Below are some top WWE news stories of the day, involving Nia Jax and Funaki.
• Tiffany Stratton successfully cashed-in her Money In The Bank contract on Nia Jax to win the WWE Women’s Championship on the first episode of SmackDown in 2025.
During an interview on Stay Busy with Armon Sadler, Nia broke character to praise Tiffany when asked about the MITB cash-in:
“I thought it was beautiful. I’m torn. It was a beautiful moment to watch my Tiffy become champion. Being at the other end of it, did it hurt a little bit? Yes.
But watching the reaction of the crowd when she hit me on the back, when I was watching back and reactions, I couldn’t even hear myself in that moment.
It was beautiful. It was beautiful that everybody was like, ‘Oh, it’s not going to happen.’ She played it perfectly. I have to give her, her flowers on that one.
There is part of me that is a little proud of her because I taught her well, I can’t lie. The betrayal still eats at me. She definitely shouldn’t be sitting comfortably.”
WATCH: Unseen Footage Of Rhea Ripley’s Buns Exposed At Elimination Chamber 2024 (Part 3):
• Jacob Fatu brutalized Braun Strowman on Saturday Night’s Main Event. Fatu kept hitting Strowman with the running hip attack in the corner. When the referee told Fatu to stop, Fatu attacked the referee. Braun was left busted open and Fatu didn’t stop despite referees, security and officials coming out, and went on to hit multiple springboard moonsaults.
According to Fightful Select, one of the security personnel during this segment was Attitude Era wrestler Funanki’s son, Jesse Funaki. This was Jesse’s debut appearance on WWE TV.
Below is a video of Jesse being interviewed by NXT wrestler Wren Sinclair in 2023:
Today on #SideCharacterSpotlight we have a wrestler in training from the @Hybridsow, Jesse Funaki . . Do you know who his DAD is?!#MainCharacterMadi #MCM #Funaki #Indeed pic.twitter.com/1lHMRkvE8K
— Wren Sinclair (@WrenSinclairWWE) November 13, 2023
The original plan for the beatdown was for Fatu to hit even more Moonsaults, kind of similar to “Big” Bronson Reed hitting his opponents with several Tsunamis.
