The Bella Twins, Brie and Nikki, announced their retirement from in-ring action in 2019. They later made a surprise appearance in the 2022 Royal Rumble, only to confirm they'd fully parted ways with WWE the following year.
There were believed to be some hard feelings between the twins and WWE, and both women immediately started using their real name, "Garcia," for outside projects.
We thought that was it for WWE and the Garcia Twins, only for Nikki to make a surprise appearance during the first RAW on Netflix last Monday. Talking on the Nikki & Brie Show, the former Divas Champion addressed her return and made it clear that any past problems with WWE are now settled.
"As everyone knows, the one thing about family, whether it’s a business family or your actual family, there is always at some point a rocky road. That’s life. It happens, and emotions happen. We had that rocky road with WWE. The one thing, as I’ve grown over the past few years and have continued to work on myself, I realized times where I’ve made outbursts out of emotions that I probably shouldn’t have done, and then there are times where I can recognize that I felt hurt and I wanted to be heard, but it probably wasn’t the right thing to do. This is why things were rocky."
"I felt all these emotions because I felt at home, and I was so happy to be home. Then, to be so accepted and loved felt so incredible because things were rocky, and there is nothing better than...when you have that moment of making up and knowing this bond is so strong because it is pretty much like blood, and we just are family and will always be connected."
"There is no better feeling than going back home and feeling that. Knowing we’ve mended everything and had great conversations...It was like being at Christmas dinner or a family reunion. All is well, we’ve all made up, and I recognize that we are very fortunate to be part of not only such a great company but to be in a place where we’ve seen this place grow so much. It felt so good.
In a separate interview on We Got Time Today with Deion Sanders and Rocsi Diaz, Brie admitted that, if WWE does ask them to step back into the ring, it will be hard to turn the company down.
It was particularly surprising to hear that from Brie because her husband, Bryan Danielson, is under contract with AEW (and, if Brie were to compete again, most fans imagined it being there).
"We’ll see. The wrestling ring has always been our home, and I think that’s the hard thing about getting older, is that there’s that person inside you who, it’s like, ‘I would do anything to go back ten years to compete in the ring against the women today. But it’s time and age. There’s a funny thing to that. So we always want to compete. Every time I watch wrestling, I get fired up. [Nikki] and I would like, ‘Oh, this promo we should cut,’ but we’re like, wait, we’re not even in the business. But you know, you still are always there. So any time if WWE calls and is like, ‘Hey, ladies, we want you back,’ it’s always hard to say no."
Nikki and Brie were inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2021 as a team, but individual inductions are a possibility as is a retirement match or Royal Rumble appearance.
While only time will tell on that front, we'd be shocked if both women aren't signed to WWE Legends contracts sooner rather than later.