Nia Jax Successfully Defends Title Against Alexa Bliss at Backlash

The latest edition of the Nia Jax and Alexa Bliss saga continued Sunday night at Backlash, the second high profile match between the two in the last month.

Bliss and Jax last clashed at WrestleMania 34, and Bliss has been out of action essentially since that time. She wrestled in a tag team match at the RAW after Mania, then was a competitor in a 10 woman tag weeks later (but never wrestled in the bout). For all intents and purposes, Backlash marked her first match in four weeks.

Early on, Bliss was full of energy and was given quite a bit of offense in attempting to “chop down” Jax. Michael noted that “she is definitely resilient, she definitely finds a way to win.”

As Bliss continued to work over Jax, she screamed at Jax that “you’re a bully” and slapped her full blast several times. Eventually it looked like Jax was going to come back with a stiff forearm. Jax went for a rolling senton but missed, leading to another flurry of shots from Bliss.

Bliss had a front facelock locked in, but Jax rammed her into the corner to try to break it. Jax then snap-mared Bliss off the top rope to the mat below. This was a turning point in the bout as Jax came back with a flurry of offense of her own, throwing Bliss around like a rag doll.

Jax went to the second rope and was going to come off with a drop, but Bliss got up and pushed Jax to the outside in a brutal looking bump. On the outside, Bliss gave Jax a DDT into the ring steps and attempted to lift Jax back into the ring, unsuccessfully. When Jax was about to be counted out, Bliss broke up the count.

They eventually made it into the ring for a near fall. Bliss started to lose her cool at this point, and Nia caught her coming off the ropes, put her on her shoulders and walked to the corner. Bliss slipped out and kicked Nia in the back of the knee to knock her off the second rope.

Bliss went for the Twisted Bliss, but Jax caught her in mid-air and gave her a Samoan Drop for the pinfall.

This was a very good match. Bliss was given a surprising amount of offense but it was believable despite the size difference based on how it was portrayed. It’s way too early to put the belt back on Bliss, so this was the logical ending to keep the belt on Jax and continue her run.

Jax got on the microphone after the match and cut a promo about how bullies “always get their ass kicked” in the end. The fans were lukewarm on the promo.