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Stephanie Nicole Garcia-Colace[7] (born November 21, 1983), known professionally as Nikki Garcia, is an American television personality and retired professional wrestler. She is best known for her tenure in WWE from 2007 to 2022, in which she performed under the ring name Nikki Bella alongside her twin sister, Brie, as The Bella Twins. She is currently the host of the game show, Barmageddon.
In 2007, Garcia signed with WWE and was assigned to the developmental territoryFlorida Championship Wrestling alongside her twin sister Brie, forming the duo The Bella Twins. She made her debut for the SmackDownbrand in 2008.[8] She is a two-time WWE Divas Champion with her second reign of 301 days being the longest reign for the now defunct title. She and Brie were inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2021 as The Bella Twins. Also during her time in WWE, she starred in the reality TV series, Total Divas, and she and Brie got their own spin-off, Total Bellas. In her last few years in WWE, she only made sporadic appearances, but acted as an ambassador for the company. After her contract with WWE expired in 2023, Nikki and Brie retired the "Bella" surname and returned to their legal maiden name of "Garcia" professionally, reintroducing themselves as The Garcia Twins.
Born sixteen minutes before her twin sister, Brianna, to parents Jon Garcia and Kathy Colace,[11] Garcia-Colace was born in San Diego, California,[12] and raised on a farm in the Phoenix suburb of Scottsdale, Arizona.[13] 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.[11] She then returned to San Diego for college where she played soccer for Grossmont College,[13] but relocated to Los Angeles a year later, where she worked as a waitress at the Mondrian Hotel while trying to find an agent.[11]
She then started modeling, acting, and doing promotional work.[citation needed] She made her first national TV appearance on the Fox reality show Meet My Folks.[11] Following this appearance, the Garcia twins were hired to be the World Cup Twins for Budweiser and were photographed holding the World Cup trophy.[14] Nikki and her sister Brie were contestants in the 2006 "International Body Doubles twins search".[15] Nikki and Brie later participated in the 2006WWE Diva Search, but they did not make the cut.[16]
Starting in December 2007, she managed Derrick Linkin, however, the storyline was cut short when Linkin was released in January 2008.[17] She and Brie then resumed their feud with Neidhart and Crawford, wrestling them throughout much of 2008.[18] After Neidhart was called up to the WWE roster in April 2008, Milena Roucka took her place in the feud.[18][19] 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 Divasbattle royal won by Miss Angela.[18]
On the August 29, 2008, episode of SmackDown, Brianna debuted as Brie Bella, defeating Victoria.[20] She quickly began a scripted rivalry with Victoria and Victoria's accomplice, Natalya, and had a series of matches against them.[21][22][23] In each match, Brie would roll out of the ring and go underneath it, emerging and appearing revived, and then win the match.[21][24] 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.[25] The following week on SmackDown, Brie defeated 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.[8] Nicole was then introduced as Nikki Bella, and the twins had their first official match as a team on the November 21 episode of SmackDown, defeating Victoria and Natalya.[26] They continued competing in tag team matches over the following months.[27][28][29]
During their first tenure with WWE, both twins used to dressed in matching outfits as seen here
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.[30][31] 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.[32][33] 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.[34][35] On the March 17 episode of ECW, Carlito and Primo, aiming for Morrison and The Miz, accidentally spat apples in the face of Brie.[36] 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, with Nikki turning heel in the process.[36] Brie won her first match over Nikki in a six-person intergender tag team match on SmackDown the following week.[37] On the March 31 episode of ECW, Nikki pinned Brie in their first singles match against each other after a distraction from Morrison and The Miz.[38]
On April 15, 2009, The Bella Twins were both drafted to the Raw brand as part of the 2009 supplemental draft.[39] 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, turning face in the process.[40] 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.[41] They debuted on ECW the following night as special guests on The Abraham Washington Show.[42] They 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.[43] The following week on Superstars, Brie defeated Burchill in similar fashion, and the feud ended in September when Nikki defeated Burchill on Superstars.[44][45]
On October 12, the Bellas were traded back to Raw as part of a tri-branded Divas trade,[46] where they predominately appeared in backstage segments with the weekly guest stars and only occasionally competed in matches.[47] 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.[48] In June 2010, they developed a feud with Jillian Hall, when Brie defeated her after switching places with Nikki.[49] The following week, Nikki defeated Hall after switching with Brie.[50] 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.[51] The next week on Superstars, the twins defeated Hall and Maryse in a tag team match to end the storyline.[52]
In 2010, the Bella Twins took part of the all-female third season of NXT, mentoring Jamie.[53] Jamie was the first rookie Diva eliminated on the October 5 episode of NXT.[54] 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.[55] They began to manage Bryan and frequently accompanied him to the ring over the next two months.[56][57] In January 2011, both Bellas turned into villainous characters for the first time in their careers, when they discovered Bryan kissing Gail Kim backstage and assaulted her.[58] 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.[59][60][61]
Divas Champion (2011–2012)
Brie Bella as Divas Champion (right) with Nikki Bella (left) in April 2011
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.[47] The next week, the twins defeated Torres and Kim in a tag team match.[62] 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.[63][64] On April 11, Nikki helped Brie defeat Torres to win the Divas Championship, marking the first time either twin had held a championship in WWE.[65] Nikki helped Brie once again, this time to successfully defend the championship against Kelly Kelly at Over the Limit, after switching places with Brie.[66] 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.[67]
The twins spent the majority of the rest of the year in tag team matches, regularly facing Kelly and Torres.[68][69] 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.[70][71] 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.[72]
On the April 6 episode of SmackDown, Nikki defeated then Divas Champion Beth Phoenix in a non-title match, after Kelly Kelly distracted Phoenix.[73] On April 23, Nikki defeated Phoenix in a lumberjill match on Raw to win the Divas Championship for the first time.[74][75] Brie lost Nikki's championship to Layla at Extreme Rules after Twin Magic failed, ending her Divas Championship reign after only a week.[76] 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.[77] Later that night, the twins were fired by Executive Administrator Eve Torres.[78]
Independent circuit (2012–2013)
On May 1, 2012, the twins appeared at their first independent wrestling show in Newburgh, New York for the promotion Northeast Wrestling.[79] 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.[citation needed]
On the March 11, 2013, episode of Raw, The Bella Twins returned to WWE in a backstage segment with Team Rhodes Scholars (Cody Rhodes and Damien Sandow).[80] On the March 15 episode of SmackDown, they attacked The Funkadactyls (Cameron and Naomi),[81] and the following week interfered in matches between Team Rhodes Scholars and Brodus Clay and Tensai, but were attacked by The Funkadactyls.[82][83] 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,[84] and also defeated them on Raw five days later.[85] 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 on April 7, but the match was canceled due to time restraints,[85] and instead took place the following night on Raw, where The Bella Twins and Team Rhodes Scholars were defeated.[86] The twins continued their feud with The Funkadactyls, defeating them in standard tag team,[87] and six-Diva tag team matches.[88][89] In June, Nikki suffered a fractured tibia.[90]
After returning to WWE, the twins began dressing in different outfits, as seen here
Upon the debut of the Total Divasreality television program in July, The Bellas returned and started a feud with their co-star on the show, Natalya. Brie and Natalya went on to trade victories in singles competition on Raw and at SummerSlam on August 18.[91][92][93] The cast of Total Divas then transitioned into a scripted feud with Divas ChampionAJ Lee, who mocked the show and cast, turning The Bellas faces in the process.[93] Nikki returned to in-ring action on the October 25 episode of SmackDown, losing to Lee.[94] At Survivor Series on November 24, the twins were part of the victorious Team Total Divas.[95] On the December 9 episode of Raw, the twins were awarded Slammy Awards for Diva of the Year.[96]
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.[97] The same month, Brie became involved in her real-life husband Daniel Bryan's ongoing storyline with Stephanie McMahon and Kane,[98] 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 on June 1, which forced Brie to "quit" WWE before slapping McMahon in the face.[99] After Brie quit, McMahon put Nikki in several handicap matches as punishment.[100][101][102] After being absent for a month, Brie returned to WWE television, appearing in the crowd on July 21; following a confrontation, McMahon slapped Brie and was subsequently arrested.[103] In order to have Brie drop the "charges", Brie was rehired and received a match against McMahon at SummerSlam.[104]
At the pay-per-view on August 17, Nikki turned heel by attacking Brie, which allowed McMahon to win the match.[105] 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.[106] 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 on September 21, which she failed to win.[107][108] 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.[109][110] This led to a match between the twins at Hell in a Cell on October 26, where the loser was forced to become the winner's personal assistant for 30 days, in which Nikki defeated Brie.[111] Five days later on SmackDown, Nikki won a Halloween costume battle royal to become the number one contender for the Divas Championship.[112]
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.[113] The duo had reconciled at this point, with Brie also turning heel in the process.[114][115][116] 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,[117] against Naomi two days later on SmackDown,[118] and against Paige at Fastlane on February 22, 2015.[119] Paige and Lee then formed an alliance against the Bellas,[120] which led to a tag team match at WrestleMania 31 on March 29, where Lee and Paige were victorious.[121][122]
On April 26, after Nikki, with the help of Brie, once again retained her title against Naomi at Extreme Rules[123] a feud started with Naomi aligning with the returning Tamina to even the odds against the Bellas, who began showing more heroic characteristics.[124][125] This change in character was criticized as "sudden", "randomly", and "for no reason".[126] This led to a tag team match between the two teams at Payback on May 17, where Naomi and Tamina were victorious.[127] At Elimination Chamber on May 31, Nikki retained her title against Naomi and Paige in a triple threat match, with Brie banned from ringside.[128]
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 on June 14.[129][130] During the feud with Paige, Alicia Fox allied with them to form Team Bella.[131] At The Beast in the East on July 4, Nikki retained the title against Paige and Tamina.[132] 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 ChampionSasha Banks debuted as an ally to Naomi and Tamina, which led to a brawl between the three teams.[133][134] Nikki then lost to Charlotte in a tag team match on the August 3 episode of Raw,[135] and to Banks on the August 17 episode of Raw in a non-title match.[136] The three teams faced off at SummerSlam on August 23 in a three team elimination match, in which Team Bella first eliminated Team B.A.D. before Team PCB won.[137]
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.[138] Nikki dropped the championship to Charlotte at Night of Champions on September 20, ending her reign at 301 days,[139] and failed to regain the title in a rematch at Hell in a Cell on October 25.[140]
Shortly after, Nikki went on a hiatus from television due to a neck injury which would require surgery,[141][142] but returned for one night on December 21, to accept the Slammy Award for Diva of the Year.[143] Nikki made a brief appearance at the WrestleMania 32 event on April 3, 2016, celebrating with Brie after winning a 10-Diva tag team match.[144][145] In June, Nikki confirmed that she would no longer use her Rack Attack maneuver and began training with her sister's husband Daniel Bryan, who was teaching her a new finishing move.[146] On July 21, she was revealed to be cleared for in-ring competition and continued her training at the WWE Performance Center.[5]
Bella then became the team captain of Team SmackDown for the traditional five–on–five elimination match at Survivor Series.[156] However, at the event on November 20, she was replaced by Natalya, after someone attacked her backstage before the match.[157] In December, just after their feud ended, Carmella revealed Natalya as the attacker, who eventually confirmed it with the main reason being Bella's success and Natalya's downfall in the company.[158] Upon the beginning of 2017, both women kept attacking each other, which led to a match at Elimination Chamber on February 12 that ended in a double count–out.[159][160][161][162] In a rematch that took place on the February 21 episode of SmackDown, Natalya defeated Bella in a falls count anywhere match after Maryse attacked Bella with a lead pipe due to Bella accidentally tripping over her in the backstage make up area during her match with Natalya.[163]
Maryse's attack sparked a feud between the two, which actually involved Bella's real real–life boyfriend John Cena and Maryse's real–life husband, The Miz.[164] This led to a mixed tag team match between the two couples at WrestleMania 33 on April 2, which Cena and Bella won. After the match, Cena legitimately proposed to Bella, which she accepted.[165][166] After that, she took time off from wrestling.[167]
The Bella Twins appeared at the 25th Anniversary of Raw on January 22, 2018.[168] A few days later, both Nikki and Brie competed in the inaugural women's royal rumble match at the 2018 Royal Rumble on January 28, where Nikki entered at #27, lasting 16 minutes and 30 seconds before she was the last woman eliminated by the eventual winner Asuka.[169] Both twins made an appearance at the SummerSlam pay–per–view on August 19, showing their support for Ronda Rousey in her match with Alexa Bliss.[170]
In September, The Bella Twins returned full-time on Raw and feuded with The Riott Squad (Ruby Riott, Liv Morgan and Sarah Logan), over which they scored victories in various tag team and singles matches.[171][172][173][174][175] To even the odds, Ronda Rousey aligned with The Bella Twins, and the trio was able to defeat The Riott Squad at Super Show-Down in a six–woman tag team match on October 6.[176] Two days later on the October 8 episode of Raw, after defeating The Riott Squad in a rematch, Nikki attacked Rousey, with Brie later following suit, turning villainous for the first time since 2015.[177]
On June 20, 2019, Bella ended her in-ring career after a cyst had been found on her brain.[182][183]
On the February 21, 2020, episode of SmackDown, the Bella Twins were named for the WWE Hall of Fame.[184][185]
On the second night of WrestleMania 37 on April 11, 2021, Nikki, along with her sister Brie, attacked Bayley, sending her rolling down the ramp, turning face once again in the process.[186]
After being medically cleared, on the January 7, 2022 episode of SmackDown, Nikki participated in the women's Royal Rumble match at Royal Rumble on January 29;[187] she entered at #24, eliminating Alicia Fox and Sarah Logan before being eliminated by her sister Brie, who was also in the match. This was the final WWE match for both sisters.[188]
Post-WWE (2023–present)
On March 14, 2023, on their podcast The Nikki & Brie Show, Nikki and Brie announced that they and WWE had mutually agreed to not renew their contracts, as the twins wanted to start a new chapter in their lives. They subsequently reintroduced themselves as The Garcia Twins as "Garcia" was their maiden name.[189]
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.[202] On April 2, 2018, The Bella Twins revealed that they were awarded the YouTube Gold Creator Award for reaching 1 million subscribers for their channel.[203]
The Bella Twins appeared in YouTuberLilly Singh's video "When Someone Tries to Steal Your BFF" on March 2, 2017.[204] On August 21, 2017, Nikki and Brie launched their own wine label called Belle Radici in collaboration with Hill Family Estates and Gauge Branding.[205] Nikki Bella wasone of the celebrities competing on the 25th season of Dancing with the Stars. She was paired with professional dancer Artem Chigvintsev.[206] 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."[207]
On January 28, 2019, Nikki and Brie launched Nicole + Brizee, a body and beauty line.[208]
On March 27, 2019, Nikki and Brie launched their own podcast, The Bellas Podcast, with the Endeavour Audio network.[209] In 2021, it was relaunched after being acquired by Stitcher, a subsidiary of Sirius XM.[210]
In 2021, Nikki and Brie launched another wine label called Bonita Bonita Wine.[213] They also launched their own baby gear collection in partnership with Colugo. Nikki and Brie also joined Colugo as investors and creative advisors.[214]
On October 19, 2022, Nikki joined Blake Shelton's bar-inspired game show named Barmageddon, serving as the host.[216] On March 2, 2023, it was renewed for a second season.[217]
In May 2014, Nikki revealed on Total Divas that she had married her high school sweetheart at the age of 20; the marriage was annulled three years later.[225][226]
Nikki 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.[227] On April 15, 2018, the couple called off the engagement and canceled their wedding, which was planned for May 5, 2018.[228][229]
She began dating her Season 25 Dancing with the Stars partner and Russian dancer Artem Chigvintsev in January 2019.[230] On January 3, 2020, the couple became engaged.[231]
On July 31, 2020, Nikki gave birth to their first child, a son.[232] The couple married on August 26, 2022.[233] On August 29, 2024, Chigvintsev was booked into Napa County Jail on a felony domestic violence charge which involved him inflicting corporal injury on a spouse.[234][235] However, Nikki would not publicly discuss the incident, with her rep describing it as a "private matter."[236][237] Almost two weeks after Chigventsev's arrest, on September 11, 2024, Nikki filed for divorce.[238][239] In court documents, Nikki cited "irreconcilable differences" with Chigventsev and sought "legal and physical" custody of their child, but also requested that Chigvintsev be allowed to have child visitation.[240] Both were granted restraining orders against each other.
On September 24, 2024, Napa County District Attorney, Allison Haley, announced that her office has declined to file criminal charges against Artem Chigvintsev.[241] Noting "[T]he decision to not file charges against Mr. Chigvintsev was made after a thorough review of the criminal investigation and careful evaluation of the evidence presented to the DA’s Office."[242] She noted there was not enough evidence to prove that Artem did in fact inflict injury to his then wife. Napa residents have claimed they are more than happy to have Artem in the community and feel completely safe, noting there has been heavy, unwarranted bias against the dancer. Nikki sought full custody of the child when she filed for divorce, requesting Artem have supervised visitation with their son and undergo anger management classes, however, after a court hearing in Napa County, it was announced the parents will share joint custody of Matteo, as Artem had previously requested when he submitted his divorce response in September.[243]
