Nia Jax Biography: Savelina Fanene is an Australian-American professional wrestler who was born on May 29, 1984. She is presently contracted with WWE, where she competes as Nia Jax on the SmackDown brand. In addition to being the current Queen of the Ring, she has won two reigns as the WWE Women’s Champion and the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship twice, both times alongside Shayna Baszler. Fanene joined the WWE in the beginning of 2014, and he was put in charge of the NXT developmental brand.
Under the ring name Zada, she made her debut in May 2015; in August of the same year, she changed her name to Nia Jax. She was brought up to the main roster as part of the 2016 WWE Draft. November 2021 saw Fanene’s departure from her WWE contract; however, following. Before the ring lights, there was college basketball at Palomar and a stint in plus-size modeling, which makes her WWE arrival in 2014 feel less planned and more destined.
Nia Jax Biography 2026
American professional wrestler Nia Jax is signed to the WWE at this time. On May 29, 1984, in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, she was born. She is 39 years old right now. She is linked to numerous well-known WWE wrestlers, including Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Roman Reigns, and the Usos. She is from the illustrious Anoa’i wrestling family. When Nia Jax signed up for NXT in 2014, her WWE career officially started. In a tag match against the Bayley and Carmella teams, she made her official in-ring debut alongside Devin Taylor. Back then, Nia Jax went by “Zada” for her ring moniker; in August of 2014, it changed to Nia Jax. Jax was eventually called up to the main roster in the 2016 WWE draft, having spent the previous two years in the NXT. She signed on to Monday Night RAW as a result of the draft.
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| Birth name | Savelina Fanene |
|---|---|
| Born | May 29, 1984 Sydney, New South Wales, Australia |
| Alma mater | California State University San Marcos |
| Relatives | Dwayne Johnson (second cousin once removed) |
| Family | Anoaʻi |
| Category | WWE News |
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Nia Jax
- Born: 29 May 1984 (age 40 years), Sydney, Australia
- Weight: 123 kg
- Height: 1.83 m
- Parents: Joseph Fanene, Renate Fanene
- Billed from: San Diego, California
- Billed weight: 255 lb (116 kg)
- Debut: May 7, 2015
Early life
On May 29, 1984, Savelina Fanene was born in Sydney, Australia, and raised in Honolulu, Hawaii. She is German and Samoan by birth, and her father Joseph was a cousin of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s grandfather Peter Maivia. She is Johnson’s second cousin once removed.
Across two WWE runs, Nia Jax has quietly built a résumé that’s hard to brush off. In the ring, on the mic, whether playing the underdog fans are meant to root for or the wrecking ball they’re meant to fear, she’s been trusted with real spotlight—and that says a lot. WWE doesn’t keep handing out chances like that without reason. Love the character or not, the range is there, the confidence is real, and the career so far feels anything but accidental.
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Professional wrestling career
Early in 2014, Jax signed a contract with WWE and was placed in their developmental area, NXT, which is headquartered at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida. Under the ring name Zada, she made her inring debut on May 7, 2015, at an NXT home show. She lost a tag match against Bayley and Carmella with Devin Taylor as their partner. She adopted the ring name Nia Jax in August. Jax debuted on October 14 of NXT, winning a singles match against Evie, following a run of introduction vignettes in September. She was seen gradually turning heel after making her debut and going on a winning streak that included victories over NXT Diva Carmella and other enhancement talents. Jax forged a partnership with Eva in November.
From the jump, she was positioned as the heavy-hitting villain, even teaming with Eva Marie and bulldozing through names like Carmella and Alexa Bliss with a Samoan Drop later dubbed the “Annihilator.” NXT was all about collision courses. Feuds with Bayley, Carmella, and Bliss stacked up fast, including a failed—but telling—shot at Bayley’s NXT Women’s Championship. Not the fairytale ending—but a clear statement. Her final NXT chapter closed with impact, not quiet.
Personal life
Fanene and her cousin Ata Maivia-Johnson, who happens to be Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s mother, were admitted to the hospital on August 2, 2014, following their collision in Clermont, Florida, with an intoxicated driver. After then, the driver was accused of operating a vehicle while intoxicated. Nia Jax Biography: Savelina Fanene, popularly known by her ring name Nia Jax, is a female American professional wrestler, currently working with World Wrestling Entertainment for Raw brand. She has been recognized as one of the leading super heavyweight divas of all time. Nia Jax is a former WWE Raw Women’s Champion, who defeated “The Goddess” Alexa Bliss at ‘The Grandest Stage of them all’ Wrestlemania 34. Fanene signed a contract with World Wrestling Entertainment in 2014 and later made her debut in WWE’s developmental territory NXT in 2015 under the ring name Zada.
However, she later her ring name to Nia Jax. At Survivor Series, Jax emerged out as sole survivor for Team Raw against Team SmackDown in women’s traditional five–on–five tag team elimination match. Jax started her team with Tamina for a six-team Elimination Chamber to become the inaugural holders of the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship, however, they lost the match. Jax has suffered anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) that forced her to get sidelined from the squared circle for nine months.
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Nia Jax’s Endorsements
Savelina Fanene—better known as Nia Jax—stormed into WWE as something the women’s division didn’t really have before: a true super-heavyweight presence who owned her space and dared anyone to deal with it. Signed in 2014, she cut her teeth in NXT (briefly working under the name Zada before the now-famous switch) and quickly made it clear subtlety wasn’t her thing. Power was. The momentum kept rolling. Then came reality hitting hard—an ACL injury that sidelined her for nine long months. Still, setbacks aside, Nia Jax’s story has never been about playing it safe. It’s been about impact—and she’s left plenty of it.
Nia Jax winning the RAW Women’s Championship at Wrestlemania 34
Then came 2019, which felt like a fever dream. Nia lasted 11 minutes in the Women’s Royal Rumble before Becky Lynch tossed her out, then crashed the Men’s Rumble the same night after laying out R-Truth. The result? An RKO from Randy Orton, a 619 from Rey Mysterio, and a swift exit. Tag gold with Tamina didn’t pan out either, capped by a WrestleMania 35 loss to The IIconics. Not long after, an ACL injury pulled her off the board for nine months. The comeback hit harder. Since then, Nia Jax has stayed off the wrestling grid—no new promotion, no surprise return—just a career paused, not erased.
Nia Jax’s Other Sources of Income
Nia Jax also earns from her merchandise sales in WWE. She also appeared in many episodes of Total Divas, which was televised on the USA network. Superstars who appeared on the show made around $500k to $12 million.
Savelina Fanene, born May 29, 1984, came into the world in Sydney, Australia, and grew into a 6-foot, 255-pound powerhouse who made “The Irresistible Force” feel less like a nickname and more like a warning. Now 41, she represents the U.S. while carrying her Samoan roots with pride, competing under the Samoan Slaughterhouse banner. She stepped into the wrestling world on May 7, 2015, backed by a family steeped in legacy—Joseph and Renate Fanene at home, and a little-known cousin named Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson looming large in the background. Raw stats on paper, but the story behind them hits harder.
Nia Jax’s Charity Work
Nia Jax has been involved in many charitable organizations as a part of WWE. She has appeared in many events organized by Make-A-Wish. She has also appeared in many events organized by the WWE as a part of their Connor’s Cure foundation. The Connors Cure Foundation was founded by the WWE after their 8-year-old fan, Connor “The Crusher” Michalek, died in 2014 because of pediatric cancer.
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Nia Jax in RAW
Once Nia Jax hit the main roster, subtlety went out the window. She bulldozed enhancement talent, steamrolled Alicia Fox, and immediately felt like a problem Raw didn’t have an answer for. The clashes with Sasha Banks followed—one big win at Elimination Chamber, a setback at Fastlane 2017—classic momentum swings that come with the spotlight. Title scenes came next, mixing it up with Charlotte Flair, Bayley, and Banks, close enough to taste gold but not quite there. There were detours too. A loss at No Mercy, Survivor Series appearances in 2017 and 2018 for Team Raw that didn’t end in glory, and yes, the oddly memorable on-screen romance with Enzo Amore before he vanished from WWE TV.
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Nia Jax Salary
As per various reports, Nia Jax draws an annual salary of at least $100,000 from WWE.
Net Worth of Nia Jax in 2026
The estimated net worth of Nia Jax as of 2026 is around $0.5 million or $500k.
