Bella Twins The Bella Twins ( November 21 , 1983 ) were American twin professional wrestlers . The twins were a professional wrestling tag team under the ring name s Brie Bella and Nikki Bella respectively and collectively referred to as The Bella Twins . They are currently working with WWE under the ring names Brie Bella and Nikki Bella . Nikki is a former two - time WWE Divas Champion , while Brie is a former one - time Divas Champion . Before being promoted to the main WWE roster , The Bella Twins wrestled with Florida Championship Wrestling , where they were trained by Tom Prichard , and competed mainly in tag team competition . Brie made her debut first on " SmackDown " in August 2008 . As part of her in - ring persona , would disappear under the ring during matches , emerging revived . It was later discovered that she was switching places with her twin , Nikki , while under the ring , in order to gain an advantage . They then competed in tag team matches . Beginning in November 2008 , an angle was written in which The Bella Twins developed an on - screen relationship with The Colóns ( Carlito and Primo ) . They were later involved in storyline romances with John Morrison and The Miz in early 2009 and Daniel Bryan in 2010 . On April 11 , 2011 , Brie defeated Eve Torres to win her first WWE Divas Championship and on April 23 , 2012 , Nikki defeated Beth Phoenix to win her first WWE Divas Championship . On April 30 , 2012 the Bella twins parted ways with WWE . On March 11 , 2013 , The Bella Twins made their return to WWE in a backstage segment . Early life and career . Brianna and Nicole Garcia were born in Scottsdale , Arizona and raised in San Diego , California in a family of Mexican and Italian Nationality . They played soccer up until college , when they started modeling , acting , and doing promotional work . They made their first national TV appearance on the Fox reality show " Meet My Folks " . Following this appearance , the Garcia twins were hired to be the World Cup Twins for Budweiser and were photographed holding the World Cup trophy . They then participated in the 2006 " International Body Doubles twins search " . They participated in the 2006 WWE Diva Search but did not make the cut . The twins also appeared in Atreyu ' s music video for " Right Side of the Bed " . World Wrestling Entertainment / WWE ( 2007 – 2012 ) . Florida Championship Wrestling ( 2007 – 2008 ) . They were signed to developmental contracts by World Wrestling Entertainment ( WWE ) in June 2007 and assigned to Florida Championship Wrestling ( FCW ) , WWE ' s developmental territory , in Tampa , Florida . On September 15 , 2007 the twins debuted in FCW , dubbed The Bella Twins , by defeating Nattie Neidhart and Krissy Vaine with Victoria Crawford as the special guest referee . The duo quickly started a scripted rivalry with Neidhart and Crawford , and had a series of matches against them throughout October 2007 . As a part of their on - screen personas , they switched places behind the referee ' s back if one of them was hurt . They also occasionally competed in mixed tag team matches , teaming with male wrestlers including Kofi Kingston and Robert Anthony . They also made some non - wrestling appearances on Heath Miller ' s " Happy Hour " promo segment . Starting in December 2007 , they began managing Derrick Linkin , but this storyline was cut short when Linkin was released in January 2008 . They then resumed their feud with Neidhart and Crawford , wrestling them throughout much of 2008 . After Neidhart was called up to the WWE roster in April 2008 , however , Milena Roucka took her place in the feud . They also competed in bikini contest s , and wrestled against other competitors including Katie Lea Burchill and Daisy . Their last FCW appearance was on September 2 , when they competed in a Divas Battle Royal won by Miss Angela . Debut and Brand switches ( 2008 – 2010 ) . On the August 29 , 2008 episode of " SmackDown " , Brianna debuted as Brie Bella under a fan favorite character and defeated Victoria . She quickly began a scripted rivalry with Victoria and Victoria ' s accomplice , Nattie Neidhart , who was now using the ring name Natalya , and had a series of matches against them . In each match Brie would roll out of the ring and go underneath it , emerging and appearing revived , and then win the match . On the October 31 episode of " SmackDown " when Brie went under the ring Victoria grabbed her legs , but a second pair of legs kicked her off , implying that a second person was under the ring . The following week on " SmackDown " , Brie picked up a win against Victoria and then ran under the ring to escape Natalya and Victoria , but Victoria and Natalya both reached for Brie under the ring , resulting in both Nicole and Brie being pulled out . The twins then attacked them and celebrated afterward . Nicole was then introduced as Nikki . The twins had their first official match as a team on the November 21 episode of " SmackDown " , defeating Victoria and Natalya . They continued competing in tag team matches for the next few months . Starting in November , they developed an on - screen relationship with The Colóns ( Carlito and Primo ) , appearing in numerous backstage segments with them , and accompanying them to the ring . On the February 13 , 2009 episode of " SmackDown " , John Morrison and The Miz flirted with the Bellas backstage . As Morrison and The Miz were scheduled to have a match against Carlito and Primo that night , a stipulation was added that the winning team would win a date with the Bellas on Valentine ' s Day . During their date , Primo and Carlito were disguised as waiters and tried to sabotage the date , resulting in the Bellas getting angry with the two . The date provoked a rivalry between the teams of The Miz and Morrison and Primo and Carlito , with them competing for the affection of The Bella Twins , who were seemingly unable to choose between them . On the March 17 episode of " ECW " , Carlito and Primo , accidentally spat apples in the face of Brie , which was originally aimed at Morrison and The Miz . Nikki started to laugh at Brie ' s misfortune , and a fight broke out between the two of them , which led to Nikki turning heel and leaving with The Miz and Morrison , while Brie stayed with Primo and Carlito . Brie won her first match over Nikki in a six - person intergender tag team match on the March 27 episode of " SmackDown " . In their first singles match , on the March 31 episode of " ECW " , Nikki pinned Brie after Morrison and The Miz caused a distraction . On April 15 , 2009 , The Bella Twins were both drafted to the Raw brand as part of the 2009 Supplemental Draft . On the April 27 episode of " Raw " , Brie made her Raw in - ring debut in an eight - Diva tag team match , which her team won . Nikki also made an appearance , reuniting with her twin , as she was under the ring to help out Brie during her match . Nikki then made her official in - ring debut on the May 18 episode of " Raw " in a battle royal but was eliminated by Beth Phoenix . On June 29 , 2009 , they were both traded to the ECW brand . They debuted on " ECW " on June 30 , 2009 on " The Abraham Washington Show " , as the special guests . The following Tuesday on " ECW " Nikki defeated Katie Lea Burchill , by switching places with Brie behind the referee ' s back . The following week on " WWE Superstars " Brie also defeated Burchill after a similar switch . The Bella Twins were then featured on September 10 episode of " Superstars " , when Nikki defeated Burchill . On October 12 , 2009 , the Bellas were sent back to Raw as part of a tri - branded divas trade , where they predominately appeared in backstage segments with the weekly guest stars and occasionally competed in matches . On the January 4 , 2010 , episode of " Raw " , Brie participated in the tournament to determine the new Divas Champion tournament match , but lost to Maryse in the first round . During the match , the twins switched places behind the referee ' s back so it was Nikki who was pinned . In June 2010 , they developed a feud with Jillian Hall , when Brie defeated her after switching with Nikki . The following week , Nikki defeated Hall after switching with Brie . On the July 8 episode of " Superstars " , the Bellas acted as the special guest referees during a mixed tag team match with Primo and Hall facing Yoshi Tatsu and Gail Kim . During the match , Hall attacked both twins , but lost the match when Kim pinned her and Nikki made a fast count . On the next episode of " Superstars " , the twins defeated Hall and Maryse in a tag team match . On August 31 , The Bella Twins announced they would be part of season three of " NXT " , mentoring Jamie . Jamie was the first rookie eliminated on the October 5 episode of " NXT " . On the October 19 episode of " NXT " , Nikki teased a heel turn after she became upset after Kelly Kelly ' s rookie Naomi kicked Brie in the face during the match . Nikki attacked Naomi and eventually threw Brie ( the legal woman ) out of the ring and pin Naomi . Over the rest of the season , a similar trend of Nikki displaying her heel persona continued . On the November 22 episode of " Raw " , Brie ran out to accompany Daniel Bryan to his match against Ted DiBiase who had Maryse in his corner . Following Bryan ' s win , Nikki ran out and the two fought over Bryan ' s affection only to have Bryan break it up and have both of them hug each other . They began to manage Bryan , frequently accompanying him to the ring . Divas Championship reigns and departure ( 2011 – 2012 ) . On the January 24 episode of " Raw " , the twins discovered Bryan kissing Gail Kim backstage . After it was explained to them that Gail was Bryan ' s girlfriend , the Bellas assaulted her , turning both heel for the first time in their WWE careers . On January 30 at the Royal Rumble , they once again assaulted Gail Kim , and again the following night on " Raw " . On the February 7 episode of " Raw " , they debuted in their first match as heels , teaming with fellow villainess Melina in a losing effort to WWE Divas Champion Eve Torres , Tamina , and Gail Kim . The Bella Twins began feuding with Eve Torres after they appeared as lumberjills during a WWE Divas Championship match between Eve and Natalya on the February 14 episode of " Raw " . Following the match , they attacked Eve backstage before Gail Kim and Natalya made the save . The following week , The Bella Twins defeated Eve and Gail Kim in a tag team match after using " " Twin Magic " " . The following week , Nikki won a Divas battle royal to become the number one contender for the WWE Divas Championship after Brie switched with her twin sister . Nikki cashed in this title shot on the March 7 episode of " Raw " , but fell to win . On the March 17 episode of " WWE Superstars " , The Bella Twins teamed up with Melina and Alicia Fox in a losing effort against Tamina , Gail Kim , Natayla , Eve Torres . The following week on the March 31 episode of " WWE Superstars " , The Bellas and Melina , defeated Eve , Gail , and Natayla after Brie pinned Eve following another " " Twin Magic " " switch . On the April 11 episode of " Raw " , Brie Bella defeated Eve to win the WWE Divas Championship from her , marking the first time that either twin had held a championship in the WWE . Brie went on to successfully defend the championship against Kelly Kelly at " Over the Limit " , after switching places with Nikki again . The following night on " Raw " , they teamed with fellow heels Maryse and Melina against Kelly Kelly , Beth Phoenix , Gail Kim , and Eve Torres , however , the match ended in a no - contest following an interruption from Kharma . On the May 30 episode of " Raw " , The Bella Twins were defeated by Kelly Kelly and Eve . Later that night , they interrupted and mocked Kharma when she revealed that she was pregnant and that she was taking a year ' s leave of absence from the WWE . On the June 6 episode of " Raw " , The Bella Twins were defeated in a divas tag team match by Kelly Kelly and Beth Phoenix after Brie was pinned by Phoenix . Their losing streak continued on the June 13 episode of " Raw " , when they lost a 7 on 7 divas tag team match teaming with Melina , Rosa Mendes , Alicia Fox , Maryse , and Tamina in a losing effort to Kelly Kelly , Beth Phoenix , Gail Kim , Eve Torres , Natalya , AJ , and Kaitlyn . On the June 20 episode of " Raw " , a special " " Power to the People " " episode , where Brie would defend her title against either Eve , Kelly Kelly , or Beth Phoenix , Kelly was selected by the WWE Universe as her opponent , who defeated Brie and won the Divas Championship . The following week on " Raw " , Nikki faced Kelly in a Raw Roulette match . A submission match was picked and Nikki lost after tapping out to a Boston crab . After the match , both of the Bellas attacked Kelly until Eve Torres came to the rescue , throwing both Bellas out of the ring . It was later announced that Brie ' s rematch for the WWE Divas Championship would take place at the Money In The Bank pay - per - view . On July 17 , Brie challenged Kelly for the WWE Divas Championship at the Money in the Bank 2011 pay - per - view , but failed to win . On the August 1 episode of " Raw " , Brie and Nikki both took part in a battle royal to face Kelly Kelly for the Divas Championship at SummerSlam . They both failed to win but were eliminated last simultaneously at the hands of the victorious Beth Phoenix . On the August 29 episode of " Raw " , The Bellas ' losing streak finally ended when Brie Bella defeated Kelly Kelly after switching places with her sister Nikki . On the September 29 episode of " WWE Superstars " , The Bella Twins defeated Chickbusters ( A . J . and Kaitlyn ) . On the October 27 episode of " WWE Superstars " Eve and Kelly Kelly defeated The Bella Twins , when Kelly pinned Brie . On the November 29 episode of " SmackDown " , Brie Bella won a Divas " Mistletoe on a Pole " match . After the match , Mick Foley confronted Brie and told her that she have the opportunity to kiss a Superstar of her choice between now and Christmas . At the 2011 annual Tribute to the Troops , The Bella Twins teamed up with Beth Phoenix and Natalya in a losing effort to Kelly Kelly , Alicia Fox , Eve & Maria Menounos . They would then enter into a storyline where they pursued Alberto Del Rio . On the January 2 episode of " Raw " , The Bellas defeated Kelly Kelly and Eve Torres in a tag team match . On January 16 episode of " Raw " , they were defeated by Kelly Kelly and Alicia Fox , since Raw ' s special guest , Perez Hilton thwarted their attempt at Twin Magic . After the match , Nikki and Brie would go and try to attack Perez but Kelly Kelly and Alicia Fox would come to the aid of Perez . The Bella ' s began to show friction for the second time since joining WWE after both twins had lost to AJ in singles competition . After Brie ' s match with AJ , Nikki revealed that Brie was rooting for Team Johnny in the 12 - man tag team match at WrestleMania XXVIII , whilst Nikki was rooting for Team Teddy , thus furthering their dissension . On the April 6 episode of " SmackDown " , Nikki Bella ( without the assistance of her twin sister Brie ) , took on the Divas Champion Beth Phoenix . Before the match started , Kelly Kelly came out to distract Phoenix , which then allowed Nikki pick up the win . On the April 23 episode of " Raw " , Nikki defeated Beth Phoenix in a lumberjill match for the WWE Divas Championship , ending Phoenix ' s reign as champion at 204 days . Brie lost Nikki ' s championship to Layla at Extreme Rules , after attempting Twin Magic . The following night on " Raw " , they competed in their last match with the WWE , failing to win back the Divas Championship from Layla in a triple threat match . Later that night , WWE announced on their website that the twins had been fired by Executive Administrator Eve Torres . This storyline was reportedly used to facilitate the expiration of their contracts , which the twins had decided not to renew . Independent circuit ( 2012 – 2013 ) . On May 1 , 2012 , Nikki and Brie , formerly known as The Bella Twins , appeared at their first independent wrestling show in Newburgh , New York at " Northeast Wrestling " . Appearing as special guests , Nikki and Brie argued over who was the better man , Luke Robinson or Jerry Lawler , resulting a match between the two . During the match , Luke kissed Brie only to get slapped from both twins , leaving Lawler to roll up for the win . After the match , both Brie and Nikki left the arena with Jerry Lawler . Nicole and Brianna made their debut for CTWE Pro Wrestling ] at their " Season Beatings " pay - per - view on December 15 , where Nicole accompanied " Platinum Playboy " J - Busta where he defeated Anthony Greene who was accompanied Brianna . After the match , Brie Bella turned on Anthony Greene and slapped him across the face , followed by a post - match Super Kick from J - Busta . Return to WWE ( 2013 – 2016 ) . Total Divas storylines ( 2013 - 2014 ) . The Bella Twins returned to WWE on the March 11 , 2013 episode of " Raw " , in a backstage segment with Cody Rhodes , Damien Sandow also confronting Divas Champion Kaitlyn , beginning to associate themselves with the Rhodes Scholars . On the March 15 episode of " SmackDown " , The Bella Twins attacked The Funkadactyls ( Cameron and Naomi ) in a backstage segment . On the March 22 episode of " SmackDown " , The Bella Twins interfered in Rhodes and Sandow ' s match against Brodus Clay and Tensai , but they were attacked by Cameron and Naomi . The Bella Twins made their in ring return on the March 27 episode of Main Event facing the Funkadactyls following interference from Rhodes and defeating them on Raw . The Bella Twins were scheduled to participate in an eight - person tag team match with Team Rhodes Scholars against Tons of Funk ( Brodus and Tensai ) and the Funkadactyls at WrestleMania 29 , but the match was cancelled due to time restraints . The match instead took place the following night on Raw , with Tons of Funk and the Funkadactyls emerging victorious . They continued to feud with the Funkadactyls , defeating them in standard and six - diva tag team matches . In June 2013 , Nikki suffered a fractured tibia . Upon the debut of Total Divas in July 2013 , The Bellas began feuding with their co - star on the show , Natalya . Brie and Natalya went on to trade victories in singles competition on Raw and at SummerSlam . The cast of Total Divas then transition into a feud with Divas Champion AJ Lee , who mocked the show and cast . At Night of Champions , Brie unsuccessfully faced Lee for the Divas title in a four - way match including Natalya and Naomi . Following Brie ' s real - life engagement to Daniel Bryan , their relationship began to be acknowledged on WWE television , which turned both Bellas face in the process . Continuing their feud into October , Brie and AJ faced off at WWE Battleground and Hell in a Cell pay - per - views for the Divas Championship , but Brie was unsuccessful both times . Nikki returned to in - ring action on the October 25 episode of SmackDown , losing to AJ . At Survivor Series the following month , the twins were part of the victorious Team Total Divas . The twins failed to win the Divas Championship again at WrestleMania XXX on April 6 in the Divas Invitational match , which was won by AJ . Feud with Stephanie McMahon and brief split ( 2014 ) . Brie became involved in her husband Daniel Bryan ' s ongoing feud with Stephanie McMahon and Kane , while Nikki started a rivalry with Natalya . At Payback , Bryan was given a decision to make to either relinquish the WWE World Heavyweight Championship or Brie would be fired . Brie decided to quit , slapping Stephanie McMahon in her last action as a WWE Diva . The next night on RAW , after making disparaging comments about McMahon , Nikki would be forced to compete in a 2 on 1 handicap match against Foxsana , which she lost . After the match , she was attacked by Foxsana , who were doing Stephanie ' s dirty work . McMahon continued to put Nikki in several handicap matches as punishment . Brie returned to WWE television on the July 21 episode of Raw , appearing in the crowd . After a confrontation between the two , McMahon was arrested because she slapped Brie , who was not a WWE employee ( kayfabe ) . The following week , McMahon granted Brie her job back and a match at SummerSlam against her in order to get Brie to drop the lawsuit . On the August 4 episode of Raw , after their contract signing , Stephanie pedigreed both twins . On the August 11 episode of Raw , McMahon revealed Daniel Bryan had an affair ( kayfabe ) with Megan Miller , his physical therapist , as Brie slapped her and applied the " Yes Lock " on McMahon , as such Miller pressed charges against Bella and was escorted out of the building by Portland police . At SummerSlam on August 17 , 2014 , Brie was defeated by Stephanie in a singles match after Nikki turned into a villainess and attacked Brie during the match , officially disbanding the team . The next several weeks saw the sisters fight in several backstage and in - ring segments , including a cameo appearance from Jerry Springer on Raw on September 8 . As part of the storyline , McMahon declared Nikki the face of the Divas division and granted her a match at Night of Champions for the WWE Divas Championship , but she failed to win . Nikki then obtained permission to begin forcing Brie to compete in handicap matches , similar to her punishment at the hand of McMahon ; Brie was able to defeat Eva Marie and Cameron on Raw on September 29 and the Slayers ( Layla and Summer Rae ) on Main Event that same week . This led to a match between the two at Hell in a Cell , which Nikki won , forcing Brie to act as her personal assistant for thirty days . The following week , Nikki won a Halloween costume battle royal to become the number one contender for the WWE Divas Championship . Divas Champion and Team Bella ( 2015 ) . Nikki received her title match at Survivor Series , where she quickly defeated AJ Lee in a record - setting 7 seconds after Brie distracted her to capture her second Divas Championship . The duo had reconciled at this point . In December , at , Nikki retained the championship against Lee in a rematch and successfully defended the title against Paige at Fast Lane in February 2015 . Paige and AJ Lee formed an alliance to challenge the Bellas , and at WrestleMania XXXI , the pair defeated Brie and Nikki in a tag team match . At Extreme Rules in April , Nikki retained her championship against Naomi . During the feud against Naomi and her bodyguard Tamina , the Bellas began to show more heroic characteristics . The change was criticized as " sudden " , " randomly " and " for no reason " . At Elimination Chamber in May , Nikki retained her championship against Naomi and Paige in a triple threat match , with Brie banned from ringside . In June , the twins became villains again by employing Twin Magic , which helped Nikki retain the championship against Paige on the June 1 episode of Raw and at Money in the Bank . During the feud with Paige , Alicia Fox allied with the Bellas to form " Team Bella " . At The Beast in the East on July 4 , Nikki retained the championship against Paige and Tamina . After weeks of Team Bella outnumbering Paige , Naomi , and Tamina , Stephanie McMahon called for a " revolution " in the Divas division and introduced the debuting Charlotte and Becky Lynch as Paige ' s allie . NXT Women ' s Champion Sasha Banks would then debut and ally with Naomi and Tamina , leading to a brawl between the three teams . At Battleground , a triple - threat match took place with Brie Bella representing Team Bella , against Charlotte of PCB , and Sasha Banks of Team B . A . D in a losing effort , with Charlotte picking up victory . Nikki would then lose by submission to Charlotte in a tag team match on the August 3 episode of Raw , and to Sasha Banks on the August 17 episode of Raw in a non - title match . Various storylines and Brie ' s retirement ( 2016 ) . After defeating Charlotte in a non – title match on the February 1 episode of " Raw " , Brie was granted a match for the WWE Divas Championship at Fastlane on February 21 , where she failed to capture the title . During that time , Team Bella quietly disbanded and Brie transitioned into a fan favorite . Upon March , Brie was placed in a feud with Lana , who argued that Brie ' s fans only supported her out of pity for having a " bad husband " , and went on to distract Brie during her matches and attack her after the matches . Brie then aligned herself with fellow " Total Divas " cast members Alicia Fox , Natalya , Paige and Eva Marie , while Lana aligned herself with Team B . A . D . ( Naomi and Tamina ) , Summer Rae and Emma , leading to a 10 - woman tag team match on the WrestleMania 32 kick - off show , which Team " Total Divas " would win when Brie submitted Naomi . Three days later , on April 6 , Brie confirmed her retirement from in - ring competition . Personal lives . Nikki previously dated WWE wrestler Dolph Ziggler while Brie previously dated Richie Kotzen , former guitarist of bands Poison and Mr . Big . Brie and her long - term boyfriend , professional wrestler Daniel Bryan , revealed their engagement in September 2013 . The couple married on April 11 , 2014 . Nikki is currently dating WWE wrestler John Cena . In wrestling . " Brianna and Nicole use the same moveset "