Nikki Bella was loving her heel run before WWE abruptly changed direction.
Appearing on Unseen with Joey Karni, Nikki was asked why her heel turn ended so suddenly. She revealed that she had been pushing to play a heel because she felt it was the role that suited her best.
“I had been begging for just… to have a heel turn, to be a heel,” Nikki said. “I just know I thrive so much in that position. And, you know, it’s just so natural. And then Brie came in and ruined everything!”
Nikki laughed as she blamed her twin sister for the change in plans. She then explained that WWE’s creative direction had shifted ahead of the 2026 Royal Rumble.
“Which was fine because we were going in such a great direction, and then Rumble came up, and they didn’t know if Brie was coming back or not. So when Brie came back, it was like, ‘Well, Nikki obviously needs to be with her.'”
Nikki Bella Looks Back on the WWE Storyline That Changed Direction
According to Nikki, the transition happened almost immediately.
“We go out that night on RAW in Philly, and they just looked at me and they go, ‘You have to be neutral.’ And I was like, ‘But I literally just turned on my brand-new best friend, Stephanie, and… wait, what?'”
Although she understood the reasoning, Nikki admitted she was disappointed to leave behind a character she was enjoying.
“Not that I was bummed, but… I was loving the direction I was going, and I was getting so much heat, and it was a lot of fun. I was even getting text messages from people saying they were loving the heel thing and telling me to keep going. And then you showed up, Brie, and you ruined everything!”
Nikki turned heel by betraying Stephanie Vaquer on the road to Survivor Series: WarGames 2025. This was the beginning of what appeared to be a major singles run. However, the storyline was cut short following Brie’s full-time return at the Royal Rumble 2026. Here, WWE also reunited The Bella Twins.
The reunited Bellas were originally slated to challenge for the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship at WrestleMania 42. Unfortunately, those plans changed after Nikki suffered an injury. WWE ultimately replaced her with a returning Paige for the match.
Nikki recently returned from that injury, reuniting with Brie and Paige once again to set up a six-woman tag team match against Fatal Influence at SummerSlam 2026.
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