Nikki Bella thought she was finally getting the WWE run she’d been asking for. After spending weeks pushing to become a heel, watching the crowd turn on her, and feeling the character finally click, everything changed almost overnight. And according to Nikki, there was one reason for it. Brie Bella came back.
Speaking with Joey Karni, Nikki admitted the heel turn wasn’t WWE’s idea in the first place. It was hers. She had been asking for the chance to play the villain because she believes that’s where she’s at her best.
“Yeah, definitely. Um, I had been begging for just to have a heel turn, to be heel. Um, I just know I thrive so much in that position and, you know, it’s just where I’m so natural.”
Then she laughed before revealing exactly when everything fell apart: “And then Brie came in and ruined everything.” Nikki was joking—but only partly.
She explained that WWE originally wasn’t sure whether Brie would be returning for the Royal Rumble, so creative moved forward with Nikki’s heel character. Once Brie officially came back, however, the entire direction changed.
“Which was fine because we were going in such a great direction. And then Royal Rumble came up and they didn’t know if Brie was coming back or not.”
Once WWE knew Brie was back, Nikki says there really wasn’t another option: “So when Brie came back, it was like, well, Nikki obviously needs to be with her.” That meant the heel run was over almost as quickly as it had started. Nikki revealed that before walking out for RAW in Philadelphia, WWE gave her one simple instruction.
“And then we go out that night in Philly on Raw and they just looked at me and they go, ‘You have to be neutral.'”
The problem? Her character had literally just betrayed Stephanie Vaquer. Nikki admitted she was completely confused by the sudden change in direction.
“And I was like… but I literally just turned on my brand new best friend, Stephanie. Wait… what?”
Even though she understood why WWE reunited The Bella Twins, Nikki confessed she hated seeing the heel character disappear because it was finally getting the reaction she wanted.
“Not that I was bummed, but, you know… I just was loving the direction I was going.”
“I was getting so much heat and it was a lot of fun.”
Brie confirmed that fans were loving it too. She said people were constantly texting her, telling WWE not to abandon Nikki’s villain character.
“I was even getting text messages from all these people loving the heel thing again, like, ‘Keep going for that.'”
If Nikki has her way, though, the story may not be over forever. She’s repeatedly said she still believes playing a heel is where she does her best work—and judging by the reaction she described, plenty of fans seem to agree.
Would you like to see Nikki Bella get another heel run in WWE? Let us know in the comments below.
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