All language subtitles for biography_wwe_legends_s02e03_the_bella_twins

The one thing my sisters always did is
they loved to challenge.

They walked into a man's world and
basically gave all the men the middle

that they were here.

You better make sure you do it better
than a man. I was like, oh, that's all

had to say to me.

Twins are strange.

Trouble may come looking for Bree.

Nikki goes looking for trouble.

I found them to be the greatest
athletes, performers, well -rounded,

working, most compassionate.

who had to command an audience of 30
,000 people.

What happened to Bella Twins, a Hall of
Famer? Brie Bella in full -blown Brie

mode. Brie is a knife. She is a
sharpened blade.

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.

Bree is the new Divas champion.

The gloves were off. There was no
turning back.

Nikki Bella is the longest reigning
Divas champion in history.

We've been a tag team since the womb.

Who doesn't want to be a Bella?

Every time you turn around, I would say
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.

Reality TV stars Brie and Nikki Bella.

Nearly 35 million followers across their
social media platforms.

Muscle and fitness covers. From your
show, to your podcast, to your beauty

to your sportswear line, to your wine
line, to your YouTube channel.

We are part of WWE history.

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

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 a 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.

Bree 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.

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 are 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

too, is at a young age, my parents
noticed that all three of us kids had

natural athletic ability.

So they figured we got to push them that
way.

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

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

to or I could come to or laugh with. I
needed their strength to get through

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

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 raised in
high school, everything was

new and was taken from me. Like my
virginity was taken from me. My

taken from me.

And the worst part was, like, I blamed
myself.

I blamed myself for going to a Fourth of
July party and then having drinks and

passing out. And 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 don't want to 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. 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, 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 going to let her be in this
situation anymore.

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

walked out of the house. I might have
been barefooted. I had nothing.

And Bree 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

before I went home because I was
refusing to go home, and I just said I

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 was 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 coming 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.

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.

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,

makes me happy? Because it's not soccer.

Like, I loved soccer, but I also loved
the art, the 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 want to start living for

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

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 art, 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.

Soccer was my life.

Eleven 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.

Mia Hamm, Carla Overbeck, Brandi
Chastain, all those women were who I

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 going to have a spot on the Arizona
Heat Wave, 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 for my high school
team.

Striker gets breakaway.

I go to slide tackle her, take the shot.
We hit innocent.

And mine snaps right in half.

And the break was just so bad. It was
like, sorry, we don't know how you're

going to heal.

Scholarships are off the table. We
couldn't afford college.

Everything that I worked for for 11
years straight, what was going to get me

of Arizona, out of my home, 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

and i was talking to him on the phone
excited to see him and 45 minutes later

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 I dealt with my
dad because the stuff I

dealt with my dad, well, we...

We made up. We could, like, deal. And
it's like, I'm still breathing. But,

to lose someone who means so much to you
and know you'll never, ever talk to

them again, that, 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 out of 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

let's go.

And we did.

We were out.

We get to graduation day.

Brie and I literally, I think it's the
next day, pack up our car and we're

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

years old?

And we're like, Hooters!

When Brie and I first walked into
Hooters, I was like, oh, gosh, Brie,

are we going to 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 $100 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.

We started to be like, okay, everyone at
home keeps asking, so what are you

doing with your life?

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 going
to 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

incredible season.

We were champions.

I had my head coach call 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.

It's fast. A quarter of a million
dollars. WWE Divas. Head to WWE .com for

the details.

And I thought to myself, who?

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.

Tell me your name, please.

It's Brianna Cohen.

Brianna. And Brianna, you have an
identical twin. I do. We're actually

the Garcia twins.

I was like, oh, this is perfect. I'm
totally getting it. But they're like,

actually really isn't the audition. This
is just an interview. If we want you to

go to the audition, I'm like, oh, 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

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.

I'm watching Monday Night Raw. I'm
seeing the little pig butt.

I'm like, I really like this. It's like
being athletic and showcasing your

athletic ability and competing and being
a champion.

So it's 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.

that look 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.

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, we both did the same thing. The twin
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 realize very
quickly that we're very drawn to the

wrestling side of WWE and we wanted to
become that.

Because, you know, when you walk into a
ring, you have everyone cheering. You

can't help but go, yeah!

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

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.

That was the same answer your sister
said. Oh, really?

Thank you so much, Brianna. You're
welcome.

We got told we don't have boobs.

I mean, you name it.

Why do you have bear claws?

Well, it's a sad story.

I don't want to bring people down.

But 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 is Kristen
Prouty. She pulled my sister and I

aside. She was really sincere.

I knew and saw. And we all did. They
checked every box.

Charisma, athleticism, confidence.

They'd pop.

And so, yeah, I pulled Bree and Nicole
aside and told them, please, like, if

really want to wrestle, can I talk to
you? Because 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 were
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, like, fellas, get
in there.

Let's see how you can do bumping.

Bill DeMott 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

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 want to
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

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.

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. 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 going to
be the Bellagio.

It was like a cheeky little nod to our
grandfather, who was a school -blooded

Italian. And that was it. We decided to
become WWE superstars.

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, walk the streets like
cats.

FCW was a developmental program for the
WWE, and the head trainer was Dr.

Tom Pritchard.

Dr. Tom is like, we're teaching you
alaka, how to take an arm, chokehold,

lock, and we'd start to learn wrestling.

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 want to come out?

What is it you want to do?

That's how we came up with the Bella
booty shake and the backflip.

And so it was like during the day,
hardcore wrestling moves, and at night

like the fun stuff.

From the men and

women, we got a lot of hate.

What are they, just models? Oh, they
came through divas search? They're not

athletic. They're not wrestling fans.
They don't belong here. I even remember

some of the other women were teaching us
moves wrong.

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

because I thought I had to.

Maybe I should have been in UFC.

People were trying to make us so
miserable, so we quit. But those women

realize that they were giving us more
fire to succeed.

I was like, if this is how it is to earn
respect, fine.

I'm going to make people respect us.

But two girls, I didn't have to earn
their respect. They were just so great

the beginning.

Natalia Neidhart and Chrissy Bane.

Chrissy and Natty were amazing mentors.

Natalia Neidhart, the third generation
diva, daughter of Jim the Anvil

a diva with a dangerous DNA.

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.

We kind of had like a mutual unspoken
agreement that they were going to teach

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 going to teach them

everything I knew about pro wrestling
because I had grown up around it my

life. From Greensboro, North Carolina,
Chrissy Payne.

And Chrissy was also amazing because
Chrissy came from the independents. She

a massive star there.

They taught us about wrestling
etiquette, the important things as a

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

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 and 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.

So we were all really excited because
WWE used to have their own magazine, and

they were doing a feature on FCW, and it
just came out.

So Jack Swagger was sitting up on the
apron, and he and I both were reading

article like, oh my gosh, we're finally
in a magazine. We were all so pumped.

And then Sweet Puppy Chulo is in the
ring.

He's 200 -something pounds.

So Sweet Papi Trullo hits Jack Swagger
as hard as he can, which causes, by

accident, Jack Swagger to headbutt me.

Sure enough, I had a shattered nose.

And then, of course, Murphy's Law.

They were going to debut Nikki and I
from 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
going to tell him. 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 there on a real mental and you
probably get fired.

When they told me my first match was
against Victoria, a well -respected

that the crowd loves.

who's an amazing wrestler, I'm like, is
this good for me or not?

When Nikki and I started with WWE and we
showed up to Pittsburgh, Nikki and I

were walking into the arena.

I was very nervous to go to TV. I just
had a lot of pressure.

We were entering a whole new group of
women and dealing with TV time and

It was almost like when you graduate
middle school, now you're entering high

school. This is where we were at.

We had a big roster of women then, but
they were all underutilized. None of

were given the storylines that the men
were given. None of them were given a

compelling storyline at all.

You look at television, and there's
probably 10 different segments, maybe

but there's only one for women, and
that's a lot of women fighting for a

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.

You know, Brie and I show up and they're
like, let's go with Brie because 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 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. And
some other girl wears bell bottoms.

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 going to 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 bikini,
swimsuit, some BB workout pants, and

they literally cut our swimsuit. They
sewed them onto our workout pants that

actually worked out in that day. And we
made our wrestling gear for the night.

I ain't the lady to mess with.

Her music hit, crowd goes nuts.

My music hit.

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

I want to vomit.

I just was like, here we go.

But I will say this.

Victoria took care of me out there when
it came to the wrestling.

And then it was time to do a twin
switch.

The twin switch, it's something that
only happened in singles matches with

twins. For example, if Nicole gets
chucked out of the ring and the ref

see it, Brie would come up and get back
in the ring and pretend she was Nicole.

Essentially, it was cheating.

I knew that it all depended on my timing
and how I came out for them to buy it.

And if they didn't buy it, there was
going to be no Bella Twins.

You get one chance.

We do the twin switch.

We beat Victoria. The crowd was so
upset.

We're like...

That actually worked.

Celebrate 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.

So we were able to get away with doing
twin switches for three

months.

And then finally Vince is like, okay, we
need to reveal the twins.

We need to make it where it almost looks
impossible.

Like, Victoria has the girl's arm,
Natalia has the girl's leg, and all of a

sudden she looks really, really long.

It was kind of like, wait a minute.

What's happening here? And ultimately,
they each pulled out a twin.

And it was the beginning of a very long
legacy

of the Bella twins.

Nikki and I knew in that moment that
being the first ever twin girls to debut

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

in Yahoo, which we were the top one for,
like, two or three days straight, that

was big.

But for some reason, it was so hard to
stick as wrestlers because they always

saw us as a duo and not individuals.

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 a cologne.

Hey, guys.

And for Miz and Morrison to kind of
fight over us. That would be us.

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.

Hi, Alberto.

So Brie and I keep getting stuck in
these boyfriend storylines. And this is

how Brie and I are. We're not those type
of girls.

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

That's how Brie and I are. When the
writers came up to Nicole and I, and

like, we thought of a hilarious story
for you two to work with Daniel Bryan.

Daniel, oh my gosh, are you okay?

Yeah. 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. You're the

best Bella win.

Oh, 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.

Oh, my God.

So we do this crazy, corny story.

We thought you were, uh, you know, um...

Vegan? Oh, absolutely.

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.

Now I kind of realize why my sister
fought so hard. I think there was true

there.

But what this meant is that we had to
spend a lot of time with Brian.

Did you see how he looked at me after
Twin Magic last week? Nikki, our

connection is so strong.

During this whole storyline, I'm
starting to notice something. When I

find Brie, I'm like, where's Brie?
Because she was always with me.

She'd be flirting with Daniel Bryan.

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.

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.

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,

first one against Victoria, to all of a
sudden having to be like arm in arm with

a guy and the story's all about them.

I have to say it was a lot of fun and I
learned a lot from the men at the 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. 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

And I was like, well, no.

We're like, what can we do?

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 are off TV, 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.

Why don't we use it to stay on
television as we're still working the

having the writers try to think of
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
assistant.

Did not realize that was going to be two
years booked as celebrity guest hosts.

But

I'll

take it because it got us back on live
events. But Brie and I just kept

in our heads, how do we get back to
wrestling?

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, the main event,
you were almost like, I'm going to 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. You will be
good.

When I first heard of the Bella Twins, I
thought, oh, you know, that's... Pretty

unique. You have these gorgeous,
identical twins that want to be a part

but do they really have the goods to
deliver?

Brie and I started to wrestle our hearts
out on there.

They turned us bad because it's a lot
easier to have your bad guys lose.

Producers and all that started to
realize the Bellas really love

really want to wrestle.

And Brie and I were the type of girls
like, I'll lose every week. I don't

I'll put over your girl. Just let it
thin.

And we started to do that and become
these heel characters and losers.

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
Bella.

But we started to get really over with
the crowd. The crowd wanted more and

from Brie and I.

I remember I was at this New York hot
spot with my girlfriends talking, and

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
Steve Torres and do a fun twin thing.

And I'm like, what?

The Divas Championship?

The Divas Division was 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 about time that our Divas had
a championship of their own.

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 going to 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.

I just wanted Brie to have this insane,
shining moment.

So here we are on a huge night.

It's a distinguishing mark, so you can
tell the bells went apart.

I was really grateful that they wanted
to put the title on, because that says

they trust you.

So we do it.

I wanted to sit and put a badass mask
together.

But we get our time cut, so it really
felt like silly. But I'm a heel, so...

you see the switch? I did. The switch
was made by the Bellas. The referee's

attention was with Eve. And I actually
will never forget, because for me, like,

you tell me about my heel character,
well... But Twin Magic, man, worked out

anyway. Bree with the cover here. And
Bree is the New Demon champion.

I win, but I'm going to be like, ha -ha,
loser.

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,
I guess.

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 champed for 10
minutes.

But my run was short.

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

and catering.

And, like, I didn't want to hang out and
catering. And I didn't want to

constantly think of some arm candy spot.
Like, I wanted to wrestle.

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.

I remember they were like, yeah, girls,
we're going to talk to you about your

contract. A 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?

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 resign, and we said,
no, we're not happy.

We want to wrestle, and that's that. And
boom, we left.

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, sure,
girls, don't want to 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 coworkers.

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

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
they deserve and the love and the

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.

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

Kardashians in ratings, we all were
like, cost like people care total divas

on fire i mean we literally are making
mainstream shit brie and nikki bella

please welcome brie bella nikki bella
it's the bella twins and family thanks

having us back and with the success of
total divas we went on to do six more

seasons of our own show total bella

What I loved about Total Divas is it
finally gave you the opportunity to

get to know Brie and I as individuals.

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 want to 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
it. They were empowered by it. And they

started to show up. And this was the
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

build out our brand.

And we are going to 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.

You got to see Brie's relationship with
Daniel Bryan really coming to life, and

then Nikki's relationship with John.

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

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 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, you

should be supporting me, but instead,
like, you make me feel like... And I...

sucks.

Just like the matches all tell stories
about human emotion, Total Divas...

was able to take that even deeper and
show, like, the depth of people's lives.

Ladies and gentlemen, my new fiancé.

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, kind of cross over from things

that people saw of us on Total Divas.
Like, Bremode.

Bremode.

Bremode.

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

Bremode activated.

When, like, you really take me to a
certain place, and then Bremode gets

activated, which means I'm going to kick
your butt.

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

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 going to break rules and I'm going
to apologize later.

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

I'm a powerhouse and I'm going to
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 going
to learn a spine buster.

I'm going to learn how to do a spear in
this way. I'm going to learn how to lift

someone from this to get them 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.

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 want to 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

leg breaks again.

I can't even freaking move.

Dude, that's not good. We're going to
have to go to doc.

I want to 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,

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.
Like, how are you walking? It's a pretty

significant stress fracture. So what I
had talked about last week, about the

four to six weeks, added crutches to it
and extended.

So what we're going to do is crutches,
non -weight -bearing, so no weight on

that for four weeks. Second four weeks,
crutches, partial weight -bearing. After

that, no crutches. I'd say by 12 weeks,
back to the ring.

I just remember feeling so down. 12
weeks, I mean, that's like six lifetimes

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 Brian have this story that is

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.

He slaps him, she's... threatened to
fire him. She's done all these mean

to him. But as a man, he physically
can't do anything bad.

And they all were like, but Bree 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.

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 McMahon's, 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

storytelling stay away and because
there's so many people tuning into total

divas you have all these new females
watching so like Brie, how dare this

And it was amazing because they were
invested.

They were so invested in Brie and
Brian's life inside WWE and outside of

You only like me because I'm the
champion.

Ew. Like, if they make me get rid of the
titles, you're just going to leave me.

And this is when pure magic started
happening. Like, we couldn't even stop

It was just the story unfolding.

Surrender the WWE World Heavyweight
Championship, or she is.

FIRED!

Wild. This is why I love wrestling.

Come on out here, Daniel!

I'll never forget that night.

Daniel Bryan's music hits.

And 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!

I think it's one of the hardest laughs
I've ever been on the

receiving end of, I thought.

stars. Everyone used to say that that
was the slap you heard around the world.

It was kind of like, ooh, is there
something there?

As talent in wrestling, if you can make
your fans disgust with 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.

And then it was so cool because at this
point, I'm back. I've overcome this

injury. Good to go.

I'm cleared.

All right. Yay!

So to keep the story of bringing
Stephanie going, we felt that naturally

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

going to have to go it alone.

Like two or 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

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.

It gets sold so quick. And so many of
that female demo, especially from the

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

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.

I'll come to Triple H. So people are
like, what's going to happen?

I come down.

I get in the ring.

And I get behind Stephanie. Because, of
course, double trouble. We're going to

block her in. We're going to twin
sandwich her.

Twin magic!

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
Bree'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

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.

That crowd.

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

Just the three women.

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.

Right after I make a comeback at the
SummerSlam, I start to have one of the

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're like, oh, do you guys have about

five minutes? And we're like, five
minutes?

You have a two -hour show, so if the
first match goes longer, the second

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

matches. And a lot of fans had taken
notice that for a long, long time they

saying, why are the girls' matches so
short?

But okay, we're going to try and make it
work.

We get in grill and they go, so, um, you
think you could do this in, like, less

than a minute?

And I just remember thinking, like, 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 into Nikki's

finisher, and it kind of gives it to me.

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

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

told, like, hey, you guys have 10
minutes. And then all of a sudden, hey,

guys have five minutes.

Oh, hey, you guys have two minutes. Can
you just do a little heat and then a

finish?

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

They said, can you guys make your tag
match two minutes?

But with entrances. So you probably will
have like, I don't know, minute 30 in

the ring.

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 on what we're
doing, you know what the fans want as

well. You're what they believe in.
You're taking it away from them. And

not what they want as a viewer. It's
someone who pays a ticket to watch their

superhero. We were mad that there was
something inside all four of us.

We all looked at each other and were
like, let's give them 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.

One, two, three.

We walked back.

Our producer was like, you guys still
had another minute and 15 seconds.

We were giving them the middle fingers,
I'll be honest.

And you know what? We all were going to
take the chance of getting fired, and

that's okay.

The fans just went crazy.

They didn't understand. Like, why did
the girls have such a short match? This

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 Give Divas a

Chance because they were so tired of
seeing the ups and downs for divas.

And this hashtag trended worldwide for
three days, specifically demanding

storylines, better character
development, longer matches, more

And we responded in the biggest way
possible with Vince McMahon.

saying, we hear you, keep watching,
hashtag give divas a chance.

And that was super inspirational for
everyone to see, like sometimes you have

go out and get it, and you've got to
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.

I remember I was driving on my own. I
was doing live events, and I didn't have

Brian or Nikki.

And I was, like, 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 of 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.

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

wrestle with the male.

I wanted to do a stair spot.

I remember before I walked out, one of
the guys was like, well, if you're doing

that stair spot, you better make sure
you do it better than a man.

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

I will definitely do so.

When you hit the stairs, the stairs
break apart and they make this

loud noise. But then the visual of it,
you're 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

ever taken them.

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 like a sprint with it. I was
like, I'm going to 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 out of myself.

I think I just snapped my collarbone 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 body.

So I'm wrestling five nights a week and
just giving it my all.

I'm hitting the rack attack every night
and I didn't want to stop.

And nothing like a cortisone shot to
just get you through the next day.

at the time I was the champion. So I'm
not going to go tell the doctor and get

-rays. I don't want to lose my momentum.
I don't want to lose my spot. I want to

stay to be the champion.

Not smart though.

Start. to, like, get these lumps on my
back.

And I start to tell Bree, like, Bree,
I'm in a lot of pain. Like, when I wake

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

my rack, I get knocked, and it causes
her to hit my neck, and my leg just went

up. 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.

It'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. eBay, I think
my neck is about to break in half.

And he's like, you need emergency
surgery.

I think I can go in, 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?

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 want to walk through life as

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.

He never left my side.

I just remember as I was slowly falling
asleep, I was like, I'm so scared.

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

was like the best orgasm in the world.

It's so crazy amazing, goodness.

That means I can do whatever I want.

She's going to recover very healthy.
Yeah.

She's already planning her comeback.

It is the night legends show youthful
exuberance.

Legacies are born or laid to rest
forever.

This is Bree's last match tonight.

Okay.

Everyone knew that my last night was
going to be at WrestleMania.

And Vince wanted to make it special by,
I mean, wrestling with all the girls.

Winning the match.

And then them just, like, kind of
celebrating me.

And it was neat because last minute
they're like, we need to have Nikki walk

down that ramp.

And they weren't sure just because 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 got to let go, Nicole.

Like, you just go.

Oh my gosh, to fill the crowd again was
so incredible.

To also be there for Bree's retirement
match was amazing.

But I was really happy for her for
making that decision in her life of

this is what I want to do. I want to 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,

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 yeses, all the

into positives, and believing in one
thing. There's not one spot for one

that many women.

can have many spots, and that all of us
can be successful.

You know, it was weird because in that
moment, your soul and, like, your

intuition, your gut kind of tell you
when things are done. You kind of just

that feeling when, like, 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

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, like,
okay, I'm going to make sure I'm really

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.

All right, Brie, I love you. Okay, I
love you, too.

So I come back at SummerSlam in
Brooklyn, New York, which Brooklyn, oh,

crowd goes wild. I wasn't even expecting
that. I almost forgot how to do my

booty shake in that moment because I
was, like, so floored by the reaction.

You felt the love. Like, 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

a neck injury is a different animal.

Oh, wow.

You're showing us how fit she is.

She's a beast and absolutely nothing can
stop her. She is what she says she is.

She's fearless.

When I look back, I never would have

thought it would have ended where it
did.

Having this beautiful tag team match
with John at WrestleMania.

With John

grabbing a mic in front of millions and
millions of people.

Stephanie Nicole Garcia -Cola.

Will you marry me?

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

It was huge.

The 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

journey through the show and then
through the proposal that when it was

was hard for people to handle it for
some reason since birdie's 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

I don't know how I'm going to do 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

Vince McMahon calls me.

And he says, we're going to do an all
-women's pay -per -view, and I want you

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,

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

And yet WWE decided that they were going
to do this and plant their flag in the

ground. The fellas believe that they're
the reason there's a evolution tonight.

I do agree with them. I think that they
were the first women that were part of

the hashtag Give Divas a Chance. They've
been here through the entire journey.

It was quite remarkable. And we sold out
Nassau Coliseum.

Our women just absolutely shine.

We did trend number one worldwide for
over two and a half hours during the

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.

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.

Well, what's the first thing you say
when you get someone new? Because you

someone new all the time. What's the
first thing you say?

You want to make sure that they're not
just doing a step, they're bringing

themselves into it. Because people like
them for certain reasons.

And we want to feel like Nicole in that
sound. But it's not just a step.

I'm happy that my sister found who she's
really meant to be with.

And that's Arda.

I don't think that the word can describe
how you make me feel.

Will you marry me?

Yes.

You all knew.

I have found the next step in my life.

I have a beautiful fiance 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.

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

here. So I promised to my God that I
would be a different man.

And you are, Dad.

I'm pregnant.

No, you're 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 a second. You're both
pregnant?

When your stomachs were right next to
each other, they looked like two boobs.

Oh, yeah, because the nipples.

You and Artem, the one thing I'll say,
your guys' excitement is so cute.

You guys are going to 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

or, you know, what we do for work. We
get to totally disconnect with him and

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

Hmm. 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 were just going to blossom one of our

other companies the way we did in
wrestling.

You know, the one thing in WWE is you
learned about branding. So we wanted to

take that into the business world. I
love how it says Bella's.

It's, like, clean. I love it. It's
really cool.

So what?

You like it, huh?

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 because 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. It's just straight
out.

Arden and I got very little decision
making in this.

And this whole move to Napa.

Yeah. It is crazy to think about.

And all of a sudden it occurred to me,
if I die, I can be replaced.

She can't replace Nicole.

2022, the Bellas would be back.

Oh, my gosh.

Reed, this just made it so much more
real. And we're back.

Fellas 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

one's special.

My daughter, Birdie, was like, Mom, I
really want to go see you wrestle.

And in my head, I'm thinking, I don't
know the next time WWE is going to 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 forced 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, of who I am now.

I told her, it's different. After you
have kids, different.

Woo!

Tomorrow, I'll be in my jersey, my
snapback, my kicks.

Running out so 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

up as Nikki Bella, or do I look like
Nikki Bella?

Rewarn me. She goes, when you become a
mom, you can't expect to be who you

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.

The following is the 30 -woman Royal
Rumble Match!

Whoa!

Bella Army, rejoice!

What happened to Bella Twins, the Hall
of Famer, Divas Champion?

She was in the first Royal Rumble 2018.

We're talking about not having friends,
eliminated by her sister, if you

remember.

Oh, wow.

To go back out to the WWE Universe.

Brie Bella in full -blown Brie mode.

To hear the yes chant.

In front of my daughter.

And listen, listen to this place.

The crowd here at St.

Louis loving it.

It was really incredible.

Bella Hall is going to be on their feet
now.

Many thought we would never, ever see
again Nikki Bella making her entrance

the Women's Royal Rumble match.

Oh, great physical condition.

When I saw Ronda Rousey come out, it's
like, all right.

We're out of here.

So I'm going to take Nikki out with
pleasure, with a big smile on my face.

Okay, I got to 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 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

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

sometimes it works out and sometimes it
doesn't, but you've got to keep

fighting. 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.

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.