In her and sister Brie's new book Incomparable, former WWE Superstar Nikki Bella explains that her neck issues began in 2015 when she was thrown into some steel stairs during a match. Because a crew member had attached them to the ring, Nikki took that bump harder than she should have, and it ultimately led to an injury which could have led to paralysis or even death.
Explaining that her legs would often go numb and collapse under her weight as she walked, it wasn't until later that same year she started realising just how serious things were as the pain started becoming unmanageable.
"I asked for an MRI, but they told me that it wouldn’t show anything," she explained. "They had no answer when I explained that my legs were going numb and giving out on me in matches, that I could only lie down in bed for a few hours at a time. Finally I had an MRI. I was in Austin, Texas, and I was backstage. A doctor came up to me to say: ‘Just so you know, we’re not going to find anything.’ I would have given anything for that to be true."
Nikki reveals that she even text WWE to say, "Is it because I’m a woman that I don’t get the same treatment as the male Superstars?" Honestly, it definitely doesn't sound like they took her at all seriously despite Nikki frequently describing her symptoms to the company. After being told that she was on the "cusp of being paralyzed," Nikki added, "I was really frustrated because I felt like if I were a male Superstar, I’d be getting radically different treatment instead of being instructed to just sit at home and pray."
Unfortunately, Nikki's wrestling career has reached its end, and both she and Brie were supposed to be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame last month before that show was called off as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.