These couple of months have been a tough ride for WWE star Nia Jax. Last week, General Manager Adam Pearce announced that Women’s Champion Rhea Ripley is injured and is not cleared to compete in a rematch. Hence, they announced a fatal five-way interim Women’s Championship match at SummerSlam 2026.
Jax faced Jade Cargill to qualify for the title match at the Biggest Party of the Summer. But Charlotte Flair attacked The Storm, prompting the referee to end the match by disqualification and crowning Cargill as the winner.
Thanks for the submission!
Nia Jax got another opportunity this week on the July 24 episode of Friday Night SmackDown, where she faced Charlotte Flair to get her ticket punched for the SummerSlam 2026 premium live event. However, The Baddies came out to avenge last week’s attack.
Once again, the scene from last week was recreated, where Jade Cargill attacked Charlotte Flair, prompting the referee to call the match off in a disqualification, crowning the Queen as the winner.
Therefore, the former WWE Women’s Champion once again lost the opportunity to capture a win.
In this article, we take a look at four reasons why Nia Jax once again failed to qualify for the interim WWE Women’s Championship Ladder Match at SummerSlam 2026:
#4. Doesn’t suit her style
Five women are billed to face each other to crown an interim Women’s Championship in a ladder match, as Rhea Ripley is injured and unfit to compete. Hence, WWE is crowning a backup champion in her absence.
So far, Jade Cargill, Charlotte Flair, Chelsea Green, and Tiffany Stratton have punched their ticket to SummerSlam, winning the qualifying match on Friday Night SmackDown.
Interestingly, Jax had two chances but lost both. WWE did not bury her, as both of her losses were by disqualification. The Stamford-based promotion did not want to add Nia to the match because the ladder match type won’t suit her. She is a powerhouse, and ladder bouts are fast-paced, which didn’t sit well with her in-ring style.
#3. Given up on her
In 2026, the WWE women’s division is the most stacked. Triple H and his creative team have been investing all their resources in building upcoming stars such as Sol Ruca, Tiffany Stratton, Blake Monroe, Chelsea Green, and a few more.
Nia Jax has already had a Hall of Fame-worthy career, and she has also captured the Women’s Championship a few times in her stint. Hence, there is a chance that the Stamford-based promotion may have given up on her as a main-eventer and now uses her as a gatekeeper to elevate other main-eventers, at least for some period of time.
Then again, they may place her in an important position. She was recently in a tag team with Lash Legend to elevate her to main-roster level, and it worked well; they are still together as a tag team.
#2. Charlotte Flair couldn’t afford to take a loss
The Queen is unquestionably one of the biggest stars in the World Wrestling Entertainment, and she has been the face of the women’s division for years.
Cargill had already qualified for the fatal-five-way Interim Women’s Championship ladder match at SummerSlam. Given her bad blood with Charlotte Flair, the Queen being added to the saga is the most sensible storyline.
Hence, the Queen couldn’t afford to take a loss and be out of the title match against The Storm, as their being in the match would increase the bad blood.
#1. Setting her up for a future WWE Women’s title shot
By costing Nia Jax her qualifying matches via disqualification, Charlotte Flair attacking Jade Cargill last week, and The Storm attacking The Queen this week, WWE has planted seeds for something major in the future.
After the new interim Women’s Champion gets crowned on the post-SummerSlam episode of SmackDown, Nia Jax may come out and convince General Manager Adam Pearce why her qualifying matches were unfair. As a result, she wants a direct title shot. Jax may be granted a shot, given she was unfairly beaten both times and has been robbed of her championship opportunity.
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Edited by Riya Peter