Nikki Bella Talks Marriage Proposal Rumors, Taking Time Off After WrestleMania, Career Winding Down
Nikki Bella took part in an interview with Brian Fritz and Michael Wiseman from Between the Ropes radio. She discussed everything from her outfits and the creation of her look, to her reality shows and rumors about the future of her career.
Here are some of the highlights:
What do you think about the creativity when it comes to Miz and Maryse doing their own version of Total Divas?
"I'm not going to lie. I laughed. What I realized, and I think it goes back to how I have that one look, is that it's very easy to impersonate me. From my look to my personality, and then I'm like 'Is that a good thing or a bad thing?'...I have to give them credit, it was funny. But, what I found even more funny was the roast after the fact."
This feud, I think initially has been something where the fans were like 'we don't know, a mixed tag at WrestleMania?' But you guys have set the world on fire, and spotlighting the women in a mixed tag match. How does it make you feel to redefine that expectation?
"Oh my gosh it's incredible. I've been here for 10 years, and just to see how much women have done in those 10 years has been amazing. But it's these opportunities that we get that we have to knock out of the park or they'll go away. That's the one thing that I appreciate with my man, and then what Miz does for Maryse. They let us have these opportunities...When you had Miss Elizabeth, you couldn't wait to see what she did. And I feel like we went away. The women were a big part. Dusty Rhodes was fighting over women! I felt like for so long we went away from that, and they were more the valets. When you throw a woman into the mix or a love relationship, that's why it used to be a men's soap opera. There was a battle of love back in the day. And now that it's about that people are like 'oh s**t I'm invested.'"
Is there ever a point where you say okay that's a little bit too far? You crossed a line here.
"For me, nothing is off limits. That was really tough. Thank God I had John by my side. Because that's what he taught me. He goes 'don't ever put limits on anyone. Let them talk. Let them talk themselves to death and know that you'll always have a comeback.'"
When did you get the idea that this match could happen?
"It was like two months ago. And it was funny because when I first heard I was like 'John I'm sorry. Am I ruining WrestleMania for you?' And he wanted to do it so bad. I just couldn't help but feel bad. Now he's like 'trust me, we're going to make this amazing.'"
When you talk about a WrestleMania moment obviously there is a big rumor mill going on about what could happen possibly after the match. How do you deal with all the buzz around that?
"I guess I just kind of learn to ignore it. Because one, I don't want to get my hopes up. And two, we were on the Today Show this past week and they told me there's a bet going on in Vegas. There's a real bet. John is like 'Who bets on the WWE? Don't ever bet on the WWE!" And it was like heartbreak, like see, I knew it wasn't going to happen!"
Going into this match on Sunday, we've heard some talk. How's your neck right now?
"It's doing okay. I have a slight herniation above where I had surgery. I just got cleared by my surgeon Wednesday, so I'm good to go. I was supposed to be on a loop of live events. When I got taken off everyone was like 'What's happening?' But I'm good. I kind of sprained my neck, and we found out some other stuff is going on, so I'm definitely going to have to take some time to heal that. But I'm cleared. I'm competing at WrestleMania."
How much more do you want to continue to get into the ring? There's been some talk because of the injury, and you don't want to risk too much, so maybe you're winding down and this could be one of your final matches?
"Totally. I think that's a hard part where I've kind of hid in my career. I need to put health first. And it's hard for me. I'm in the middle of a revolution here. Women are taking the main stage. They are center stage, and they're setting all these records and making history and I want I be a part of that. I've worked so hard to be a part of that. I feel like I'm just starting out in a way. I want to go for the Women's Championship on SmackDown. There's a part of me that I wish I could do both matches on Sunday. It sucks, because then I have to think of the rest of my life. Do I want to walk the rest of my life? Do I want to not be in pain? It just sucks because I have this true battle going on in my head, and everyone keeps telling me you gotta put your health first, but there's so much of me that wants to put my career first . There's so much more I want to do here. So much more. I just feel like 'gosh, this sucks that I have this condition now that is probably going to stop me from doing that.'"
Check out the full interview in the video above.
If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit Between The Ropes with an H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.