Nikki Bella

WWE Superstar, Nikki Bella

Stephanie Nicole Garcia-Colace (born November 21, 1983) is an American professional wrestler, model, businesswoman and actress signed to WWE under the ring name Nikki Bella, performing on the SmackDown brand.

In June 2007, Bella signed with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), and was assigned to developmental territory Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW) alongside her twin sister Brie Bella, forming the duo The Bella Twins. She made her debut on SmackDown in November 2008. Bella is a two-time WWE Divas Champion. Her second reign is recognized as the longest in the title's history at 301 days.

Bella ranked No. 2 in Pro Wrestling Illustrated's Female 50 in November 2015, and was named Diva of the Year by Rolling Stone in December 2015. She also won the award for Choice Female Athlete alongside her sister at the Teen Choice Awards in 2016.

## Early life

Born sixteen minutes before her twin sister, Brianna, to parents Jon Garcia and Kathy Colace, Garcia-Colace was born in San Diego, California and raised on a farm in Scottsdale, Arizona. She is of Mexican and Italian descent. Keen soccer enthusiasts, she along with her twin sister played for the Scottsdale club in elementary school. She graduated from Chaparral High School in 2002. She then returned to San Diego for college where she played soccer for Grossmont College, but relocated to Los Angeles a year later, where she worked as a waitress at the Mondrian Hotel while trying to find an agent.

She then started modeling, acting, and doing promotional work. She made her 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. Nikki and her sister Brie were contestants in the 2006 "International Body Doubles twins search". Nikki and Brie later participated in the 2006 *WWE Diva Search*, but they did not make the cut.

## Professional wrestling career

### **World Wrestling Entertainment/ WWE**

#### **Florida Championship Wrestling (2007-2008)**

Nicole was signed to a developmental contract with her sister by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) in June 2007 and was assigned to Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW), WWE's then-developmental territory, in Tampa, Florida. On September 15, 2007, the twins made their in-ring debut. Dubbed The Bella Twins, they defeated Nattie Neidhart and Krissy Vaine with Victoria Crawford as the special guest referee. She quickly started a scripted rivalry with Neidhart and Crawford, competing in a series of matches against them throughout October 2007. As a part of her on-screen personas, she and her sister Brie would switch places behind the referee's back if one of them was hurt. She also occasionally competed in mixed tag team matches, teaming with male wrestlers including Kofi Kingston and Robert Anthony. She also made some non-wrestling appearances on Heath Miller's *Happy Hour* promo segment.

Starting in December 2007, she managed Derrick Linkin, but this storyline was cut short when Linkin was released in January 2008. She and Brie 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, Milena Roucka took her place in the feud. Nikki also competed in bikini contests, and wrestled against other competitors including Katie Lea Burchill and Daisy. Nikki's last FCW appearance was on September 2, when she competed in a Divas battle royal won by Miss Angela.

#### **The Bella Twins (2008-2011)**

On the August 29, 2008 episode of *SmackDown*, Brianna debuted as Brie Bella and defeated Victoria. She quickly began a scripted rivalry with Victoria and Victoria's accomplice, 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 Bella. 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 over the following months.

Starting in November, the twins developed an on-screen relationship with The Colóns (Carlito and Primo), appearing in numerous backstage segments with them, and accompanying them to the ring. In February 2009, the storyline expanded to include John Morrison and The Miz, who flirted with the Bellas and took them on a date for Valentine's Day. In February 2009, the storyline expanded to include John Morrison and The Miz, who flirted with the Bellas and took them on a date for Valentine's Day.[40][41] The date provoked a rivalry between the teams of The Miz and Morrison and Primo and Carlito, with the four competing for the affection of the twins, who were seemingly unable to choose between them. On March 17, on *ECW*, Carlito and Primo, aiming for Morrison and The Miz, accidentally spat apples in the face of Brie. Nikki began to laugh at Brie's misfortune, and a fight broke out between the two, which led to Nikki 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 *SmackDown* the following week. On *ECW* on March 31, Nikki pinned Brie in their first singles match against each other, after a distraction from Morrison and The Miz.

On April 15, 2009, The Bella Twins were both drafted to the Raw brand as part of the 2009 supplemental draft. On April 27, 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 Brie during the match. Nikki then made her in-ring debut for the brand the following month 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* the following night on *The Abraham Washington Show*, as the special guests. They quickly developed a storyline feud with Katie Lea Burchill, when Nikki defeated her in a match by switching places with Brie behind the referee's back. The following week on *Superstars*, Brie defeated Burchill after a similar fashion, and the feud ended in September, when Nikki defeated Burchill on *Superstars*.

On October 12, the Bellas were traded back to Raw as part of a tri-branded Divas trade, where they predominately appeared in backstage segments with the weekly guest stars and only occasionally competed in matches. On the January 4, 2010, episode of *Raw*, Brie participated in a tournament for the vacant WWE Divas Championship, but lost to Maryse in the first round, when a switch resulted in Nikki being pinned. In June 2010, they developed a feud with Jillian Hall, when Brie defeated her after switching places with Nikki. The following week, Nikki defeated Hall after switching with Brie. The feud was exacerbated when the Bellas acted as the special guest referees during one of Hall's matches. During the match, Hall attacked both twins, but lost the match when Nikki made a fast count, allowing her to be pinned by Gail Kim. The next week on *Superstars*, the twins defeated Hall and Maryse in a tag team match to end the storyline.

On August 31, The Bella Twins announced they would be part of the all-female third season of *NXT*, mentoring Jamie. Jamie was the first rookie Diva eliminated on the October 5 episode of *NXT*. In November, the twins began a storyline with Daniel Bryan, when Brie accompanied him to the ring for his match. Following his win, Nikki ran out and the two fought over Bryan's affection, until Bryan broke it up and had them hug each other. They began to manage Bryan and frequently accompanied him to the ring over the next two months. In January 2011, both Bellas turned into villainous characters for the first time in their carrers, when they discovered Bryan kissing Gail Kim backstage and assaulted her. They continued to attack Kim, both at the Royal Rumble and on *Raw*, and on February 7, they teamed with Melina in a losing effort to Kim, Eve Torres, and Tamina.

#### **Divas Champion (2011-2012)**

The Bellas began feuding with Eve Torres after they appeared as lumberjills during a Divas Championship match between Torres and Natalya on the February 14 episode of *Raw*. Following the match, they attacked Torres backstage before Gail Kim and Natalya stopped them. The next week, the twins defeated Torres and Kim in a tag team match. The following week, Nikki won a battle royal to become the number one contender for the Divas Championship, and unsuccessfully challenged Torres for the championship on March 7. On April 11, Nikki helped Brie to defeat Torres to win the Divas Championship, marking the first time either twin had held a championship in WWE. Nikki helped Brie once again, this time to successfully defend the championship against Kelly Kelly at Over the Limit, after switching places with Brie. However, Brie lost the championship against Kelly on a special "Power to the People" episode of *Raw* on June 20, ending her reign at 70 days, and failing to regain it on July 17, in a rematch against Kelly at Money in the Bank.

The twins spent the majority of the rest of the year in tag team matches, regularly facing Kelly and Torres. The Bellas began to show friction for the second time since joining WWE in March 2012, after both twins lost to AJ Lee in singles competition. After Brie's match with Lee, 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 defeated then Divas Champion Beth Phoenix in a non-title match, after Kelly Kelly distracted Phoenix. On April 23, Nikki defeated Phoenix in a lumberjill match on *Raw* to win the Divas Championship for the first time. Brie lost Nikki's championship to Layla at Extreme Rulesafter *Twin Magic* failed, ending her Divas Championship reign after only a week. 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.

### **Independent circuit (2012-2013)**

On May 1, 2012, the twins appeared at their first independent wrestling show in Newburgh, New York at Northeast Wrestling. They later appeared for CTWE Pro Wrestling at the *Season Beatings* pay-per-view on December 15, each accompanying a different wrestler to the ring.

### **Return to WWE**

#### **Total Divas storylines (2013-2014)**

The Bella Twins returned to WWE on the March 11, 2013, episode of *Raw* in a backstage segment with Team Rhodes Scholars (Cody Rhodes and Damien Sandow). On the March 15 episode of *SmackDown*, the twins attacked The Funkadactyls (Cameron and Naomi), and the following week interfered in matches between Team Rhodes Scholars and Brodus Clay and Tensai, but were attacked by The Funkadactyls. The twins made their in–ring return facing and defeating The Funkadactyls on the March 27 episode of *Main Event* after interference from Cody Rhodes, and also defeated them on *Raw* five days later.[90]The Bella Twins were scheduled to participate in an eight–person tag team match with Team Rhodes Scholars against Tons of Funk (Clay and Tensai) and The Funkadactyls at WrestleMania 29, but the match was cancelled due to time restraints, and instead took place the following night on *Raw*, where The Bella Twins and Team Rhodes Scholars were defeated. The twins continued their feud with The Funkadactyls throughout April, defeating them in standard tag team, and six-Diva tag team matches. In June, Nikki suffered a fractured tibia.

Upon the debut of the *Total Divas* reality television program in July, The Bellas returned and 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 transitioned into a scripted feud with Divas Champion AJ Lee, who mocked the show and cast, turning The Bellas faces in the process. Nikki returned to in-ring action on the October 25 episode of *SmackDown*, losing to Lee. At Survivor Series the following month, the twins were part of the victorious Team Total Divas. On the December 9 episode of *Raw*, the twins were awarded Slammy Awards for Diva of the Year.

On April 6, 2014, Nikki competed at WrestleMania XXX in the 14-Diva "Vickie Guerrero Invitational match" for the Divas Championship, which was won by the defending champion AJ Lee. The same month, Brie became involved in her real-life husband Daniel Bryan's ongoing storyline with Stephanie McMahon and Kane, where as part of the storyline, McMahon threatened to fire Brie if, an injured, Bryan did not relinquish the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at Payback, which forced Brie to "quit" WWE before slapping McMahon in the face. After Brie quit, McMahon put Nikki in several handicap matches as punishment. After a month absence, Brie returned to WWE television, appearing in the crowd on July 21; following a confrontation, McMahon slapped Brie and was subsequently arrested. In order to have Brie drop the "charges", Brie was rehired and received a match against McMahon at SummerSlam.

At the pay-per-view, Nikki turned heel by attacking Brie, which allowed McMahon to win the match. The next several weeks saw the twins 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 Divas Championship, which she failed to win. Nikki then obtained permission to begin forcing Brie to compete in handicap matches, similar to her punishment at the hands of McMahon, although Brie was able to win them. This led to a match between the twins at Hell in a Cell, where the loser was forced to become the winner's personal assistant for 30 days, in which Nikki defeated Brie. Five days later on *SmackDown*, Nikki won a Halloween costume battle royal to become the number one contender for the Divas Championship.

#### **Longest-reigning Divas Champion (2014-2015)**

Nikki received her title match against AJ Lee on November 23 at Survivor Series, which she won with Brie's help to become a two-time Divas Champion. The duo had reconciled at this point, with Brie also turning heel in the process. Nikki then went on to retain her championship in three separate occasions – against Lee in a rematch on December 14, at TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs, against Naomi two days later on *SmackDown*, and against Paige at Fastlane on February 22, 2015. Paige and Lee then formed an alliance against Bellas, which led to a tag team match at WrestleMania 31, where Lee and Paige were victorious.

On April 26, after Nikki, with the help of Brie, once again retained her title against Naomi at Extreme Rules a feud started, with Naomi aligning with the returning Tamina to even the odds against Bellas, who began showing more heroic characteristics. This change in character was criticized as "sudden", "randomly", and "for no reason". This led to a tag team match between the two teams on May 17 at Payback, where Naomi and Tamina were victorious. Two weeks later at Elimination Chamber, Nikki retained her title against Naomi and Paige in a triple threat match, with Brie banned from ringside.

In June, The Bella Twins became villains once again by employing *Twin Magic*, which helped Nikki retain the title against Paige on the June 1 episode of *Raw* and at Money in the Bank. During the feud with Paige, Alicia Fox allied with them to form Team Bella. At The Beast in the East on July 4, Nikki retained the title against Paige and Tamina. After weeks of Team Bella outnumbering Paige, Naomi, and Tamina, Stephanie McMahon called for a "revolution" in the WWE Divas division and introduced the debuting Charlotte and Becky Lynch as Paige's allies, while NXT Women's Champion Sasha Banks debuted as an ally to Naomi and Tamina, which led to a brawl between the three teams. Nikki then lost to Charlotte in a tag team match on the August 3 episode of *Raw*, and to Banks on the August 17 episode of *Raw* in a non-title match. The three teams faced off on August 23 at SummerSlam in a three team elimination match, in which Team Bella first eliminated Team B.A.D., before Team PCB's win.

On the September 14 episode of *Raw*, Nikki defended her title against Charlotte, who pinned Brie after the twins had switched places to win the match; however, since the title cannot change hands by disqualification, Nikki retained the championship, and in the process, became the new longest reigning Divas Champion in history, surpassing AJ Lee's previous record of 295 days. Nikki dropped the championship to Charlotte on September 20 at Night of Champions, ending her reign at 301 days, and failed to regain the title in a rematch on October 25 at Hell in a Cell.

Shortly after, Nikki went on a hiatus from television due to a neck injury which would require surgery, but returned for one night on December 21, to accept the Slammy Award for Diva of the Year. Nikki made a brief cameo appearance at the WrestleMania 32 event in April 3, 2016, celebrating with Brie after winning a 10-Diva tag team match. In June, Nikki confirmed that she would no longer use her *Rack Attack* maneuver and began training with her sister's husband Daniel Bryan, whom she announced was teaching her a new finishing move. On July 21, she was revealed to be cleared for in-ring competition and continued her training at the WWE Performance Center.

#### **SmackDown Live (2016-2017)**

On August 21, 2016, Bella made a surprise return at SummerSlam after ten months of inactivity, teaming with Natalya and Alexa Bliss, replacing Eva Marie, defeating Becky Lynch, Naomi, and Carmella. Two days later on the August 23 episode of *SmackDown*, after being established as part of the brand, Bella began a feud with Carmella and would be attacked by her, while re-establishing herself as a face in the process for the first time since 2014. At Backlash, on September 11, Bella competed in a six–pack elimination challenge to determine the inaugural WWE SmackDown Women's Champion, where she would eliminate Natalya before being eliminated by Carmella. On October 9, Bella defeated Carmella at the No Mercy pay-per-view. On the October 25 episode of *SmackDown*, Bella scored a victory over Natalya to become the team captain of the SmackDown women's team at Survivor Series. At Survivor Series, Bella was replaced by Natalya after she was attacked backstage right before the match, in which the SmackDown women's team came up on the losing end. The feud between Bella and Carmella resumed shortly thereafter, culminating in a no-disqualification match between the two at TLC, in which Bella was victorious. Carmella later revealed that Bella's attacker at Survivor Series was *Total Divas* co-star Natalya.

On the December 20 episode of *SmackDown*, Natalya admitted to attacking Bella at Survivor Series, revealing her pent-up jealousy of her success for years. The two then spent the next few weeks exchanging offenses and attacking each other in several different locations. he two were set to compete in a match on the January 10 episode of *SmackDown*, but the match never officially started since the two continued brawling. At Royal Rumble, Bella competed in a six-woman tag team match alongside Naomi and Lynch against Natalya, Bliss, and Mickie James, with her team coming out victorious after Naomi pinned Bliss. On the January 31 episode of *SmackDown*, General Manager Daniel Bryan announced that Bella will face Natalya in singles competition at the Elimination Chamber, which ended in a double count-out. The feud culminated in a Falls Count Anywhere match on the February 21 episode of *SmackDown*, in which Natalya defeated Bella after Maryse attacked the latter.

On the February 28 episode of *SmackDown*, Bella joined her real-life boyfriend John Cena after Maryse slapped Cena on *MizTV* and escaped the ring with The Miz, leading to a mixed tag-team match between the two couples at WrestleMania 33, in which Cena and Bella were victorious. After the match, Cena legitimately proposed to Bella, which she accepted. On April 4, Bella announced via her Instagram account that she would be taking time off from wrestling.

#### **Part-time appearances (2018-present)**

The Bella Twins returned for the 25th anniversary of Raw on January 22, 2018. Both Bellas then competed in the inaugural women's Royal Rumble match at the 2018 Royal Rumble where Nikki was #27 followed by Brie at #28. Both were in the final four with Asuka and Sasha Banks, in which Nikki and Brie eliminated Banks. Nikki would then eliminate Brie, only to end up being eliminated by Asuka.

## Other media

Prior to working with WWE, the twins appeared on *Meet My Folks*. Both twins also appeared in the music video for "Right Side of the Bed" by the band Atreyu. They also appeared in the music video for "Na Na" by Trey Songz in 2014. The twins made a guest appearance on the MTV series *Ridiculousness* in October 2012.

The twins guest starred on the television series *Psych*, in the 2014 episode "A Nightmare on State Street". Nikki and Brie are part of the main cast for the reality television show *Total Divas*, which began airing in July 2013, and they also star in their own spinoff entitled *Total Bellas*, which premiered on E! on October 5, 2016. Nikki and Brie co-starred in the 2014 independent film *Confessions of a Womanizer*, and provided voices for the 2015 movie *The Flintstones & WWE: Stone Age SmackDown!*. Both twins appeared on the WWE YouTube show *The JBL & Cole Show*. She appeared at the Miss USA 2013 pageant as one of the celebrity judges. They appeared at the 2014 MTV Europe Music Awards, where they presented the award for Best Female. The twins were both nominated for Choice Female Athlete at the 2015 Teen Choice Awards, an award they would later win at the 2016 ceremony.

On November 21, 2016, Nikki and Brie unveiled their new YouTube channel, "The Bella Twins.” The sisters’ channel features daily fashion, beauty, travel, fitness, relationship, and health videos, along with daily video blogs, created by the twins themselves.

On August 21, 2017, Nikki and Brie launched their own wine label called Belle Radici in collaboration with Hill Family Estates and Gauge Branding.

On September 6, 2017, Bella was announced as one of the celebrities who will compete on the 25th season of *Dancing with the Stars*. She is paired with professional dancer Artem Chigvintsev. She was eliminated on October 30, 2017.

On November 1, 2017, Nikki and Brie launched Birdiebee, a lifestyle intimates and activewear brand. The line includes transitional intimates, activewear, and loungewear aimed at “empowering and educating women through mirroring the twins’ passion for life, strength, women’s health and wellness, and fun.”

Bella has appeared in ten WWE video games. She made her in-game debut in *WWE SmackDown! vs. Raw 2010* and appears in *WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2011*, *WWE 12* (DLC), *WWE 13*, *WWE 2K14* (DLC), *WWE 2K15*, *WWE 2K16*,[188], *WWE 2K17, WWE 2K18* and *WWE 2K19*. On May 23, 2018, Bella appeared in the celebrity edition of American Ninja Warrior: Ninja vs Ninja.

## Personal life

In May 2014, Nicole revealed on *Total Divas* that she had married her high school sweetheart at the age of 20; the marriage was annulled three years later. Nicole also announced on *Total Divas* in 2014 that she is a qualified real-estate agent.

Bella began dating John Cena in 2012. The couple became engaged on April 2, 2017, when Cena proposed to her after their mixed tag-team match at WrestleMania 33. On April 15, 2018, the couple announced their separation and cancelled their wedding which was planned for May 5, 2018.

## Filmography

### **Music video**

 2014
 2017

## Championships and accomplishments

* ***Pro Wrestling Illustrated***
	+ Ranked No. 1 of the top 50 female wrestlers in the *PWI Female 50* in 2015
* ***Rolling Stone***
	+ Diva of the Year (2015)
* **Teen Choice Awards**
	+ Choice Female Athlete (2016) - with Brie Bella
* ***Wrestling Observer Newsletter***
	+ Worst Feud of the Year (2014) - Brie vs. Nikki
	+ Worst Feud of the Year (2015) - Team PCB vs. Team B.A.D. vs. Team Bella
	+ Worst Worked Match of the Year (2013) - with Cameron, Eva Marie, JoJo, Naomi & Natalya vs. AJ Lee, Aksana, Alicia Fox, Kaitlyn, Rosa Mendez, Summer Rae and Tamina at Survivor Series
* **WWE**
	+ WWE Divas Champion (2 times) - longest reigning
	+ Slammy Awards (2 times)
		- Diva of the Year (2013, 2015)