As WrestleMania fast approaches, perhaps the match with the most purely character-driven build is the one for the Raw Women’s Championship, in which mean girl champ Alexa Bliss faces Nia Jax, who recently learned that she only thought Alexa was her best friend, when in fact the champ was manipulating her all along and looks down on her for her size.
Many fans (myself included) have been uncomfortable with this storyline, particularly considering that in real life Alexa and Nia have both been outspoken about body positivity, and Alexa has also been very open about her own history with anorexia.
In a new interview, Neil Docking of the Mirror asks Nia how she feels about the storyline, and her response is entirely positive:
I think it’s amazing. I think it’s something that people know but they don’t want to talk about it, they always want to keep it hidden. I feel like we’re tackling it head-on and it should be [tackled]. Young women and young girls, and boys, should actually be hearing this and seeing the conflict that we go through and seeing somebody stand up for themselves and not have to allow somebody to bully them, because of the way they look, what their shape is, or the colour of their skin is. You should always stand up for yourself. So I think it’s amazing. I’m very honoured to be a part of it.
She goes on to talk about how much she relates to the story because of how she’s been treated in real life, something that Alexa, her real-life best friend, is already familiar with.
Oh yeah. You know, growing up… it’s crazy how real this storyline is to my real life. And especially with Alexa being such a close, best friend of mine for so long, she has seen it. She [her character] has hurt me [my character], because I’ve confided in a lot of these stories that have happened to me. It surprises me that it has become such a big storyline in WWE, because it relates to me completely.
Now obviously Nia knows her own life better than anyone, and on top of that criticizing the company you currently work for is rarely a good idea. So I’m not going to say that Nia was wrong to put a positive spin on the whole thing. But personally, as someone who was also bullied for my weight growing up, none of what she said makes me feel better about the storyline.
For one thing, Nia says “we’re tackling it head-on,” and yet in bullying Nia, Alexa has never once used the word “fat” or any meaner synonyms for it. I’m not saying it would be better if she did—in fact, as far as it goes, I’m glad she hasn’t. It’s just that doing a fat-shaming storyline while avoiding the actual language seems like the opposite of “tackling it head-on.” There aren’t many fat-shaming bullies in real life who are satisfied with calling their targets “bigger.”
Don’t get me wrong, I’m still looking forward to the WrestleMania match and the prospect of Nia Jax (hopefully) becoming Raw Women’s Champion, but most of all, I’m looking forward to this storyline being over.
