Feb 1, 2025; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Nia Jax during the Women’s Royal Rumble during the WWE Royal Rumble at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images

Former Collegiate Athlete & WWE Star Nia Jax Eyed Surprising Sport Growing Up

Originally posted on Wrestling on SI | By Rick Ucchino | Last updated Sep 18, 2025 7:30 PM ET

Nia Jax is no stranger to mixing it up in the ring with the very best of WWE, male or female. But long before she was taking RKO's from Randy Orton, the Irresistible Force had her sights set on delivering a few knockout blows of her own in another physically demanding sport.

In addition to being a multi-time WWE Women's Champion, Jax is a former collegiate basketball player at Palomar College, where she won a Pacific Coast Athletic Conference Championship. She also dabbled in volleyball, soccer and softball before finding her way to the squared circle.

Nia developed a competitive edge at a young age and was always up for proving she could perform at the same level, or even better, than her brothers — in whatever sport they were playing. That includes football. Her mother, though, didn't like the thought of her running around on the gridiron.

“I was developing, you know, a chest and she was just like, ‘I dunno if that's a good idea for you to get in there with the pads.’ And so we ventured out. I did start playing volleyball. I got more into basketball, but I almost played football. And there were some times where I was able to tackle the boys pretty clean and I thought like, yeah, why not? Why not play?”

During an interview Thursday evening on the Mo Egger Show on ESPN1530 in Cincinnati, Jax said she had real aspirations of following in her brother's footsteps as a linebacker.

“I wanted to hit [the other players]. That was the fun part for me,” Jax said. “When I played soccer, I was always the top yellow card and red card girl. I would always be way more physical on the field. And that obviously, clearly led to my career now.”

Australians are just built different

WWE.com

Jax has been with WWE for over a decade now and has built her career around being one of the most physically dominating performers in the entire company. A very similar mold as her fellow native Australians, Rhea Ripley and Bronson Reed.

“I think we're just more aggressive down there. Even my cousins that are down there, they're just so aggressive. They’re rugby players. Have you ever seen a rugby player and watched them? That's how they have fun. It's just like no pads, going at it. I have a cousin that plays with the All Blacks, and watching him play, like he would tear people to shreds. I think that's just the culture.”

WWE will be heading back to Australia next month when Crown Jewel emanates from the RAC Arena in Perth on Saturday, October 11. The expectation should be for Jax, Ripley and Reed to all to be featured on the show.

This article first appeared on Wrestling on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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