WWE boss Vince McMahon said ‘women should thank’ Nia Jax after breaking Becky Lynch’s face

Nia has opened up on the incident (Picture: WWE)

Former WWE superstar Nia Jax has claimed Vince McMahon backed her after she broke Becky Lynch’s face.

The clash between the two stars – which took place in a wild brawl between Raw and SmackDown on the red brand’s show just before Survivor Series 2018 – was one of the most memorable moments in recent wrestling history, and launched Lynch’s ‘The Man’ persona.

Speaking to Renee Paquette on The Sessions podcast, Nia said: ‘I go to Vince and go, “I’m so sorry.” He’s laughing. I walk away, I’m texting Becky and making sure she’s okay. Just bugging the s**t out of her. Of course, Becky is like, “I’m fine”.

‘Before Survivor Series, I had this cut on my knuckle, I don’t know if it was from the hit. I was texting [WWE social media guy] Mickie and he’s like, “You’re getting so much s**t online”. “Should I go with it?” “Just run with it.”

‘I sent out a tweet, something stupid like, “Is anyone asking how my hand is doing?” Of course, the internet went ablaze, and hated my guts.’

Nia – who was released from the company in November 2021 – explained how Vince wanted to embrace the online hate and shifted plans to focus on her.

She added: ‘When my music hit, the crowd was booing the s**t out of me, it was insane. Vince was like, “All those babyfaces should be thanking you. We have a true legitimate heel here. You go out there, point at that fist, and smile.” From then on, I just played into the role.’

The former Raw Women’s Champion also reflected on her memory of the incident, which she claims comes after she was ‘nailed in the back of [her] head’ during the staged scrap.

‘Being the larger person, I feel that people are like, “Oh, we can hit the shit out of her, she’ll be fine,” which is true. For the most part, I get wailed and I’m like, “Whatever, I’m okay,”‘ she said, as transcribed by Fightful.

McMahon is said to have told her to embrace the reaction (Picture: WWE)

‘Right when they invaded, I feel everybody came after me, which is okay, but I was getting nailed in the back of my head. “Okay, I get it.” ‘

She ended up in the corner with Naomi where she still felt the blows, which she assumed were coming from Lana but ended up being Lynch.

She claimed: ‘I turn around and go to clear the person, my fist wasn’t closed, I didn’t punch her, but it did connect. I didn’t realise it was Becky, I thought it was Lana.

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‘I did that, didn’t realize anything happened. I got back to Trin [Naomi], we keep going, I look around and I’m like, “There is blood everywhere. Oh crap, Becky is out.”

‘We go through the segment, everything happens, and I’m like, “S**t, was that me?” Get backstage, she got taken to medical immediately and I’m worried about her.

‘I’m also freaking out because they are slow replaying it, Kevin sends the replay to Vince in Gorilla. It’s replaying slow and they are cutting to every angle. “I’m so screwed”. I go to check on her and of course, medical is like, “Everyone out, give her space.” ‘

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