Your uniqueness is what makes you special, and that is beautiful.
Nia Jax
Our bodies are always going to change, and we might not always love that, but it really has nothing to do with true beauty. True beauty comes from within.
Byron Saxton is creepy. He has a relationship between me and him going on in his head. I'm not included in this personally - like, I am, but I'm not. He has a weird fetish with my feet: he loves to call me different kinds of names, like 'Samoan Sweetcake' and 'Twinkle Toes.' It goes on from there.
I get bullied for my size, my weight, and my look constantly. It's something that I'm glad we touched on in WWE. I'm glad we touched on it because it's real: it's something that happens in real life to kids all the time, especially in the age of cyber bullying.
I did a lot of lingerie modelling, like, for plus-size, like Macy's and Dillard's and Bloomingdale's. I was, like, on a billboard in New York one time in, like, a bra and underwear. Yeah.
I never looked in the mirror and felt beautiful.
I remember arriving to my tryout and being extremely nervous, but the second I stepped in the ring, I knew this was where I was supposed to be.
I considered wrestling at a young age, but I never could relate to any of the Divas. I have always been a bigger girl, and I did not think that WWE would want a girl my size, so I never expressed my dream to wrestle.
A lot of people who've been athletes have come here and not been able to just pick it up right away. I hate using this example, and I love her to death, but Eva Marie. She was an amazing soccer player and athlete, but coming to WWE and getting in the ring was a whole different ball game for her.
Staying healthy adds to beauty. Even more importantly, it will increase your self-confidence. That's been my experience at least.
I've been an athlete my whole life. I've played every sport, including soccer, baseball, softball, basketball.
Obviously, Ronda Rousey and Alexa Bliss, I want to see how that one goes. I'm curious to see how Alexa is going to get out of that one.
Growing up, we were a poor yet tightknit family. My mother worked multiple jobs and always made sure that her kids never had to want for anything.
Sports helped me become super, super confident in my body growing up, especially in my high school and college careers. I wasn't going to be a hot prom chick that everyone wanted to go on dates with, but I was a stellar athlete.
We are a very tight-knit family at WWE. We are very protective of our family. When an outsider comes in, you want to make sure the outsider is worthy to step into the family.
When I got to the WWE, I found out there were a lot of girls who looked up to me and that I was giving them confidence. I realized I'm not doing this just for me.
I submitted a bunch of names. Nia is, like, a Samoan girl name that a lot of women have. Jax is from 'Sons of Anarchy.' I was super into Jax, so I threw the name Jax in there, and it came about that way.
Somebody we never talk about is Stephanie McMahon. She is such a huge power influence in our company. She is always pushing us to go the limit, and she doesn't take much credit for what she's done.
Roman Reigns is this larger-than-life Superman character, but the true Joe, Joe Anoa'I, is a very shy, humble guy, and he's super giving and loving.
Even when I go out to the ring, yes, I am the big, bad heater monster, but I'm out there showing young girls that I can still be athletic just because I'm a big, bad heater. I can still go out there and cut promos like the other pretty girls and wear my hair down and put makeup on and do everything that they say that you can't.
I have no problem breaking stereotypes. And proving people wrong - it's actually quite fun.
Winning the championship at 'WrestleMania' was a dream come true because not only had it more than a decade since there had been a women's singles match at 'WrestleMania,' but the fact that I got to win it against my best friend in a storyline that was so close to my heart, it was just all kinds of emotional.
I really take pride in doing my own make-up all the time, which takes me about 40 minutes, and my hair takes another 15 to 20 minutes. Putting on my gear is probably another 15 minutes, so all in all, I don't think an hour and a half is too bad!
When I came back to go back to school on my time off from modeling, I went to Palomar.
I'd love to work with Charlotte Flair; she's the best athlete in our company.
Who wants to be ordinary? Be extraordinary.
That's something I've dealt with my whole life, people making fun of me and my size. Everything from having a huge forehead to the size of my feet, and not being able to wear the same size shoes as my friends, definitely.
I have never been one to show off too much skin, and it's not just because I'm a larger woman.
I've always been a part-time model since I graduated from high school. I was hired by one of the major agencies, Wilhelmina in New York, so I modeled there and played basketball during the school season.
I always had a love for the business. I remember hearing the stories about the patriarch of our family, 'High Chief' Peter Maivia, starting out wrestling in a rundown gym back in Auckland, New Zealand, then traveling the world, wrestling all over.
You should always stand up for yourself.
People who've never played a sport in their life come to WWE and can kick butt. On the other hand, people who've played football or some other professional sport can come here and get in the ring and not do what we do. It's a different tango.
Ultimately, I want to convey an image of a beautiful, strong, and confident woman.
On 'Raw,' I'm the big mean girl who goes and beats everybody up; on 'Total Divas,' they will see a softer, vulnerable side of me that definitely isn't seen on 'Raw.'
I just want it to be normal for every fashion label to have all sizes. Completely inclusive - that's how it should be.
Ronda Rousey has done... she was a huge part of the women's revolution all over the world and part of the WWE, and now she's coming to WWE. It's going to be absolutely amazing.
I would love to get in the ring with Bull Nakano. I would be so excited.
I was having a lot of issues with just a lot of social media trolls: people would try to make fun of my size and my weight to the WWE and what not. I just decided to go out there and post a picture of me in a bathing suit. I said, 'You know what? This is my body. I'm going to embrace it, and I'm going to show the world.'
You want to give the fans all the sides to women's wrestling.
I guess I'm not too crazy on the road. I'm really like a freak - I always have to be driving.
Don't get me wrong: there have been many occasions where I wished I could be thinner or have a different nose or hairline to fit in, but I realized that fitting in is not always as important as it seems; I realized that I love standing out in positive ways!
I just love being a part of what happens during SummerSlam week.
I remember I was playing basketball, and an entire arena was, like, chanting 'Big Foot.' It was a high school game, but... you're constantly being reminded you're bigger; you don't look like everybody. There were days where I would be upset, and, like, I'd cry about it.
That's what we do in the WWE: we tell stories; we're characters. We go into the ring, and my character is telling a story in the ring against another character.
Everyone is beautiful in their own way, and nobody should have self doubt.
I had actually had an injury that happened to me personally on a flight - an overhead bag fell directly on top of my head while I was on a plane. I was out of it; I was completely out of it.
This is how God made me, and this is what my momma gave me. I am proud of this.
Nia Jax is bringing a whole different message to the 'Women's Evolution.' Yes, we are athletic. Yes, we can go just as hard as the men, but women come in all different shapes and sizes.
I have nothing but positive things to say for anyone who wants to come to the WWE because it is not an easy place to get into and not an easy place to get through, so if you feel like you can make it here and get through, I say welcome.
If I'm called to be on the grandest stage, at 'WrestleMania,' I'll be ready.
