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Nikki Bella was unfortunately sidelined from WrestleMania 42 and was unable to win the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship with her sister Brie.
Instead, the next best thing happened. Nikki Bella came out and addressed the Las Vegas crowd and announced that Paige would be her replacement. Fans were electrified to see Paige’s return after several years of absence. She and Brie Bella would win the titles.
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Nikki Bella, Paige and Brie Bella celebrate during night one of WrestleMania 42 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada on April 18, 2026. (Rich Freeda/WWE)
Ahead of Brie Bella and Paige’s tag team title defense against Nia Jax and Lash Legend on Saturday Night’s Main Event, Nikki Bella recalled the WrestleMania moment in a recent interview with PK Press Club Digital.
“It was incredible,” she recalls. “I feel like no one else could have taken my place and had that kind of impact that Paige had because we have so much history with Paige and Paige is really like a sister to Brie and I and she’s a huge star with a ton of equity. I was so happy for her. I mean, obviously you’re just depressed anyway because of the injury. I couldn’t even say the medically correct word, you’re so emotional.”
Bella said she was happy for her sister and Paige for their tag team victory and added that she noticed the two maybe had better in-ring chemistry than her.
Paige and Brie Bella speak to the crowd during WWE RAW at Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville, Tennessee on May 11, 2026. (Michael Owens/WWE)
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“But I was really happy for Paige, and also, Brie and Paige have such similar vibes,” she said. “I almost feel like they’re more than just me and Brie. They’re these checkered, checkered punk girls. So when I watch them every week on TV, I’m like, it’s really working. It’s great. So it makes me really, really happy for her – for Paige and for Brie.”
Bella, who became Madame Paleta Tequila’s margarita director, is working hard to get back into action after suffering a serious ankle injury.
She explained her timeline to PK Press Club Digital.
“Right now, I’m getting my x-rays done in mid-June. So x-rays, MRIs, to see how the growth is going – have my bones completely grown back? All those things,” she said. “But today I was really excited because I was able to squat for the first time. So I worked with my trainer and my physical therapist and last week I was able to get to a level where we can now focus on strengthening. So, I will say, it’s so much work. My broken neck was way easier than that and, like, how is that possible?
Nikki Bella faces Becky Lynch on Monday Night RAW at Barclays Center in Brooklyn on August 4, 2025. (Michael Marques/WWE)
“But I was so excited this morning because to be back in a squat position and even though it’s obviously not the weight I’m used to, but to start somewhere, it felt so good. And to just do a full workout, and don’t get me wrong, there are some things I look like a baby deer and my legs shake like no other but I have a starting point. I’m working really hard to try to get my strength as strong as possible when I get those x-rays because if I “
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For now, Bella will have to sit back and watch her sister and Paige at Saturday Night’s Main Event in Fort Wayne, Indiana at 8 p.m. ET.
