Nikki Bella is set to team up with Brie Bella and Paige for a match at WWE SummerSlam 2026. Nikki returned to the most recent episode of SmackDown after being away from in-ring action due to an ankle injury. The trio will face Fatal Influence’s Jacy Jayne, Fallon Henley, and Lainey Reid for a six-woman tag team contest at the PLE.
Speaking on “The Nikki & Brie Show,” Nikki Bella opened up about her retirement from WWE as a performer. The Hall of Famer said,
“You know, I’m coming close to the end. Like, and I know I’ve talked about this, but I am. And I’m very great with that. Like, you know, year and a half, like whatever it is, the end of 2027.”
“I really just want to finish this out exactly how I want it. I want, you know, if I got to break rules, I’m going to break rules. But I want to end it how I see it, so I don’t look back and go, ‘What if?’”
“Creatively, if I feel a certain way, I want to do it. I don’t want to sit there and go, ‘Oh, but follow the rules and be a good girl.’ Like, I want to challenge myself. I want to fight for myself. I want to stick up for what I believe in.”
Even Brie Bella shared her thoughts on potential retirement from wrestling. The former WWE Women’s Tag Team Champion said,
“I also want to be super impressive. And I want to produce great stuff as far as matches, but also creative. And I want to continue to be a part of great changes for women’s wrestling and constantly making women’s wrestling feel important and special. While I’m doing great things, bringing other people up with me to do great things. That right there is what it’s all about. I don’t just speak the talk of empowering women. I truly love to empower women. Whatever I can give while also being a bad b****, I’m all game… I want it to be fun. Fun. Fun. All fun. Because that’s what life’s about.”
Bella Details Her WWE In-Ring Return Process
Before she returned to this past week’s SmackDown, Nikki Bella reflected on her WWE return process. In an episode of her podcast, she said,
“I’m healing. Yeah. It’s been only three months since surgery. I was squatting. The bones were so broken and they’re like, ‘You’re fine.’ I’m like, ‘All right,’ like just go up and down.”
“That’s why I feel more confident this time. When I went to the PC to get cleared, they’re like, ‘You look like a Nike commercial,’ because everything—they wanted me to sprint. It was like 110% sprinting, just doing all the things because I wanted to prove how good I was, like jumping high.”
“But then it was funny because they go, ‘OK, now go to the top turnbuckle and just jump in the middle,’ because they wanted to see how much that messed me up a little bit. Like I got up there and I’m like, ‘No, I’m going to break my ankle again.’ Like I don’t come off the top. And if I re-break my ankle randomly.”
