Nia Jax Defeats Bayley, Wins WWE Women's Title at SummerSlam 2024

Queen of the Ring Nia Jax defeated Bayley at SummerSlam on Saturday to win the WWE Women's Championship.

Tiffany Stratton, the Money in the Bank briefcase holder, seemingly teased a cash-in, but that largely served a different purpose. Bayley was momentarily distracted, while Jax was afforded time to regain her energy.

Jax hit a pair of powerbombs on the champion and quickly followed with two Annihilators.

Bayley kicked out of the Annihilator earlier in the match but couldn't answer the three-count this time.

After winning the 2024 women's Royal Rumble match, Bayley beat former Damage CTRL stablemate Iyo Sky for the WWE women's title at WrestleMania 40, but it became clear that she was in Jax's crosshairs.

The Irresistible Force targeted Bayley after she won the Rumble, and her desire to take down The Role Model grew even more once Bayley became champion.

The quickest potential path to a title shot was through the Queen of the Ring tournament, so Jax decided to enter, and it turned out to be a great move for her career.

Jax faced an arduous road to the finals, but she was able to defeat Naomi in the first round and beat Jade Cargill in the quarterfinals by disqualification before getting past Bianca Belair in the semis.

At the King and Queen of the Ring premium live event in Saudi Arabia in May, Jax sealed the deal by beating Lyra Valkyria to become Queen of the Ring and earn a title match at SummerSlam.

The following month at Clash at the Castle, Bayley beat Piper Niven in a hard-fought title defense, which essentially cemented that she and Jax would do battle at SummerSlam in Cleveland.

On the July 12 episode of SmackDown, The Irresistible Force confronted Bayley in anticipation of their SummerSlam bout, and along with Stratton, she attacked The Role Model.

Michin made the save while armed with a kendo stick, leading to a singles match between Jax and Michin, which Nia won to build even more momentum entering SummerSlam.

Jax used that to her advantage and took down Bayley at Cleveland Browns Stadium on Saturday, making her a women's champion for the second time in her WWE career.

---

Listen to Ring Rust Radio for all of the hot wrestling topics. Catch the latest episode in the player below.