Felix Upton on June 14, 2025
Nikki Bella is keeping it real about her WWE RAW appearance—and she’s owning the nerves, name flubs, and everything in between.
On the latest episode of her podcast, Nikki opened up about the June 9, 2025 edition of RAW, where she mispronounced Stephanie Vaquer’s name during a live promo.
Nikki said she practiced the name several times backstage and even checked with Vaquer directly, but once she got on the mic, second-guessing kicked in.
“Oh my gosh, and then even though it’s only a few people that have said stuff, but I can’t tell you how many times I went over Stephanie Vaquer. I feel like I’m still saying it wrong. Her last name. I even was asking her, but she says that of course in a beautiful Latina accent… when I would repeat it after her, she’s like, ‘Perfect.’”
“I was saying it amazing, but then you get in your head and then I’m like, ‘Wait, I can’t let myself be hooked on just one last name or then I’m going to mess everything up,’ because you know, I wanted to say a bunch of people’s names, and so I didn’t want to get too hooked on hers.”
“But then I was asking people like, they’re like, ‘No, you just say it like Vaquer,’ like think care at the end. You know, and then I’m like, ‘Okay,’ but then I wanted to say it with some spice, so I got to work on that. I’m so bad, like pronouncing, you and I with our pronunciation at times.”
Beyond the pronunciation stress, Nikki also admitted she was nervous about being back on live WWE TV after such a long break—but said her hosting experience helped calm her down a bit.
“I mean, of course [I was nervous]. You know, this is my thing is, I haven’t been on that kind of stage in so long, but I think what was helping me feel like relaxed the nerves a little bit is like the fact that we’ve done, you know, quite a few live podcast shows, as well as hosting shows that that helps, so that relaxed the nerves a bit.”
She also praised Liv Morgan for bringing serious energy to their on-screen confrontation.
“But of course, it’s because I really wanted to deliver. I wanted to be great. I wanted, you know, the crowd to really feel it. I wanted everyone in TV land to really feel it and it went off great and I mean, you know me. I was shocked when Liv came out like a fireball. It was like incredible. I was like, ‘Oh shoot. Whoa.’ You felt that. I mean, she came to the ring so fast. It was insane.”
Whether it’s name slips or adrenaline-packed showdowns, Nikki’s return to RAW was packed with emotion—and she’s not pretending otherwise.
Did Nikki Bella handle it like a pro or should WWE have given her more prep time? Drop your thoughts in the comments and let us know what you thought of her segment.
Please credit Ringside News if you use the above transcript in your publication.
June 14, 2025 9:33 am
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