As WWE continues to evolve, so does the culture inside its locker room. But not everyone is convinced that every change has been for the better.
Nearly 11 years removed from her in-ring debut at a WWE NXT live event, Nia Jax now finds herself in a very different role. Back on WWE television after a two-year absence and currently competing in tag team action alongside Lash Legend on SmackDown, Jax says her biggest impact may be happening behind the curtain rather than inside the ropes.
With many of today’s developmental talents coming up through a streamlined system, Jax believes something has been lost along the way.
“Since I’ve come back, I have taken on the role of a little bit of the locker room leader just because I’ve been here longer than most of the girls in the locker room,” Jax explained. “I’m older, I’ve been around, I’ve seen it all. I feel as though you have to have a little bit of a tradition in the locker room. I think it gets lost in this new age.”
That perspective stems from how she was trained. When Jax first arrived in WWE’s system, she worked under Bill DeMott, whose approach was rooted in old-school wrestling etiquette. Respect was not optional. It was expected.
“Shake hands, you introduce yourself to everybody, you guys set up the ring, you break down the ring, you watch every match,” she recalled. “We never had the opportunity to not go to a show even if we weren’t working.”
Beyond ring work, Jax described an environment where performers were expected to understand every aspect of the production. She learned timekeeping. She practiced ring announcing. The idea was to build well-rounded performers who understood the business from multiple angles.
Today, she sees a different structure. The system is more specialized. Talent can develop specific strengths without necessarily grinding through the same rites of passage. For Jax, that shift has required her to step up.
Rather than criticize from a distance, she has embraced mentoring younger talent. Her self-described Type A personality, once a point of friction early in her career, has become an asset. She now sees it as part of her responsibility to preserve certain traditions and help the next generation refine not only their in-ring work, but their professionalism.
Jax returned to WWE in September 2023 after nearly two years away. Since then, she has reestablished herself on the SmackDown roster while also positioning herself as a veteran presence in a rapidly changing locker room.
In professional wrestling, culture shapes performance as much as booking does. How talent is trained, how they interact backstage, and how they carry themselves ultimately influences what fans see on screen. Jax’s comments highlight an ongoing tension between modernization and tradition in WWE’s developmental pipeline.
As the company continues to produce athletes at a faster pace and from more diverse backgrounds, the balance between efficiency and tradition becomes increasingly important. Whether Jax’s old-school philosophy spreads throughout the locker room or remains a generational perspective, it reflects a broader conversation about how wrestling’s next era is being built behind the scenes.
