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Brie Bella recently opened up about the backstage reaction after several WWE women agreed to appear on Total Divas.
The E! reality show followed the lives of WWE's female stars inside and outside the wrestling business. The first season premiered on July 28, 2013, and featured Brie Bella, Cameron, Eva Marie, JoJo Offerman, Naomi, Natalya, and Nikki Bella.
Three members of the original cast – Cameron, JoJo, and Natalya – appeared on the latest episode of The Bellas Podcast with Brie and Nikki Bella. Brie recalled how not everyone was happy with herself and the rest of the Total Divas:
"I was so grateful for all of you for putting your lives out there, for dealing with the backstage drama of everyone hating on all of us for filming, and just even when it aired it was like we knew we were just gonna be everyone's punching bag of people loving it, hating it, saying all the things, and we all had smiles on our faces constantly and kept filming, making amazing TV." [0:00 – 0:22]
AJ Lee was among those who spoke out about her dislike of Total Divas. The three-time Divas Champion even refused to appear on the show.
On the August 26, 2013, episode of RAW, Lee described the cast as "cheap, interchangeable, expendable, useless women."
Brie Bella thinks the Total Divas cast deserves respect
The reality show was an instant hit for the E! network. Between 2013 and 2019, nine seasons aired and a total of 20 WWE women starred as cast members.
Almost a decade on from its debut, Brie Bella is proud that the series went on to become so successful:
"Like all of you have said, breaking barriers for women's wrestling globally and opening up the door for women of wrestling. No, not for a lot of money, and so I just always tell everyone in any interview I'm in, I'm just so grateful for all the women of Total Divas because we put up with so much, but we made really amazing TV." [0:23 – 0:45]
Brie Bella also spoke about the regret she feels about banning a co-worker from her wedding as part of a Total Divas storyline.
Were you a Total Divas fan? Let us know in the comments section below.
Please credit The Bellas Podcast and give a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription if you use quotes from this article.
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