All language subtitles for EP-03 - The Bella Twins

- The one thing my
sisters always did

Is they loved a challenge.

They walked into a man's
world and basically gave

All the men the middle
finger and say, "we're here".

- You better make sure to
do it better than a man.

And I was like, oh, that's
all you had say to me.

- Twins are strange.

Trouble may come
looking for brie.

Nikki goes looking for trouble.

- I found them to be the
greatest athletes, performers.

Well-rounded, hardest working,

Most compassionate, who
had to command an audience

Of 30,000 people.

- [announcer] one half
of the bella twins,

Hall of famer,

Brie bella in full
blown brie mode.

- Brie is a knife.

She is a sharpened blade.

- [announcer] and brie bella --

Oh, pencil drop kick! Oh my god!

- Nikki is not
afraid of conflict.

She shows it in her work.

She shows it in
the way she loves.

She shows it in the
way she dances.

She shows it in everything.

- Two of the most famous
wwe superstars in history.

- [announcer] brie is
the new diva's champion.

- The gloves were off.

There was no turning back.

- [announcer] nikki bella
is the longest reigning

Diva's champion in history.

- We've been a tag
team since the womb.

- [announcer] whoa! Look out!
Who doesn't wanna be a bella?

- Every time you turn around

I would see something
online about them.

- It's the bellas. Do
you know the bellas?

- Of course.

- This is bigger than I think

We all could
have ever imagined.

- [narrator] reality tv
stars brie and nikki bella!

- Nearly 35 million followers

Across their social
media platform.

- Whoa!

- Muscle and fitness cover.
- [nikki] uh oh!

- [harry] that's ridiculous.

- From your show,
to your podcast,

To your beauty line,
to your sportswear line,

To your wine line,
your youtube channel.

- We are part of wwe history.

(explosion)
(dramatic impacts)

- You know, home life
wasn't easy growing up.

My parents were forced to
be parents at 19 years old.

It was kids raising kids.

- Their father and I came

From two different worlds
and those worlds crashed.

- My dad was a pistol.

I always felt like I was
walking on eggshells and

My dad was a drug user
and he would get angry

At a drop of the hat
and he would black out.

And that was really
hard to live with.

- There was a lot of
partying and anger

And discipline was above
what discipline should be.

Brie and I were raised
that when there's conflict

You settle it in
an aggressive way.

We were taught to fight
at a very young age.

We were told that no, we yell

At each other because that's
how we love each other.

- It was wild. (laughing)

It was a wild upbringing.

Everything was just
more amplified.

We sort of almost had
training in a way of,

Standing up to people
who either lose their fuse

Or scary or try
to intimidate you.

We sort of knew how to
handle that situation

Because of our household
situation with my father.

- But I have to say I had
a lot of happy moments.

My parents were both
athletes growing up

And they were obsessed with
us kids being athletes.

And I think the one thing
too is at a young age

My parents noticed that
all three of us kids

Had this natural
athletic ability.

So they figured you
gotta push 'em that way.

(techno music)

- Soccer came into my
life at the perfect time.

I was in fourth grade
and soccer brought a lot

Of structure that I
didn't have at home.

I really loved that feeling

Of having all these
parents around,

Having this coach who
was like a father,

Having these other
sisters around

That I could vent to, or I
could come to or laugh with

Like I needed their strength
to get through what I was going

Through behind closed
doors at my home.

- One thing that my
sister and I learned

With our soccer team
is being a team player,

Pretty much having
a tag partner.

There's 11 of us on the field.

And if you're in
business for yourself

You are going to lose
the game for your team.

It really taught us

That we don't have to fight
with other women for a spot.

Instead, you can find unity

And make magic happen
for so many women.

- Sophomore through senior
year was actually very tough,

But 15 is when my world
really started to fall apart.

And I just like lost myself.

I wanted to rebel

Because I didn't understand
what I was going through

Mentally and emotionally.

At that age, I hadn't done
anything sexually, like at all.

I mean, I kissed a boy.

So, the first time that I
was raped in high school

Everything was new
and was taken from me.

Like my virginity
was taken from me.

My innocence was taken from me.

And the worst part was
like, I blamed myself.

I blamed myself for going
to a 4th of July party

And then having drinks
and passing out.

It's -- you think you can
always like get past it

But you can't, it's hard.

And I think the
one regret I have

And the one thing I want
people to learn is, like,

You have to, like,
talk to people.

I didn't wanna tell
anyone, except my sister.

I took the shame with
that and I locked it away.

And that changed who I was.

That next day I changed.

- I had no idea.

She was good at making me
think everything was okay.

And so it was hard to
find out years later

That she had been sexually
assaulted, not once, but twice.

- Two years later,

I get into another bad situation
that didn't feel right.

And I still went.

And next thing you know,

Just being drugged and
hit in the head and raped.

And it was like, after those
two situations, I just was done.

And instead of lifting myself up

I just went into a deep
depression for a few years.

And then it took finally
one day where I just

Knew I wanted to
survive that all.

I think it took just looking
at myself in the mirror one day

And just being like,
you're better than this.

Like, let's start
to build ourself up.

Let's survive.

- I'll never forget
this christmas.

My dad was going on a
soul searching trip.

And shortly after he left

My mom got a phone
call that my dad was

On his way to go on a
cruise with this woman,

The team mom, of my
brother's baseball team.

And my mom was devastated.

- And I just remember thinking

Like, she deserves
so much better

And I'm not gonna let her be
in this situation anymore.

My dad and I get into a massive
fight that turns physical.

And I literally walked
outta the house.

I might have been barefooted.

I had nothing.

And brie and I walked
out that front door

And I didn't even look back.

I was on the run for a week

And I actually talked to
my school principal first

Before I went home because
I was refusing to go home.

And I just said, I will not
go home if my dad's there.

- Now I'll tell you one thing.

My dad has one of the
biggest hearts ever

But he just would lose
his fuse pretty quick.

It's a building moment,
I think for nicole

To really put her foot down

Not just like, "hey, listen,
I know you're my parents

But I'm not comin' back

Until that house is safe."
or that she felt it was safe.

- So the cops had
to get involved

And my dad was thrown
out of my house.

And it was very awkward
for my mom in the beginning

Because I pretty
much, in the end,

Forced the decision on her.

I needed him to be gone.

(pensive guitar music)

- When finally my
parents figured

Out that they
couldn't be together.

They had to get a divorce.

And all of a sudden our
house became happier.

I started to be like,
well, what makes me happy?

Because it's not soccer.

Like I loved soccer,

But I also loved the arts,
painting, music and drama.

I just felt like my
life is changing now.

I'm 16. I'm driving.

I'm feeling a little more free.

Like I wanna start
living for me then.

And I started to.

So I slowly started
to pull out of soccer

And then I meet bear
and I fall in love.

He was this just
really vibrant artist.

I'd go to bear's house

And he'd be writing music
and he'd be painting.

And he would paint me a lot.

And I was just like,
"am I like, in a movie?"

Bear brought to me
everything I loved,

Which was the arts, music.

And he became my
everyday, everything.

I finally felt purpose.

And I finally felt this sense

Of direction where I
wanted my life to go.

(camera flash)

(dramatic boom)

- Soccer was my life.

11 years I played competitive
ball and I loved what I did.

There was something about being

On that field and
being a badass.

There was so much on
me, but I loved it.

I thrived on it.

And I had the dreams of being
on the women's world cup team

Me, hamm, carla overbeck,
brandi chastain,

All those women were who
I looked up to growing up.

I'm about to sign with
arizona state university.

And I have all
these other offers

From all over the country.

I'm gonna have a spot
on the arizona heatwave,

Play in the women's
professional league.

I'm making my way
up to see that dream

Of being on the world
cup team one day.

That's how I see it, right?

Third place game from
a high school team,

Striker gets a breakaway.

I go to slide tackle her.

She takes a shot.

We hit shin to shin

And mine snaps right in half.

And the break was just so bad.

It was like, sorry, we don't
know how you're gonna heal.

Scholarships are off the table.

We couldn't afford college.

Everything that I worked
for for 11 years straight,

What was gonna get me out
of arizona, outta my home.

It's just all gone.

And it was just like
everything crumbled.

- January of my senior
year, my boyfriend, bear,

Was picking up a friend and they
were on their way to my house.

And I was talking to him on
the phone, excited to see him.

And 45 minutes later, I get a
phone call that bear is dead.

He was killed by a drunk driver.

And in that moment, my
life had changed forever.

When that love was taken away,

I just was on such
a high in my life.

And I went to the lowest low,

And even more so than the (beep)
I dealt with my dad because

The stuff I dealt with my dad,

Well, we made up,
we could like deal

And it's like, I'm still
breathing, but like,

To lose someone who
means so much to you

And know you'll never
ever talk to them again.

That was hard to swallow.

And that was hard
for me to think like,

How do I get out of this?

- And that's when
I knew I had to go.

I had to get outta arizona.

But at that time, my sister and
I knew we needed each other.

One night, this was like, not
even a week after bear died.

I was bawling my eyes
out. In her, like cast,

She crawled over to
me and cuddled me.

And she's like, let's
just get out of here.

That's all we wanted.

We were like, let's go.

And we did.

We were out.

(mellow music)

- [nikki] we get to graduation
day, brie and I literally,

I think it's the next
day, pack up our car.

And we're like, we're
moving to san diego.

- And of course, when we
get there, we're like, okay

Well, we need full-time work.

- So my sister and I were like

Where could we make really
good money at 18 years old?

And we're like, hooters!

♪ who's getting happy? ♪

- When brie and I first walked
into hooters, I was like,

"oh gosh, brie, like, how are
we gonna tell the family?"

Like, are we sure about this?

I don't know about
those outfits.

Then when we like heard, they
got more than minimum wage,

They could walk out

With a hundred dollars
cash tips at night,

We were like, okay,
we have to do this.

- You know, it takes a lot
to be a waitress and to walk

Up to strangers, especially
in a hooters atmosphere.

And demand attention,
demand respect

And we were taught that.

Feminine energy is the
most powerful energy

You can ever use.
Ever, ever, ever.

Sometimes women are taught
to hide our feminine energy.

We were taught not
to use our voices,

Let everyone else
talk, be polite.

Hooters taught me not to be
polite, to actually speak up.

It really started to blossom
me into this young woman.

- I never thought in my life

That when I was working at
hooters for two and a half years

That those pantyhose would
come back and haunt me

Because those were the
same pantyhose that I wore

For over 10 years in
the wrestling ring.

(dramatic music)

(bell ringing)

- We started to be like, okay,

Everyone at home keeps asking,

"so what are you doing
with your lives?"

And we can't just keep saying,
you know, figuring it out.

And I know nicole really
wanted to get back into soccer.

- And I had the head coach

Of grossmont college soccer
team call me and be like,

"look, I know what you've
done in your career.

And if your shin's great,
come play for us."

And I was like, you know what?

I'm gonna go back and
still see if I got it.

And then I got back
on that soccer field

And we made magic happen.

We had an incredible season.

We were champions.

I had my head coach
calling me saying like

Italy's starting to thrive.

You're half italian.

Why don't you go play
pro ball in Italy?

And I was like, you know what?

This is like, what I need, like,

This is the change I need.

- And for myself, I
really didn't know.

I was kind of
waiting for a sign.

I was waiting for something.

And that's when I saw it.

- [announcer] it's back, the
quarter of a million dollars

Wwe diva search.

Head to wwe.Com for
all the details.

- And I thought to myself

Oh? Wrestling.

Well, I feel like I've wrestled
my sister, my whole life.

I know about fighting.

And if it's dealing
with athletics,

All I've ever been
told my whole life is

That I have a natural
athletic ability.

But at the same time,
this is entertainment.

It clicked.

- I actually went to the
audition first by myself.

- [woman] tell me
your name, please.

- It's brianna colace.

- Brianna.

And brianna, you have
an identical twin.

- I do.

We're actually known
as the garcia twins.

I was like, oh,
this is perfect.

I'm totally getting it.

But they're like this actually
really isn't the audition.

This is just an interview

If we want you to
go to the audition.

I'm like, oh shit okay.

They're like, but
please bring your twin.

So begged my sister, begged her,

- And she goes, "hey, look,

Before you make the
decision to go to Italy,

To play pro soccer, come
check this out with me."

- We show up, you
hate it, you know,

This wasn't meant to be.

I'm like, or we show up and
we're like, this is for us.

- And I was like, hmm.

So watching Monday night raw,
seeing the girls kick butt.

I'm like, I really like this.

It's like being athletic and
showcasing our athletic ability

And competing and
being a champion.

- [announcer] very impressive,
the women's champion!

- So I was like, you know
what? I'll listen to brie.

I'll give it a chance.

When we showed up
to diva search,

Brie had steered me very
much in the wrong direction.

She told me we were
going there to fight.

- It looked like a
line of go-go dancers.

- Everyone was in sparkly bras.

And I was dressed like,
in jeans and a tank top.

I don't even know
if I had makeup on.

- She's calling around trying
to get some wrestling ideas,

Some moves.

She's on the phone
with the rock.

- We were still so off.

That's okay.

Even when I look at
us in our swimsuits

And I love it because
it's brie night.

- No. Oh, we -- do the
same thing did, right?

- The dwayne thing.

- Even when you see us in the
swimsuit competition part,

Brie and I don't really
have a lot of makeup on

And we have our hair thrown up.

Like girls were in full glam

As if they were trying
out for miss usa.

Not brie and I.

You put two tomboys
into swimsuits

And that's what you got.

But that's what made us
to realize very quickly

That we are very drawn to
the wrestling side of wwe.

And we wanted to become that.

- 'cause you know when
you walk into a ring,

You have everyone cheering.

It's just you, you can't
help, but go, "yeah!"

And here you walk in and you
can just tell they're ready,

Just to, like, pick you apart.

- It was an awful experience.

- Say if I was your boyfriend
and I slept with your sister

While I was dating you,
what would you say to me?

- Oh, I don't even think I'd
say words. I'd knock you out.

- [man] you, that was the same
answer your sister said.

- [woman] exact same
answer. That's so weird.

- Thank you so much.
- [woman] you're welcome.

- We got told we
don't have boobs.

I mean, you name it.

- [judge] why do you
have bear claws?

- Well, it's a sad story.

I don't wanna bring
people down, but I --

I got it for a boyfriend
who passed away.

So his name was bear.

Yeah. High school sweetheart.

- We walked out of there.

My sister looked at
me like, I hate you.

And then this woman, her
name's kristin prouty.

She pulled my sister and said,
she was really sincere.

- I knew and saw and we all did.

They checked every box.

Charisma, athleticism,
confidence. They popped.

And so yeah, I pulled brie
and nicole aside and told them

- "please like, if you
really wanna wrestle,

Can I talk to you?

'cause we'd love to fly you out
to our developmental program

In the deep south and
get you guys in the ring.

And let's really see like,
if there's a good fit."

- And the next thing you know

We are flying down to mcdonough,
georgia, the dirty south.

And then we had to make our
way to the training facility.

- Like I was expecting to
see like this gorgeous,

Big, elaborate,
developmental program.

And it was not
that. And I'm like,

- Oh.
- Oh.

- Oh.

- Okay. It was grungy.

They don't want you
to be impressed.

They're like, come here
and you impress us.

- And I just remember, they're
like bellas, get in there.

Let's see how you
can do bumping.

- Bill demont was like, "you
know what a back bump is?"

And I'm like, no.

And he just went boom.

- And I just remember
hitting the mat, like,

That was so cool.

I love this.

- We watched a show and
I remember just seeing

All of them nervous backstage,
like figuring everything out

And seeing them come out
with their characters.

And nicole and I
were just like, whoa,

Like, this is like awesome.

- That was our first taste
of just hearing a crowd react.

Booing and cheering
and chanting.

And I remember going back to
our hotel room that night.

Brie and I start
wrestling around like

We look like five year olds,

Like after you watch wrestling

Or you wanna be your superhero.

That was brie and
I at 22 years old

In a hotel room, broke
a tv, broke a drawer.

And then we're laying
on bags of ice.

- I mean, we just laid on
the bed in so much pain, but

With the biggest smiles on our
faces, like her and I looked

At each other and we're like,
oh yeah, this is for us.

And that was it.

Like we knew in our hearts

Like we were made to be
professional wrestlers.

(phone buzzing)

- [brie] after "deep south",

They reached out to my sister
and I and they're like,

"let's talk about a contract.
We'd love to sign you two."

- [nikki] "and we
will pay you weekly

To learn how to wrestle,

But you need to move to tampa."

And I just remember being like,
oh, this is real, but yes!

- We decided that we're
gonna be the bella twins.

It was like a cheeky little
nod to our grandfather

Who was full blooded
italian and that was it.

We decided to become
wwe superstars.

(rock music plays)

We drive into tampa,
florida, and we're like

Palm trees and water
and everything.

I'm like, okay,
florida's pretty cool.

My mom was terrified, I
just want everyone to know.

She thought
alligators, literally,

Like walked the
streets like cats.

(alligator growls)

Fcw was a developmental
program for the wwe

And the head trainer
was dr. Tom prichard.

Dr. Tom was like, we're
teaching you a lockup,

How to take an arm,
choke holds, leg locks,

And we'd started to
learn wrestling moves.

It was so exciting that
my sister and I asked

Can we do night school?

He's like, "you guys are
with us eight hours a day!"

We're like, yeah,
we'll go get dinner

And then we'll come back.

So, we started to do
night school with dr. Tom

And he's like, "let's
think of your entrance.

How do you guys wanna come out?

What is it you wanna do?"

That's how we came up
with the bella booty shake

And the back flip.

And so it was like
during the day,

Hardcore wrestling moves,

And at night, it was
like the fun stuff.

- Bellas, bellas, bellas.

(crowd cheers)

Pobrecitas!

You thought you were so cute.

- [nikki] from the men and
women, we got a lot of hate.

- [brie] what are
they just models?

Oh, they came
through diva search?

They're not athletic.
They're not wrestling fans.

They don't belong here.

- [nikki] I even remember
some of the other women

Were teaching us moves wrong.

- [brie] like when someone
told me like, back elbow,

I didn't know it
meant block it too.

And I would eat it.

I literally would eat people's
forearms and back elbows

Cause I thought I had to.

Maybe I should have been in ufc.

- [nikki] people were trying
to make us so miserable

So we'd quit.

What those women
didn't realize is

They were giving us
more fire to succeed.

- [brie] I was like, if this
is how it is to earn respect,

Fine.

I'm gonna make
people respect us.

(bodies thudding)

But two girls I didn't
have to earn their respect.

They were just so
great from beginning;

Natalya neidhart
and krissy vaine.

- Krissy and naty
were amazing mentors.

- [announcer] natalya neidhart,

The third generation diva.

Daughter of jim "the
anvil" neidhart.

A diva with a dangerous dna.

- [natalya] I was
brand new as well,

And, of course, being
brand new to wwe,

I was scared of my own shadow.

So, I was just happy
to have somebody else

That was like also
being judged as well

So that I wasn't the
only one being judged.

(natalya laughs)

We kind of had like a
mutual unspoken agreement

That they were gonna
teach me everything

They knew about presentation,

About my costumes, my promos,

My whole total package.

They helped me fake it
until I could make it.

And I was gonna teach
them everything I knew

About pro wrestling

Because I had grown up
around it my entire life.

- [announcer] from greensboro,
north carolina, krissy vaine!

- [nikki] and krissy was also
amazing because krissy came

From the independent.

She was a massive star there.

- They taught us about
wrestling etiquette;

The important things
as a female here.

And they started teaching
nicole and I moves

And the psychology
of wrestling matches.

- Every day we are
learning all of this.

We all were trying to prep
to be superstars on tv,

But brie and I deep down,
we wanted to be the best.

- [natalya] even in our
very early years at fcw,

You're a sitting duck
in developmental.

It's sink or swim.

Either you rise to the
top and you break through,

Make it to the main roster
like raw or smackdown,

Or you don't make it and
you get fired and that's it.

Those are your
dreams. They're done.

- [nikki] so, we were
all really excited

Because wwe used to
have their own magazine

And they were doing
a feature on fcw

And it had just came out.

So, jack swagger was
sitting up on the apron

And he and I both were
reading the article like,

"oh my gosh, we're
finally in a magazine."

We were all so pumped.

And then sweet papi
chulo is in the ring.

He's 200 and something pounds.

So, sweet papi chulo hits
jack swagger as hard as he can

Which causes, by accident,
jack swagger to head butt me.

Sure enough, I had
a shattered nose

And then of course murphy's law.

(suspenseful music plays)

(pyrotechnics exploding)

- [brie] they were gonna debut
nikki and I on smackdown.

- And I'm like,
are you kidding me?

I just shattered my nose.

I have black and
purple eyes like,

Okay, fine, I'm
not gonna tell him.

- [brie] this is what we
trained for in our last

14 months of in-ring work.

I just was like,
you mess up this,

Like one time you
go out, that's it.

You go back down developmental
and you probably get fired.

(suspenseful music continues)

When they told me my first
match was against victoria,

A well-respected veteran
that the crowd loves,

Who's an amazing wrestler,

I'm like, is this
good for me or not?

(soft music)

- [brie] when nikki
and I started with wwe

And we showed up to pittsburgh,

Nikki and I are
walking into the arena,

I was very nervous to go to tv.

I just had a lot of pressure.

- [nikki] we were entering
a whole new group of women

And dealing with the
tv time and money.

It was almost like when
you graduate middle school,

Now you're entering high school,

This is where we were at.

- [freddie] we had a big
roster of women then,

But they were all underutilized.

None of them were
given the storylines

That the men were given.

None of them were given a
compelling storyline at all.

- [brie] you look at
television and there's probably

10 different segments, maybe 12,

But there's only one for women

And that's a lot of women
fighting for a spot.

- Which resulted maybe
in not the healthiest

Of locker room environments.

It was less about
supporting one another

And more about getting
one over on each other,

Which is not necessarily unusual
in a competitive environment,

But certainly wasn't
the most familial.

- [nikki] you know, brie and
I show up and they're like,

"let's go with brie

Cause she doesn't have
the messed up face.

Nikki, let's try to get as much
makeup on as we can on you."

And then it's like, "no you
can't be in our locker room."

- I understood it.

If you want us to
change in the bathroom

Before we debut on the live
television on smackdown,

Sure, okay.

And then we put on our outfits

And then we were told,

"oh it looks like your pants
look like bell bottoms.

Some other girl
wears bell bottoms."

We're like, oh my gosh.

"oh black and red.

Well, someone else
wears black and red.

You guys can't wear that."

And nicole and I just
looked at each other

And we were like,

We're supposed to
debut tonight and like,

What are we gonna do?

The seamstress at wwe,
they were amazing.

They were like, "we'll help you.

What do you have in your bag?"

And we're like well we
have a tankini swimsuit,

Some bebe workout pants.

And they literally
cut our swimsuits,

They sewed them onto
our workout pants

That we actually
worked out in that day,

And we made our wrestling
gear for the night.

♪ I ain't the lady
to mess with ♪

(upbeat music)

- [brie] her music
hit; crowd goes nuts.

My music hits,

♪ feel my body swayin ♪

- And the crowd is dead quiet.

Like you could hear a pin drop,

And I walk out with this
big smile on my face,

And my teeth are like
chattering like everything.

I'm nervous, I'm
shaking, I wanna vomit.

I just was like,

Here we go.

(bell ringing)

(intense rock music plays)

(brie yells in pain)

- [brie] but, I will say this,

Victoria took care
of me out there

When it came to the wrestling.

(intense rock music continues)

- [announcer] there, victoria
trying to make a statement.

- [brie] and then it was
time to do a twin switch.

(bell rings)

- [natalya] the twin switch,

It's something
that only happened

In singles matches
with the twins.

For example, if nicole gets
chucked out of the ring

And the ref doesn't see it,

Brie would come up and
get back in the ring

And pretend she was nicole.

Essentially, it was cheating.

- [nikki] I knew that it
all depended on my timing

And how I came out
for them to buy it.

- [referee] get in the ring!

(nikki screams)

- And if they didn't buy it,

There was gonna
be no bella twins.

(victoria screams)

You get one chance.

(victoria yells)

- [brie] we do the twin switch.

- [announcer] wait a minute!

It's a cradle (indistinct)

(bell rings)

Oh, victoria has (indistinct)

- [brie] we beat victoria.

The crowd was so upset.

We're like, that
actually worked.

- [announcer] wow. Where
did brie get that energy?

- [nikki] celebrated on the ramp

And I'm doing all
the cute stuff,

But you can see
where so much makeup

Is covering up my broken nose.

So, that's how we debuted.

(crowd screaming)

- [announcer] brie bella,
from scottsdale, arizona.

Successful debut!

- So, we were able to
get away with doing

Twin switches for three months.

(intense rock music plays)

- [announcer] uh oh. Here we go!

Now the other
side of the ring.

Wait a minute.

(blow thudding)

- [nikki] and then
finally vince is like,

Okay, we need to
reveal the twins.

- [brie] we need
to make it where

It almost looks impossible.

Like, victoria has
the girl's arms,

Natalya has the girl's leg.

And all of a sudden she
looks really, really long.

- [announcer] what
the heck is this?

- Was kind of like,
wait a minute,

What's happening here?

And, ultimately, they
each pulled out a twin.

- [announcer] two bellas!

They're twins! They're
identical twins!

- [stephanie] and
it was the beginning

Of a very long legacy
of the bella twins.

(upbeat pop music)

- [brie] nikki and I
knew in that moment

That being the first ever
twin girls to debut at wwe,

That was something special.

And you know what
the crazy part is,

People talk about
trending on twitter.

There was none of
that back in the day.

We trended on yahoo,

Which was a big deal.

When you were in like
the top 10 in yahoo,

Which we are the top one

For like two or
three days straight,

That was big.

♪ cus you can look,
but you can't touch ♪

- [nikki] but for some
reason it was so hard

To stick as wrestlers

Because they always saw us
as a duo and not individuals.

- [brie] and we
debuted as wrestlers.

So, all we wanted
to be was wrestlers.

So, it was, I think
really hard for them

To place where to put us.

You look at us, it's like,
"oh, easy, twins, arm candy.

There you go."

Their idea was to put
us with the colons.

- [bella twins] hey guys.

- [brie] and for miz
and morrison

To kind of
fight over us.

- [miz & morrison]
that would be us.

- [freddie] it's boys and girls.

In the beginning,

They weren't giving women
much time in the ring,

So a lot of their storylines
were focused backstage.

- [bella twins] hi, alberto.

- [nikki] so, brie and
I keep getting stuck

In these boyfriend storylines.

And this is not
how brie and I are.

We're not those type of girls.

If they guys are valeting us,
now that would make sense.

That's how brie and I are.

- When the writers
came up to nicole and I

And they're like, "we
thought of a hilarious story

For you two to work
with daniel bryan."

Daniel, oh my gosh.

Are you okay?

- Yeah.

- [brie] and they're
like, "well, he's a vegan.

And we thought you two could
be fighting for his virginity

And see which bella
gets his virginity."

- May the best bella win.

- Aw, thank you, nikki.

And then you end up finding
that he's not a virgin,

He's a vegan.

- I would still love
to be in that meeting

Of when that all was discussed
and decided, but okay.

- [nikki] oh my gosh.

So we do this
crazy, corny story.

- [bella twins] we thought
you were a, you know, a...

- Vegan? Oh, absolutely.

I don't, I don't eat any meat.

- But I will admit
there was a lot of fun.

You want this
afterthought over us?

- Yeah. I mean when
was the last time

The afterthought was on tv?

- Afterthought?

- Yeah.

(brie gasps)

- [nikki] now I kind of
realize why my sister

Fought so hard.

I think there was
true fire there.

(referees yelling)

- [brie] but what this meant

Is that we had to spend
a lot of time with brian.

- Did you see, he looked at
me after twin magic last week?

- Nikki, our connection
is so strong.

- [nikki] during
this whole storyline,

I'm starting to
notice something.

When I couldn't find brie,

I'm like where's brie, 'cus
she was always with me.

She'd be flirting
with daniel brian.

- [brie] you know you're
sitting there waiting

To film your pre-tape

And brian and I start talking

And we start realizing how
much we have in common.

And I was like, wow.

You're like cool.

Before you know it, we're
going to museums before raw.

We're meeting up on
live events, and then

We start dating and
the rest is history.

(birdie screaming)

(dog barking)

You know, the really
neat thing is brian,

He really started to open my
eyes to just women's wrestling.

It was really hard for
us to debut as wrestlers

Especially having my match,

My first one against victoria,

To all of a sudden
having to be like

Arm and arm with a guy and
the story's all about them.

- [nikki] I have to
say it was a lot of fun

And I learned a lot from
the men at that time,

But I craved to just
be that wrestler.

When I saw the girls, having
their individual matches

And fighting for championships

And just fighting.

- [brie] we were
getting frustrated.

We were like, okay,
then what's next?

They're like, "well
we're not sure."

Okay. Like, can we get back
into the women's division

And try to go for a run?

And it was like, "well, no."

We're like, what can we do?

- [nikki] brie and I would
be pitching every week,

Trying to find any way we
could to get into that ring

And fight.

And it was like
they just couldn't

Wrap around any storyline
besides being twins.

So, for a little
bit, we were off tv,

- [brie] but we're like
we can't be off television

Because when you're
off television,

The crowd forgets about you

And you're not as
valuable anymore.

Well, nicole and
I were like, hmm,

They look at us right
now as like arm candy.

- Ooh, roar.

- Why don't we use it
to stay on television

As we're still working the back

And having the
writers try to think

Of the wrestling
storylines for us?

And we heard that vince
was starting to bring in

Celebrity guests as hosts.

So, we pitched to be the
guest host's assistants.

- Did not realize that was
gonna be two years booked

Of celebrity guest hosts.

- Hey cheech. Hey chong.

- Hey criss angel.

Hey flav.

Reverend al, reverend al.

Oh my gosh, mark feuerstien.

- We love you in royal pains.

- But I'll take it because it
got us back on live events.

But brie and I just kept
thinking in our heads,

How do we get back to wrestling?

(keyboard keys clicking)

There was an internet
show we started to do

Called superstars.

No one ever wanted
to wrestle on it.

- Let me tell you, when
you were asked to wrestle

On superstars main event,

You were almost like

I'm gonna take back
bumps for not-television?

But for me I was
like, it's practice.

I get to wrestle.

Someone's watching
we have to impress.

- Give us a storyline on that.

We will be good.

- [stephanie] when I first
heard of the bella twins,

I thought, oh, you know,
that's pretty unique.

You have these gorgeous
identical twins

That wanna be a part of wwe, but

Do they really have
the goods to deliver?

(rock music plays)
(bodies thudding)

- [nikki] brie and I started to
wrestle our hearts out on there.

They turned us bad

'cause it's a lot easier to
have your bad guys lose.

Producers and all that
started to realize

The bellas really
love wrestling.

They really wanna wrestle.

And brie and I were
the type of girls like,

I'll lose every
week. I don't care.

I'll put over your
girls. Just let us in.

And we started to do that

And become these
heel characters.

(nikki yells in excitement)

And losers.

- [stephanie] they
never gave up.

They're taking bumps.

They're not complaining.

They're coming every single
day showing up for work,

Ready to go.

And I think that speaks to the
true character of the bellas.

- [nikki] but we started to
get really over with the crowd.

The crowd wanted more
and more from brie and I.

(tense music)

- [brie] I remember I was
at this new york hot spot

With my girlfriends talking

And all of a sudden,
I get a text

From one of the
writers and I'm like,

That's weird.

And I'm reading it,
and they're like,

"brie, vince wants you to
win the divas championship

This Monday on raw
against eve torres

And do a fun twin thing."

And I'm like, what?

The divas championship?!

- [stephanie] the
divas division

Is actually a term to put
a spotlight on our women.

To give them something special.

You had divas on vh1;

That was whitney houston
and aretha franklin.

And at the time, it was
really a term of empowerment.

- Well it's, it's about
time that our divas

Had a championship of their own.

- [stephanie] and from
a company standpoint,

There was a decision that brie

Really deserved
this opportunity.

- I am a little
envious, not jealous,

But I am a little envious.

I wish I could say that

I was the first
bella champ. I can't.

But I was also so
excited for my sister.

And I knew that whatever
I can do in her moment

That night, I was
gonna do the best.

I was like, you keep
telling me your match.

Whatever you need me for.

Use my body, use my
character, use everything.

Like I just wanted
brie to have like

This insane shining moment.

(crowd cheering)

- [brie] so, here we
are on a huge night.

- [announcer] using
distinguishing marks so

You can tell the
bella twins apart.

- [nikki] I was
really grateful that

They wanted to put
the title on me

'cause that says they trust you.

(bell rings)

So, we do it.

I wanted to sit and put
a badass match together,

But we get our time cut.

So, it really felt like
silly, but I'm a heel, so.

- [announcer] did
you see the switch?

- [announcer 2] I did.

- [announcer] the switch
was made by the bellas.

The referees attention
was with eve.

- [brie] and I actually will
never forget because for me

Like you tell me about
my heel character.

Well,

- [announcer] but twin magic
may have worked out anyway.

Brie with the cover here

And brie is the new
divas champion!

- [brie] I win, but I'm
gonna be like, haha loser,

Cause loser was our thing.

And I remember walking
back and they're like

"you didn't even
smile when you won."

And I'm like, oh,
was I supposed to?

And they're like, "well
aren't you happy you won?"

And I'm like back here, yes.

Out there, I'm brie bella,
the heel who cheated to win.

And they're like,
"good point, but still

Smile when you win a title."

And I'm like, oh damn it.

I already screwed up.

And I haven't even been
champ for 10 minutes.

(camera flash clicks)

But my run was short.

- [referee] one, two, three.

(crowds cheering)

(bell rings)

- And then,

It was like back to
the drawing board.

I think, maybe, going
back to the drawing board

So many times was exhausting.

It was like, if you weren't
going for the title shot

Then you were hanging
out in catering.

And like, I didn't wanna
hang out in catering.

And I didn't wanna constantly
think of some arm candy spot.

Like, I wanted to wrestle.

- [natalya] and they
just kind of were like

Not happy with how they
were being treated.

They just didn't feel like
they were being used well.

They felt kind of neglected
and they just wanted more.

And they're very, very
ambitious, driven women

That want more.

- [nikki] I remember
they were like,

"yeah, girls, we're gonna talk
to you about your contracts."

Week goes by. Two weeks
go by. A month goes by.

And brie and I kind of were like

If we're not satisfied,
why are we here?

If we're not fulfilled,
why are we here?

- [brie] so, my sister
and I were just like,

Are we okay being this for
the rest of our careers?

And the answer was simple.

No.

They wanted us to re-sign,

And we said no, we're not happy.

We want to wrestle
and that's that.

And boom, we left.

(rocks music fades)

- So, my sister and I
took that leap of faith.

We left wwe.

It was tough but we trusted it.

- Now, I will say that when
we walked away from wwe,

They were pretty consistent on
calling every few weeks like,

"you sure you girls don't
wanna come back and wrestle?"

And brie and I were
standing our ground

But deep down inside brie and
I wanted to go back so bad.

- They missed it.

They missed being in the ring,

They missed the co-workers,

They just missed the industry.

- We even went and
did a few indie shows

Because we just needed
to be around it.

We were craving it.

11 months go by
and my phone rings.

It's triple h.

He said that they wanted to
do a reality show with e!,

And that they want my
sister and I to come back

To lead this reality show to
showcase women's wrestling.

Literally pulling
back the curtain

And letting them
see the backstage

And how we make the magic.

- And brie and I start
talking and we're like,

"you saw backstage
stuff on hogan,

And macho man, and
ultimate warrior,

But you never saw
anything on the women."

This can actually
give women the time

That they deserve,

And the love and the respect.

- If it's my way
to get back to wwe,

If this is my way to get the
storylines I want in wrestling,

Hell yeah, bring the cameras.

Let's do this.

♪ ain't gonna stop me now ♪

(energetic techno music plays)

When we got the call that
it was a massive hit,

That we were right under
the kardashians in ratings,

We all were like,

"oh my gosh, like people care."

- [nikki] total
divas is on fire.

I mean, we literally are
making mainstream shake.

- Brie and nikki bella.

- Please welcome brie
bella, nikki bella

- It's the bella
twins and family.

- Thanks for having us back.

- [brie] and with the
success of total divas,

We went on to do
six more seasons

Of our own show, total bellas.

- What I loved
about total divas is

It finally gave
you the opportunity

To really get to know
brie and I as individuals.

- If you get pulled
over by a cop,

What are you gonna do when
you say it's not your car?

- I'm gonna show 'em my tits
and get out of the ticket.

I'm just kidding.

- And my sister
and I had this idea

That we should start
to showcase in wwe

Who we really are.

We finally got to be authentic

To who we were as individuals.

Why do we have to
dress identical?

We're twins, yes that's great.

We're not clones.

I think people
then related to us.

They were like, "I'm a nikki."

"no, I'm a brie."

- You just got to see
this different side

Of all of us women that
created an emotional connection

For the audience,

Where women that
watch total divas

Would all of a sudden be
tuning in to watch wwe

Because they're like,

"we wanna see the bella twins."

- And it was amazing
because you started to see

That change in the crowd.

Little girls and women
were inspired by us,

They were empowered by us,

And they started to show up.

And this was a
first for wrestling.

- The bellas started to realize,

"we're not just wrestlers,
we're superstars."

We can compete for
time in the ring,

But there's also
this other world

That we can build out our brand,

And we are gonna
build the bella army.

- And now, the
bellas had their army

And it gave them a power
that they were able to use

To demand the attention
that they needed

In the wwe and the
attention they deserved.

- And they were the perfect
talent to do that show with

Because they're just not afraid

To show the good,
bad, and the ugly.

- (beep) my life.

- You got to see
brie's relationship

With daniel bryan
really coming to life.

And then nikki's
relationship with john,

And as an audience member,

We fall in love with their love.

- They weren't
afraid to get judged,

They weren't afraid to be real,

They weren't afraid to
leave it all on the table.

And that's why people
were intrigued by them,

Because they were okay to let
it all hang out a little bit.

- I just want to take a second

To tell everybody here
and everybody watching

That these girls
are extremely brave.

I've loved filming the show,

I've loved watching the show,

But I also understand
how difficult it is

Putting their lives out
there for everybody to see.

It's extremely
challenging at times.

- The crazy part about
a reality show is that

The messy stuff gets
aired to everybody.

- The thing is is that
what people say out there,

It hurts me inside.

And then for my own sister

To get on me and say stuff like,

"you don't know
how bad it hurts."

Yes, I was born bigger,
I am bigger, I'm sorry.

And now today,
- but this is entertainment,

And we're twins.
- You should be supporting me,

But instead you make
me feel like (beep)

And it sucks.

- Just like the matches
all tell stories

About human emotion,

Total divas was able to
take that even deeper

And show the depth
of people's lives.

- Ladies and gentlemen,
my new fiance.

- [kristin] with all the drama,

The tears, the laughter.

- As the audience got
to learn more about us,

We started getting
more storylines

And some of those
storylines would

You know, cross over from things

That people saw of
us on total divas.

- Like brie mode.

- Brie mode.

Don't you guys wanna see
some brie mode tonight?

(upbeat techno music)

- Okay, on the reality show,

It's when I drink a lot

And this really fun,
crazy side comes out.

So, I came up with this thing

Of being "brie mode" activated.

When you really take
me to a certain place,

And then brie mode
gets activated,

Which means I'm
going kick your butt.

Brie mode!

- It was such a
moment for me because

I felt like I could
start to really prove

Who I always was
in this industry,

Because I was always told,

No you can't do these moves.

No, you can't be this person.

No, you can't wear that."

And finally, I was like,

I'm over following the rules.

I'm gonna break rules and
I'm gonna apologize later.

(upbeat rock music)

That's when I started
to change my own game.

I'm a powerhouse and
I'm gonna showcase that.

I started to watch a lot
of beth phoenix's footage

And all of these women in the
past that were very strong.

And I started to look
at what men were doing.

I don't care if I'm a woman,

I'm gonna learn a spinebuster,

I'm gonna learn how to
do a spear in this way,

I'm gonna learn how to
lift someone from this

To get him here,

And I just started to
put it all together.

And I started training
on different moves.

And gosh, when the
rack attack was born...

- [announcer 1] she's
got her in the rack,

That's the best
rack I've ever seen.

- [announcer 2] I
think this is over.

- [nikki] that's when I became
a force to be reckoned with.

So, women's wrestling is
finally getting respect,

It's getting loved,

We're finally doing what we
wanna do and what we love.

Our voices are being heard,

The fans are being heard,

We're bringing in
little girl fans,

We're bringing in women fans.

We have found our place

And we are becoming
equal to the men.

Like, people are
literally buying a ticket

To see the total divas,

And then my leg breaks again.

I can't even freaking move.

- Dude, that's not good.

We're gonna have to go to doc.

- I don't wanna go to doc.

I knew something was wrong,

But I wanted to ignore it
because I knew I was in a moment

That was about to
break a glass ceiling.

- When you get
injured in wrestling,

You're taken out.

You can't perform?
Then you're not in it.

We're a tag team,
we're the bella twins.

I thought that
was it for me too.

- I mean, I tell you
the timing of my life,

It is just not in sync with me.

- So, they made me
go to the hospital

And I remember the
doctor coming in like,

"you have an insane
stress fracture,

How are you walking?"

- It's pretty significant
for a stress fracture.

So, what I had talked
about last week,

About the four to six weeks,

Added crutches to
it and extended it.

So, what we're gonna
do is crutches,

Non-weight bearing,

So no weight on
that for four weeks.

Second four weeks,
weight crutches,

Partial weight bearing.

After that, no crutches.

I'd say by 12 weeks,
back to the ring.

- And I just remember
feeling so down.

12 weeks, I mean,

That's like six
lifetimes in wrestling.

- With nikki out,

I knew I had to go back
to the drawing board.

I had to think really hard,

"how can I keep
myself on television?"

- You know during this time,

Stephanie and bryan
have this story

That is building and
becoming the top story

To tune into, on
Monday night raw.

- You have wanted to
strip me of this title

Ever since I beat your
husband at wrestlemania 30.

- My husband, of
course, triple h,

We were the authority and
I am a villain, right,

So I was abusing my authority.

- She slapped him, she's
threatened to fire him,

She's done all these
mean things to him

But as a man, he physically
can't do anything back.

And they all were like,

"but brie can."

I was like, "I know my story.

My story is getting
revenge on a woman

Who is being so awful
to my husband."

- Stephanie didn't
always work with talent.

She was very picky with that

And it was just something
you couldn't fight.

- [announcer] one of the
principal owners of wwe,

Stephanie mcmahon!

- Stephanie grew
up in the industry

And she'd been a part of so
many high profile storylines.

With the mcmahons, it's
always very black and white,

Good and bad.

They had this really
beautiful foundation

For an incredible story.

- Let's have a very
warm round of applause

For the wwe world heavyweight
champion, daniel bryan.

- It was almost like
they gave a tutorial,

A lesson to everybody
else about storytelling.

- Stay away!

- And because there's
so many people

Tuning into total divas,

You have all these
new females watching,

So they're like, "brie,
how dare this woman?"

And it was amazing because
they were invested.

They were so invested
in brie and bryan's life

Inside wwe and outside of wwe.

- You only like me
cause I'm the champion.

- Ew!

- Like, if they make me
get rid of the titles,

You're just gonna leave me.

- And this is when pure
magic started happening.

Like, we couldn't even stop it.

It was just a story unfolding.

- Surrender the wwe world
heavyweight championship,

Or she is fired!

- Wild! This is why
I love wrestling.

- [stephanie] come
on out here, daniel.

- [nikki] I'll never
forget that night.

Daniel bryan's music hits.

("flight of the valkyries")
(crowd chanting)

Brie comes out and then,
just like a wife would,

She tells a woman off.

- Actually, I refuse to
be a powerless victim.

You don't control me.

- See, but brie, I do
because you work for me.

- You can't fire me.

I quit!

(crowd roars)

- I think it's one
of the hardest slaps

I've ever been on
the receiving end of.

I saw stars.

- Everyone used to say this,

"that was a slap you
heard around the world."

It was kind of like,

"oh, was there something there?"

As talent in wrestling,

If you could make
your fans discuss,

"was that real or fake?",

That's when you got it.

That's when you sold the story.

- It took me to a
completely different level

And I have to say, I felt
like I became a top star.

(crowd chanting, "yes!")

- [nikki] and then
it was so cool

Because at this point,

I'm back, I've
overcome this injury.

- [doctor] good to go.

- I'm cleared!

- [doctor] all right.

- Yay!

So, to keep the story of
brie and stephanie going,

We felt that naturally
it'd be amazing

For stephanie to put
me in these moments

That there's no way
I could get out of.

- Tonight's match,
should by all rights,

Be a tag team
match, but instead,

You're gonna have
to go it alone.

- Like two versus three,

Tie my hand behind my back.

But I always show up, I'm
always ready to fight.

And I took that going
into it like real life.

Like, I made sure that
that was the feeling,

And we naturally kept
doing more and more

Because the fans were
getting behind it,

To where the bella army

Literally started to
call me fearless nikki.

It naturally came about,

It was not from the company,

It was not from me,
it was from my fans.

I became a star.

I became who I was meant to be.

Fearless nikki was born.

And brie gets a match against
stephanie at summerslam.

(dramatic impact)

Tickets sold so quick,

And so many of that female demo,

Especially from the e! Network.

So many women showed up
because they could not believe

Brie bella was
fighting her boss.

They didn't even care

That it was john cena or
brock lesnar on the card.

They wanted to see brie
bella fight her boss.

- I mean, she truly
is a fan favorite

And I truly am not,

So that in and of itself
really worked together.

- And then because fearless
nikki was on the rise

During this time
that no one expected,

They were like,

"we have to have
nicole a part of this."

So, we get to summerslam.

- And I was so nervous.

I think it was over 10 years

Since I had had a
match at that point,

And brie really
helped keep me calm

Through the whole scenario.

- Brie and stephanie kill it.

The crowd is so invested,
they have this match.

- Brie mode!

- Out comes triple h,
so people are like,

"what's gonna happen?"

I come down, I get in the ring

And I get behind stephanie,

'cause, of course,
double trouble.

We're gonna block her in,

We're gonna twin sandwich her.

- [commentator] twin magic.

This is two on one.

- And this is when
vince is a genius.

He was like, "you're turning
on your sister tonight."

And I was like, "what?"

- Wow, the crowd has no
idea what they're in for.

- We only had one chance
to make people believe

That I was sick of
being brie's twin,

And I was sick of being the one

Who was getting beaten
up on her decision.

Our timing, our spacing,

Everything couldn't
have been so perfect.

And when I grabbed stephanie

And chucked her as
hard as I could,

Which I did, and I gave
brie that mma forearm

That belonged in ufc
and probably not wwe.

(crowd roars)

That crowd.

I never felt that before
just being women in the ring.

There's just three women.

- [commentator] oh
my god, what?!

What the hell just happened?

- You had triple
h out on the side,

But when you really
look at that moment,

Women made the crowd
roar like that,

Not men, purely women.

- Those are the moments that

You get in this
business for, you know.

Those are the moments that
you take with you forever.

(bell rings)

- Right after I make a
comeback at summerslam,

I start to have one of
the best runs of my life.

And I show up one
day and they're like,

"we want you to be a
leader of the division.

We have all these plans.

We know you can carry it."

And I just remember
feeling so honored that day

And so excited and they're like,

"okay, you guys have 15
minutes, tell a story."

And I was like,
"this is perfect."

Aj lee and I, we come
up with a great match.

It was amazing.

And right before we got in
the grill they were like,

"so, you guys have
about five minutes."

And we're like, "five minutes?"

- But you have a two hour show.

So, if the first
match goes longer,

The second match goes longer,
the third match goes longer,

Time runs out.

- And when time gets
cut on the show,

A lot of the time, it comes
from the women's matches.

And a lot of fans
had taken notice

That for a long, long
time, they were saying,

"why are the girls
matches so short?"

- But okay, we're gonna
try and make it work.

We get in grill and they go,

"so, you think you could do
this in less than a minute?"

And I just remember
thinking, here we go.

So, brie came up with
this amazing idea like,

"aj if you're okay with it,

What if I jump up and I
give you that kiss to death,

Which turns in
nikki's finisher,

And it kind of
gives it meaning."

So we're like,

"okay, we can do it in
less than a minute."

So now, I've become
the new divas champion

But deep down, I
wasn't happy about it.

I wanted to give
them an epic match,

I wanted the crowd to be
on the edge of their seat

And I didn't want them
to see my win coming.

I felt like, "are we really
taking steps back, and why?"

- We were on this huge
high in top stories

And all of a sudden
we're getting told like,

"hey you guys have 10 minutes."

And then all of a sudden,

"hey, you guys
have five minutes."

"oh hey, you guys
have two minutes."

"can you just do a little
heat and then a finish?"

- [announcer] and
their opponents

From scottsdale, arizona,

Brie, and the divas
champion nikki,

The bella twins!

- Brie and I have a tag
match against paige and emma.

And the people in the
back literally came to us

Before we were about to go out.

They said, "can you
guys make your tag match

Two minutes, but
with entrances.

So, you probably
will have like,

I don't know, a minute
30 in the ring?"

A minute 30 in a ring
to tell a tag match.

We're furious.

- And I'm like, top
guys don't have to

Tell stories in two minutes.

No one who has a
top story has to tell

A story in two minutes.

It's impossible.

- When you give us less time
and (beep) on what we're doing,

You're (beep)ing on what
the fans want as well.

What they believe in,

You're taking it away from them

And that's not what
they want as a viewer,

As someone who pays a ticket
to watch their superhero.

We were mad.

- There was something
inside all four of us.

We all looked at each
other and we're like,

"let's just give him a finisher.

If that's all they really want
is to see us walk out there,

Then it doesn't
matter what we do."

And we went out there,

Gave a finisher.

- [referee] one, two, three!

(bell rings)

- We walked back.

Our producer was like,

"you guys still had another
minute and 15 seconds."

- We are giving them
the middle fingers,

I'll be honest.

- And you know what?

We all were gonna
take the chance

Of getting fired
and that's okay.

(twitter whistles)

- The fans just went crazy.

They didn't understand like,

Why did the girls have
such a short match?

This is ridiculous.

This is embarrassing.

It was like the last straw.

- Because we gave them a
taste of what we can do,

We gained their respect,

They wanted more,

And our company
wasn't giving it.

- They hashtagged
#givedivasachance

Because they were
so tired of seeing

The ups and downs for divas.

- And this hashtag trended
worldwide for three days

Specifically demanding
better storylines,

Better character development,

Longer matches,
more athleticism.

And we responded in the
biggest way possible

With vince mcmahon saying,

"we hear you. Keep watching.
#givedivasachance."

- And that was super
inspirational

For everyone to see.

Like, sometimes you have
to go out and get it,

And you've gotta demand it.

It was the fans, it
was the wrestlers,

It was the girls
being like, done,

We're not doing this anymore.

- I'm happy that night we did
it because I feel like that

Changed women's wrestling
at wwe for good.

(soft music)

I remember I was
driving on my own.

I was doing live events

And I didn't have
bryan or nikki,

And I was really
thinking, I'm like,

"you know what?

I've done amazing
things in my career.

I've learned, I've grown,
I've become a woman.

I've fought for women.

It is okay for this chapter
in my life to be done.

It is time for me to be a mom."

And when I told my husband,

"I will retire at wrestlemania

And we can start
to try for a baby."

His face, it was like we
could do something together.

And that was my
decision to retire.

(intense music)

- In this moment of
fighting for change,

And most importantly,
fighting for equality,

Wanting to be equal to
the male superstars,

A lot of us felt we had
to wrestle like the males.

I wanted to do a stair spot.

And I remember
before I walked out,

One of the guys were like,

"well, if you're
doing that stair spot,

You'd better make sure to
do it better than a man."

And I was like, "that's
all you had to say to me.

I will definitely do so."

When you hit the stairs,
the stairs break apart,

And they make this
incredibly loud noise.

But then the visual of it,

You are just like, "oh my gosh."

It is such an incredible
reaction from the crowd.

So, I go out there and
I'm prepared to take

Those stairs better than
any man has ever taken 'em

But what we didn't realize,

There was a steel
cage match that night,

It was main eventing.

So usually, they put the
poles through the stairs

To prep the steel cage.

And I did a sprint with it.

I was like, "I'm gonna
make myself a bullet."

I felt like I hit the strongest
brick wall in the world.

And I remember laying on my back

And I had knocked the
wind outta myself.

I think I just snapped
my collar bone in half.

- In professional wrestling,
we're out there to entertain.

But the one thing I think
sometimes people forget

Is that we give our bodies.

(wrestlers grunting)
(bodies thudding)

- So, I'm wrestling
five nights a week

And just giving it my all.

- [commentator] a risk here
for nikki taking out both.

- I'm hitting the rack
attack every night,

And I didn't wanna stop.

And nothing like
a cortisone shot

To just get you
through the next day

Because at the time
I was the champion,

So I'm not gonna go tell
the doctor and get x-rays.

I don't wanna lose my momentum.

I don't wanna lose my spot.

I wanna stay to be the champion.

Not smart though.

I start to get these
lumps on my back.

And I start to tell brie,

"brie, I'm in a lot of pain.

When I wake up in the night,

I have to stand up because it
hurts too much to lay down."

- She kept feeling
this severe pain

In her neck, her back, it
was getting to her legs,

She was losing feeling.

There's something wrong.

- We're live on tv

And there was some
type of move going on

Where with paige in my rack,

I get knocked and it
causes her to hit my neck,

And my legs just went out.

They were like paralyzed.

It was only for a few seconds
but I remember thinking like,

"holy cow, something's wrong."

And that's when I demanded
the x-ray and the mri.

I go in, and literally
the guy at the hospital

Comes out and was like,

"you are about to be paralyzed."

He's like, "or lights out.

You need emergency surgery."

And we realized it
was the rack attack

Over time was slowly
breaking my neck.

So, I knew about this doctor
who was incredible with spines

And I was like, "hey dr. Uribe,

I think my neck is about
to break in half."

And he's like, "you
need emergency surgery.

I think I can go and
clean everything up

And then we do a bone fusion."

He goes, "you can
work out again.

Wrestling? You are
completely done."

And I just remember
hearing those words like,

"what was that?"

(soft suspenseful music)

Going into surgery,

There's a lot of risk.

Literally one touch
to your spinal cord

And you could be paralyzed.

If I can't compete in that ring

At least I wanna walk through
life as strong as possible.

So no matter what,

I am going to stay fearless

And do the best I can.

So when you're signing all
those papers before surgery

You're kind of like,

I just remember freaking out.

Okay I might get paralyzed,

Maybe I won't wake up,

And I think john
really felt that.

He was a big part of
how I got through that

And he never left my side.

I just remember as I was
slowly falling asleep,

I was like, "I'm so scared."

(triumphant music)

But then waking up,

I'm around family,
I'm around loved ones,

And seeing dr. Uribe
and him telling me,

"it was successful nikki.

You are good."

Oh my gosh!

It was like the best
orgasm in the world.

It's so crazy,
amazing good news.

That means I can
do whatever I want.

- It means you're gonna
recover very healthy.

- Yeah.

- She's already
planning her comeback.

- [commentator] it is the night

Legends show
youthful exuberance!

Legacies are born or
laid to rest forever!

- This is brie's
last match tonight.

- Everyone knew
that my last night

Was gonna be at wrestlemania

And vince wanted
to make it special

By me wrestling
with all the girls.

Brie mode!

(crowd cheering)

Winning the match

And then them just
kind of celebrating me

And it was neat because
last minute they were like,

We need to have nikki
walk down that ramp

And they weren't sure

Just 'cause she was
still in her neck brace.

- I had to be in a neck
brace for six months.

I was really embarrassed
at first but I was like

You gotta let go
nicole, like just go.

(upbeat dance music)

Oh my gosh! To feel the crowd
again was so incredible.

To be there for brie's
retirement match was amazing

But I was really happy
for her for making that

Decision in her life of like,

"this is what I wanna
do, I wanna be a mom."

That's pretty badass
in its own way.

- I wasn't the girl

Who needed to have that big
singles match, one on one

And all the attention on me.

I always wanted to empower,
support other women.

To have that moment

With all these girls
I wrestled with,

Filmed a reality show with,

Where we had to put our
lives out to everyone,

To be in the ring
with all of them,

It's all I ever wanted.

And the topper that night

Is when they took away
the divas title belt

And they said women are
no longer called divas.

- They are so much more than
divas here in this ring today,

They are all wwe superstars.

- And they introduced the
women's raw championship

And we didn't have to
have this feminine title,

We could have the
same title as the men.

And I was like,
I helped do this.

I helped this night happen by
turning all our no's into yes's,

All the negatives into positives
and believing in one thing.

There's not one
spot for one woman.

That many women
can have many spots

And that all of us
can be successful.

- It was weird because
in that moment,

Your soul and your
intuition, your gut,

Kinda tell you when
things are done.

You kinda just have that
feeling when a door is closed.

My door didn't feel
closed with wrestling.

- After I retired from wrestling

I started to try to
have a baby with brian

And we were lucky, four
months later I was pregnant.

And now that I'm a mom,

What an amazing job
if you call it, it is.

I think it's time to take
a bath what do you think?

I thought okay,

I'm gonna make sure I'm
really into my career

And then yes I'm a mom
and all that but now,

After I held my baby
for the first time

It's like no, I'm a mom first

And then I'm a career woman.

I didn't realize how much
I would love to be a mom

And I would never
trade any of that

For anything in the world.

- [bryan] all right
brie, I love you.

- Okay, love you too.

- So I come back at summerslam
in brooklyn, new york,

Which brooklyn, ugh,
the crowd goes wild.

I wasn't even expecting that.

I almost forgot how to do my
booty shake in that moment

Because I was so
floored by the reaction.

You felt the love,

You even see some of the girls
in the ring break character

Because they felt the emotions.

- For anybody to come back from
any sort of an injury is tough.

To come back from neck injury
is a different animal.

- [commentator] oh wow.

She's showing us how fit she is.

- [becky] she's a beast.

And absolutely
nothing can stop her.

She is what she says
she is, she's fearless.

(crowd cheers and screams)

- [nikki] when I look back

I never would've thought it
would have ended where it did,

Having this beautiful
tag team match

With john at wrestlemania.

- [commentator] the
rack attack 2.0.

- [commentator 2] a double can!

- With john grabbing a mic

In front of millions
and millions of people.

(crowd cheering)

- Stephanie nicole
garcia colace,

Will you marry me?

(crowd cheering)

- I just remember feeling like
the luckiest girl in the world.

- It was huge!

This proposal was massive and
the fans were all a part of it

And it was so cool.

I think that's why it was so
challenging probably after

Because everyone was
so emotionally invested

In their journey
through the show.

And then through the proposal

That when it was over, it was
hard for people to handle it.

- For some reason,
since birdie been born

And I've spent a lot
of time with birdie,

It has just brought
up these feelings

Of really wanting
to be a mom and,

I thought I could
really sacrifice that.

And I just can't.

- In a time that everyone was
excited about this wedding.

She had the strength

And the fortitude knowing she
needed to make a decision

That would be extremely hard.

And as her mother, I
saw the heat she got.

Every time you turn
around, you know

I would see something
online about them.

- I still see the trolls
online that still make comments

That won't let it go.

And it's really hard as her
sister to not be able to

Protect her from all that.

- I don't wanna
do it without you.

I took away everyone's
fairytale ending.

People hated me for it.

I couldn't do easy.

I knew I had to go through hard.

And that is the hardest
thing to do, to walk away

From someone that you love.

But it's also empowering
when you can walk away

From something that
you know isn't right

So that the future
would be happy.

Here I just had this massive
public breakup with john

And I was avoiding wwe.

Vince mcmahon calls
me and he says,

"we're gonna do an all
women's pay-per-view.

And I want you to main event
it against ronda rousey

With brie by your side."

To get that call from vince.

I mean, that's huge.

- This is what we've
been waiting for.

This is what us women
were fighting for

To have an event, just women
on one card for one night.

That's incredible.

And to finally main event
something like that.

Now that for me is my oscar.

- There was a lot of belief
that it wouldn't draw

Or that it wouldn't be any good.

And yet wwe decided that
they were going to do this

And plant their
flag in the ground.

- [commentator] the
bellas believe that

They're the reason there's
a evolution tonight.

- [commentator 2] I
do agree with them.

I think that they were
the first women that were

Part of the hashtag,
#givedivasachance.

They've been here through
the entire journey.

- It was quite remarkable.

And we sold out nassau coliseum.

Our women just
absolutely shined.

We did trend number
one worldwide for

Over two and a half hours
during the last game

Of the world series and
nfl Sunday night football.

- That was probably my
favorite time losing,

My ultimate fave.

- It was amazing
for all the women

To be able to come together
as a collaborative group

To go, "hey, we just sold out
an arena with just women."

- [nikki] it was like
the perfect ending.

I just knew it was
time for me to retire

And pass the torch to
the next generation.

My sister and I,
we had accomplished

All we set out to do in the ring

For ourselves and for
women's wrestling as a whole.

And I just knew it was
time for me to focus

On the next chapters of my life.

- When I got the call to
do dancing with the stars,

I was super excited.

I was like, you know what?
The timing's perfect,

Let's see what I got
on the dance floor.

- But what's the
first thing you say

When you get someone new,

'cause you get someone
new all the time.

What's the first thing you say?

- You wanna make sure that
they're not just doing steps,

They're bringing
themselves in to,

Because people like
them for certain reasons

And we want to see
nicole in that soundbite.

So it's not just the steps.

- I'm happy that my sister found

Who she's really
meant to be with,

And that's artem.

- Yeah I don't think
there is the words,

Can describe how
you make me feel.

Will you marry me?

- Yes.

- [brie] yay!

- [nikki] you guys!

You all knew.

I have found the
next step in my life.

I have a beautiful fiancé
and I'm living the life

I've always wanted to live.

- Artem calms nicole.

Artem has a very
soothing personality

And she is relaxed around artem.

- He brings out who
my sister really is.

- [nikki] there's
just something so

Special about him, it's crazy.

And he's so open about me
reconnecting with my dad.

- I never stopped
being a good father.

It's just, my addiction
made me stop being there.

So I promised to my god that

I will be a different man and I-

- [nikki] you are, dad.

I'm pregnant.

- [artem] no, you are not.
- Yes I am.

- No, you're lying.

- I haven't told you but

Brie told me that
she's pregnant.

- So, hold on wait,
wait a second.

You're both pregnant?

- When your stomachs were
right next to each other

They look like two boobs.

- Oh yeah, cause of the nipples.
(bryan laughing)

- You, and artem, the
one thing I'll say.

Your guys' excitement's so cute.

- Thank you.

- You guys are gonna
be amazing parents.

- I really love being
this career woman

Who gets to be a hands on mom.

It's the toughest job I've done.

And yet the most rewarding.

We just truly get to enjoy
being hands on parents

Not worrying about the world

Or you know, what
we do for work.

We get to totally
just connect with him

And just get to be present
with him when we're home.

Oh, yeah.

You want cameras
don't you, mister.

Now I'm an entrepreneur
with brie.

I love running companies.

I love being creative.

I love being in
the wine industry.

- So for us to move to napa
valley meant, we are just

Gonna blossom one of
our other companies,

The way we did in wrestling.

- [nikki] you know,
the one thing in wwe is

You learned about branding.

So we wanted to take that
into the business world.

- [brie] I love
how it says bellas.

- [nikki] it's like clean.

- [brie] I love it.

- [nikki] it's really cool.

- [brie] so us.

- You like it, huh?

See this is why mama
wanted to make it.

- I think people
are shocked because

If you come into our lives here
in napa valley, you realize

That we have just a simple,
very normal day to day life.

- Can you say hi, daddy?

- My sister and I joke
about this all the time,

But we understand way
back in the day when

Pretty much all
families lived together.

Because it does take a
village to raise a child.

And I've been really blessed,

Nicole and I have
always figured out a way

To live by each other
'cause we realized

Life's just easier.

- I couldn't imagine
being in napa living life

Without my sister and her
family across the street.

- It's never boring,
let's just say that.

(children crying)

- Artem and I got very little
decision making in this,

In this whole move to napa.

- Yeah, it is crazy
to think about.

- All of a sudden
it occurred to me.

If I die, I can be replaced.

She can't replace nicole.

(soft music)

- [nikki] 2022, the
bellas will be back.

Oh my gosh.

Brie, this just made
it so much more real!

And we're back.

- [brie] bellas are back, baby.

- It's so funny
because I feel like

I've told everyone I retired
like seven times already

And I keep coming back for
these little matches but

I will say this one's special.

My daughter birdie
was like, "mom,

I really wanna go
see you wrestle."

And in my head I'm thinking

I don't know the next
time wwe's gonna call

And ask me to come again.

Like you just never know.

I mean the last time I
wrestled was evolution,

That was three years ago.

- We're here to celebrate but

We are here to prove
something you know,

Prove that the bellas are back.

We're a force to
be reckoned with.

And that, I don't know,
we're still amongst the best.

There's also that feeling
of like, will I be accepted?

Like, as who I am now.

- I told her it's different

After you have kids
it's different.

- Yeah.

- Woo, tomorrow, I'll
be in my jersey,

My snap back, my
kicks, running out to

"you can look but
you can't touch".

Putting on my gear for
the first time since

Having a baby made
me a bit insecure

And I kind of had
to fight myself like,

Do I look like I'm
dressing up as nikki bella?

Or do I look like nikki bella?

Brie warned me, she goes,
"when you become a mom,

You can't expect
to be who you were.

You're someone new and
you have to accept that

And find who she is."

And I finally found myself,

But then putting my gear
back on, that was tough.

That was really tough.

- [announcer] the
following is the

30 woman royal rumble match!

- [commentator] whoa!

- [commentator 2]
bella army rejoice.

- [commentator] one
half of the bella twins,

Hall of famer, divas champion.

She was in the first
world rumble 2018.

You're talking about
not having friends,

Eliminated by her
sister if you remember.

Woah!
- [commentator 2] wow!

- To go back out
to the wwe universe.

- [commentator] brie bella
and full blown brie mode.

- Hear the "yes" chant.

In front of my daughter.

- [commentator] and listen,
listen to this place.

- [commentator 2] this crowd
here in st. Louis loving it.

- It was really incredible.

- [commentator]
the bella army is

Gonna be on their feet now.

- [commentator 2]
this is a sight

Many thought we would
never ever see again.

Nikki bella making
her entrance into

The women's royal rumble match.

- [commentator] great
physical condition.

- When I saw ronda
rousey come out,

It's like, all right,
we're outta here.

So I'm gonna take nikki
out with pleasure.

With a big smile on my face.

- Okay I gotta give it to brie.

You know, brie taking
me out of the rumble.

It felt pretty good.

- I had to eliminate
nikki in the royal rumble

Because revenge is a bitch.

- It's always been me
getting the one up on her

And nothing made it feel
more full circle for me

Than brie getting her
one, one up on me.

It made it pretty iconic.

- And it felt so good.

- The bellas have
become huge role models

For everyone everywhere.

- To see the things that
they've accomplished

Within the business,
for the business.

And now outside of the
business is truly impressive.

- They're driven by passion and

The things that they love
and are interested in.

They don't fake anything.

- They're showing and inspiring
women around the world

That you can dream big.

And sometimes it works out
and sometimes it doesn't

But you gotta keep fighting.

- [announcer] please welcome
to the wwe hall of fame,

Nikki and brie bella.

- I feel blessed of the
next step in my life

But wrestling will
never be done.

That door will always be open.

That will always be home.

And I will always
make a comeback.

- [brie] we are
part of wwe history.

And let me tell you, when
you fight for something,

And it is recognized,

That is the ultimate
feeling you can get.