Nikki Bella addresses The Bella Twins‘ absence from the January 23 episode of WWE RAW.
Monday’s episode was the 30th anniversary special, and several legends were brought in for the show. WWE Hall of Famers Nikki and Brie Bella were initially advertised for the show, but they did not appear on RAW. The Bellas later stated that they were advertised before they were confirmed for the show.
Speaking on Instagram Live, Nikki addressed their absence. She stated that they wanted to go to RAW, but the company told the duo they had nothing booked for them. Nikki then noted that WWE booked them for a media tour instead.
“I want to take a second to get on and talk about a few things,” Nikki said. “First about, maybe a few wrestling headlines I saw. As you will see, the narrative will try to get changed so some people look good and others look bad. This is what is so amazing about this platform, we get to talk about truth. This week, from Monday until Thursday, Brie and I, and Artem (Chigvintsev), have been booked on crazy media because of the premiere of Nikki Bella Says I Do is Thursday night. WWE-owned show, which is why you see trailers on Monday Night Raw.
“We were hoping, I think it was weeks ago, we were talking about going to Raw. They said they had nothing for us. We were booked on media on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, and then there was maybe an idea. Our whole team, including WWE and everyone else, had booked us for Monday in New York. Whatever you see of stuff, all of a sudden stories change, that’s to clean up and throw it on people, nope. We had all these commitments per the company we work for and everyone else. I know people like to throw it on people, but I’m not going to let that happen.”
After WWE RAW, Nikki and Brie commented on the lack of a showcase for the women’s evolution during the show. Their comments, along with the way Becky Lynch’s match with Bayley was cut and shifted into a beatdown angle due to time constraints, led many fans to express their disappointment on Twitter. As a result, “WWEWomenDeserveBetter” started trending after RAW. Nikki noted that she loved the way fans stood up. She also discussed the way others paved the way for the evolution of women’s wrestling.
“I also love the fans for sticking up for women. There are so many crybabies, ‘Oh they just whine.’ Let me tell you why people get upset. This is speaking on behalf of the majority of women. ‘Oh, they always make it about them.’ No, just because we speak up, we’re not making it about ourselves. It’s about the women from the very beginning to the ones that are there. I understand why so many people are upset, especially our fans, when it’s something like Raw 30. I remember when I first started watching Raw, as you all know, some of you like to give me sh– that I wasn’t a fan the day I was born. I was obsessed with the matches with Beth Phoenix, Candice Michelle, Melina, Mickie James.
“That, for me and my era of wrestling when I became a fan, that was Raw to me. People have all their own memories, and that’s why it’s so important to have women represent because, for so many of the fans, they have their different eras of Chyna, Lita and Trish (Stratus), Melina, Mickie, Michelle (McCool), Beth, Candice (Michelle), those incredible women of that era. Then, our era with AJ (Lee), Paige, Brie and I, and so on. I love that you’re doing the hashtag and you’re going to see a lot of narratives play because people have to protect themselves and you’re going to get a lot of women blamed and people calling them crybabies. No, we put in just as much effort and work. All those women do, all of them, from every era. Not just women, men too.” (Transcription credit of Jeremy Lambert of Fightful).
Nikki’s new show, Nikki Bella Says I Do, will premiere on E! on January 26.
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