Nia Jax returns at 2023 Royal Rumble

The 2023 Women’s Royal Rumble match saw the surprise return of Nia Jax at No. 30 on Saturday. The former Raw Women’s Champion graced her presence in a WWE ring for the first time since being released in the fall of 2021.

The “Irresistible Force” never really found her footing in the women’s division during her first run with the company. Jax held the Raw Women’s Championship once and held the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships twice, both with Shayna Baszler as her partner. Even though she never sustained a lengthy singles run, it doesn’t mean that she hasn’t played at least some role in history.

She infamously landed the fist that broke Becky Lynch’s nose that began the era of ‘The Man’ for Lynch. Jax also became the fourth woman to ever compete in a Men’s Royal Rumble match when she entered the 2019 event. She eliminated Mustafa Ali but then took finishers from Dolph Ziggler, Randy Orton and Rey Mysterio getting eliminated. Jax had competed in the Women’s Royal Rumble earlier in the night and remains the only person that has ever competed in two Royal Rumble matches on the same night.

The Royal Rumble is arguably one of the most exciting wrestling events of the entire year. It sets up the famed Road to WrestleMania but is a unique event in that we never know who will show up. The Men’s and Women’s Royal Rumble matches typically have a handful of surprises, either in legends hoping for one more shot at glory or returning superstars that have been out of action for an extended period of time.