely anathema to key merchandiser Mattel (the toy company are very strict: women are excluded from their 'build a wrestler' series as they refuse to sell individual female body parts).
In recent weeks, some of the more tawdry elements of the Attitude Era have begun to make a comeback in a slightly sanitised form. Is the introduction of intergender wrestling another step in that direction in advance of SmackDown's big October move to Fox?
Probably not; the tone of one brand must necessarily correspond with that of the other. More likely, it's part of a historical series of controversial decisions designed to give a short-term ratings boost - something particularly pertinent as buyers' remorse begins to proliferate in the Fox boardroom.
Does it contravene the strict ratings guidance? WWE could argue that, in a wrestling context and the spirit of equality, having both sides of their roster compete on an even footing doesn't glorify violence against women. Advertisers are likely to take a much dimmer view.
[CON'T. P3/4]