With the Royal Rumble about a week away, San Antonio is looking forward to the official kickoff of the Road to Wrestlemania. While Nikki Bella doesn’t have a match officially set for January 29 at the Alamodome, she talked to KENS 5 about her rodeo background, inspiration from the Bella Army, and the brand split helping the women’s revolution.
As a Texan and a San Antonian getting ready for the rodeo coming in February, I have to start with an odd question. You’re a versatile athlete, and so versatile that you told a story on a recent episode of Total Divas that you beat your sister Brie Bella in a Mutton Bustin’ competition when you were a kid. Is that true?
You know what? That is correct, yes. The small town I grew up in, where my family’s from, is called Brawley, California. What’s cool is we have a big rodeo every year called Cattle Call, and it’s an actual qualifier for the NFR (National Finals Rodeo). They also have a thing called Mutton Bustin’ for the kids and my sister and I did it when we were in second grade. And I won!
I beat all the boys, I beat my sister, and I got this insane, big trophy. I couldn’t even carry it out of the pen. I still live that one up. I rode the wild lamb the longest. It was so amazing. Ha ha! I’m a country girl at heart!
One of the things that’s happened with Total Divas and Total Bellas is that everyone gets an inside look at your life that we wouldn’t see otherwise. Do you feel like that’s endeared you to the fans and that your fanbase has grown ever since then because people have a stronger opinion of you because of the way you’re portrayed?
Oh, 100 percent. At WWE, we are a Broadway with body slams and we have these larger-than-life characters. But sometimes you get a certain perception, especially if you’ve played a bad guy a majority of your career. I feel like there was always this perception of my sister and I that we were just models, but we were actually never models. We were soccer players. We were athletes.
I definitely think it was Total Divas and then Total Bellas that showed the fans this whole other side of us and actually showed them who we really are. I feel like that really opened up a lot of doors for Brie and I. Our Bella Army has always been very strong, but I felt like it grew even more since the show because people just realized that Brie and I, we’re very down to Earth and humble girls and very, just normal.
It’s funny the perception people make of you. Brie and I couldn’t be further away from what people thought of us.
I was at Wrestlemania this past year in Dallas and I was amazed at the number of people in Fearless and Brie Bella gear, the whole Bella Army. One thing I’ve noticed is that you share pictures on Instagram of fans who have been inspired by you. What is it like when you see pictures of people that have been inspired by your work?
Honestly, it’s amazing. It makes me feel like, “Is this really my life?” The one thing Brie and I will never forget, and what we know so well, is we aren’t anything without our Bella Army. Without people believing in us, cheering for us, we’d be nothing. The reason why we are the Bella Twins and we are where we’re at is because of our fans and our extremely loyal fanbase.
❤ you all, #bellaarmy! #totallyfearless #stayfearless #fearlessnikki #nikkibellaposetuesday
A photo posted by Nikki Bella (@thenikkibella) on
I’ve realized over the years that I have a platform and I choose to use mine in a very positive way, especially with social media being so big. I really started, over the years, and this started awhile ago and this is why the Bella Army is so strong, but I started to see people getting bullied. Not only myself, but people would post photos and they were getting made fun of for it. So I literally started sticking up for my Bella Army people on the internet.
I remember people were like, “You guys shouldn’t comment,” but I wanted to stick up for people. I feel like that’s what’s made the Bella Army very strong and has made us strong. These people inspire-motivate me every day. Every day when I’m on my feet and I see, “Nikki Bella inspired me to go to the gym today,” to know that I can use my platform in that way is amazing. But what my fans need to realize is that they inspire me and they motivate me and they keep me going.
That’s the reason that I came back from my neck injury early, was my Bella Army, seeing them weekly. I wanted to come back more for them than for myself because I didn’t want to let them down. So it’s really neat. We can inspire-motivate each other and connect, and that’s what I love about social media.
The WWE that you came back to after your injury was very different than the one you left. When you came back, you were a member of Smackdown Live after the brand split and women’s wrestling seems to be the biggest benefactor of that brand split. That may not have been the WWE’s goal, but it seemed to be the thing that the fans looked forward to the most and what they’ve been happiest about since.
I think the brand split gave not only an opportunity to the women, but to the men as well. When you look at both shows, Monday Night Raw and Smackdown, you’re getting about two different women’s stories on each show, and that’s never happened. So when you think of our product having four women’s stories, that’s huge. And it’s crazy because the “Divas Revolution” wasn’t a storyline, that’s real. That turned into the women’s revolution and it’s just been so fun to be a part of it.
I’ve been here almost 10 years, so how much change I’ve seen is unbelievable, but to be a part of it is even more so. There are times when Brie and I will talk about it and I’ll be like, “Gosh, can you believe where we’re at?”
People ask me if I’m happy for different girls and I say, absolutely. I know that the hard work that I’ve paved in the road and the women before me from generation to generation, when you see a woman get something like the main event of Monday Night Raw or the main event of a pay per view, on Smackdown there’s a cage match. That’s part of our hard work and it makes me smile. It’s working! That’s not just a storyline. This is real!
Right now you’re working with Nattie closer than you ever have before, and that’s a fresh story. You both are veterans and I don’t think you guys have worked together.
We never have. This is the first time I’ve worked with Nattie. I’ve never worked with her before. I think her and Brie have had a SummerSlam match, but I was out with a shin injury years ago. But other than that, this is the closest I’ve ever been to working her. And that’s what I love about this women’s revolution.
You’ll sometimes get the haters online and all those internet trolls. They’ll be like, “We’re tired already,” they’ll say that to us veteran girls. But what I like about this women’s revolution is that it’s the first time, like the men, that women have longevity, that women like myself can be here for 10 years and it can still be fresh.
I’m still waiting to see what Naomi’s gonna do. Is she ever gonna get the title? She’s so talented. I’m waiting for Naomi to have this amazing spotlight at Smackdown Live and our women’s division. I have to say, I love being on Smackdown. Our women’s division is so strong. There’s so many amazing and talented girls.
I have to say, it’s great for the veterans. And I think Nattie has many more years here. She’s just like me, she’s coming up on her 10th year as well, which is crazy. I wanna say Naomi has to be at seven years. I think that, especially with the women’s revolution and the brand split, us veterans, we’re still fresh. We’re not has-beens. It’s not old. I love what I’ve been doing. I don’t need a championship to prove that I’m still around and interesting. And that’s what makes it fun.
You’re on the road a lot, but we have found that a lot of pro wrestlers we talk to have certain memories that are associated with certain cities or certain venues. Any special memories of San Antonio?
I’m trying to think, I know people are going to be like, “Boo!” I get San Antonio and Houston arenas mixed up. I want to say Houston might have been Brie and I’s Hell in a Cell. I can’t remember if it was Houston or San Antonio. Every time I walk in there, I think, “Oh my gosh, this is where I had a pay per view match against my sister.” It’s amazing.
Every time I walk into those arenas, I instantly go back to that time of having an insanely massive heel turn against my sister with Stephanie McMahon and having this insane story where I was a massive monster, which I loved playing and it was so much fun.
Texas holds a lot of that. Whenever I walk in I’m like, “Whoa. Bella vs. Bella. Here we go!”
[Note: After doing some research I found that it was actually the American Airlines Arena in Dallas that hosted the Hell in a Cell match between Nikki and Brie, with the stipulation being that the loser would become the winner’s personal assistant after Nikki had turned on her sister at SummerSlam by helping Stephanie McMahon beat Brie.
However, the following night’s Monday Night Raw was held at the AT&T Center, which I attended.
Among the highlights of that night was Randy Orton turning on Seth Rollins and The Authority and John Cena saying “Go Spurs Go” as the championship banner would be raised the following night.]
With the Royal Rumble being held at the Alamodome in San Antonio, this could be your first time in performing in front of a Texas crowd this big. You don’t have any set plans yet for that Royal Rumble card, but what would it be like to be a part of that historic night?
I would love it. I look at what we’re going to do at the Royal Rumble and it’s like it is a Wrestlemania. The Royal Rumble is always one of my favorite pay per views. It’s always so much fun to see the surprises, what number someone’s going to be, because you always have surprises, which are so much fun.
Not to mention all the other matches besides the rumble that are on this year. It’s unbelievable.
It’s shaping up to be a really good card.
A really good card! And of course, I’m all about Mr. Hustle, Loyalty, and Respect, my man John Cena. So I’m hoping to see him again as our champion over on Smackdown Live. I really hope to be a part of it. We’ve got another Tuesday before we go into rumble, and I would love to take her on in a No Woman’s Standing match or No DQ match or No Rules, just put anything out there. Give me objects. I would really love to take Natalya on. It would be an amazing moment.
Wow, all those people? And especially if we sell out, and I know we will. It’s Mani, right? It’s pretty much Mania. So I’m so looking forward to it.
And hey, if I’m unfortunate and I don’t get a match, I will be the No. 1 fan out there and rooting everyone on. It’s just going to be so neat to be there and experience it, especially in Texas. It’s pretty damn cool.
My fiancé and I are big fans of Total Divas and in a recent episode, you and Brie took IQ tests. How satisfying was it to get those results? You almost didn’t look at the results, but you looked and you found out, officially, that you’re smarter than your sister.
Honestly, it was one of the most amazing moments of my life. In my head, before we opened up the results, legit in my head I was like, “Why did I do this? If she’s smarter than me, I have to live with this the rest of my life.” I was even like, “Why did I say I would have an IQ test against my sister?”
And that’s why it was so exciting when I knew I was better than her. Because it was like, “Okay, that’s it. We get it. I’m smarter than you. That’s it.” I was so happy. I’m still happy. But I made a promise to her that I won’t tease her a lot about it, so I try not to. But at times, I can’t help myself.
You have that over her the rest of your life!
I do! Thank God!
“Well, I’m right. Remember, I’m the smart one.”
We have a new YouTube channel now and [Daniel] Bryan just started this thing that he’s doing weekly. It’s called “Bella Brains.” He’ll ask Brie a question like what a word means, put it in a sentence, and spell it. And we never know what he’s going to ask. When I see him at TV, he asks me. We just aired our first one.
It is funny. Whatever we thought the word was, we both got it wrong. But we both thought it was something with temperature, but it had nothing to do with temperature, which was weird. But she spelled it right and I spelled it wrong, and she was like, “Yeah, that’s right! Smarter!”
And I’m like, “Oh no no no no. I’m smarter. We already know that. You just got lucky.”
Thank you so much for joining me Nikki, it was a pleasure.
Thank you! Yes, it was. Thank you so much.
