What’s the story?
The longest reigning Divas Champion in the history of WWE, Nikki Bella spoke to PEOPLE Now in an exclusive interview. The major talking point of the interview was Nikki’s return from a career-threatening neck injury and female superstars in the WWE not willing to work with the serious condition was out in the open.
In case you didn’t know...
Nikki Bella went on a hiatus from WWE TV in 2015 when she needed a neck surgery. She had recently broken AJ Lee’s record as the longest reigning Divas Champion and dropped the belt to Charlotte Flair.
After the surgery, Nikki started training with brother-in-law, Daniel Bryan to improve her skills inside the ring. She retired her Rack Attack finishing move and now uses a modified version of the Argentine Backbreaker which is incidentally, called the Rack Attack 2.0.
Also read: Nikki Bella teases a rematch with Charlotte on Twitter
The heart of the matter
Nikki recalled the incident saying that her female colleagues were hesitant to step into the ring with her. She pointed out that they did not want to further aggravate her neck injury. Nikki claimed that she was surprised by the response she got after her return.
This what she had to say:
“That kind of took me by surprise because I was like, ‘Wait, what? I just had the toughest journey of my life, I came back in record time and now people don’t want to get in the ring with me?’ ”
Nikki stated that physicians told her that there was only a 1% chance of her returning to the ring. However, she was determined to make it back and felt elated when she once again stepped foot into the squared circle.
What’s next?
Nikki Bella is taking a sabbatical from the WWE after a dream proposal from longtime boyfriend John Cena at Wrestlemania 33. Nikki has gone on record to say that her retirement is temporary, and she will once again compete in the WWE in future.
Author's take
The reaction of the locker room to Nikki’s recovery in record time is natural. There is a certain sense of camaraderie in the WWE, and none of the superstars would want to be responsible for aggravating an injury that could potentially end the career of another superstar.
Even during her injury, Nikki Bella was always in the spotlight; be in on Total Divas or making an appearance on the Wrestlemania 32 pre-show that hosted the last appearance of Brie Bella in a WWE ring.
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