Andrew Ravens
The Bella Twins (Nikki and Brie Bella) are back in WWE for what they expect to be the final chapter of their careers. On a new episode of the Nikki & Brie Show, the twins revealed that when Brie returned at the 2026 Royal Rumble, both signed two-year contracts with WWE.
They are treating this run as their last before retirement, and this Friday on SmackDown, they will challenge Nia Jax and Lash Legend for the WWE Women’s Tag Team titles at the Lenovo Center in Raleigh, North Carolina. Nikki spoke about the reality of how female performers are typically sent off in WWE, acknowledging that the kind of farewell tour John Cena and AJ Styles received is unlikely to be extended to her and Brie.
“For me, I don’t think you and I will ever get that last retirement moment that like John got and AJ Styles got,” Nikki said. “Let’s be honest, the men get, right? I don’t think you and I will ever get that, but I would love to have that. Because I do know that the contract that we signed, we signed a two-year deal starting Royal Rumble.
“And for you and I, the talks we’ve had and what I know just where I’m at, that’s it. That will be the end for me and for us.”
Bella Twins are hyper-focused on tag team gold
Despite that uncertainty, Nikki made clear she wants this run to be defined by quality and memorable moments rather than simply going through the motions.
“I want to have some of my best matches. I want to have a lot of fun,” she said. “But I want to have like an iconic moment where it’s like, I could look back and go, ‘Damn, that was a great two years.’ We did it. I don’t want to walk away with any what-ifs. I want to look back at these past two years that we’re about to create and be like, ‘Damn, girl. We did it.'”
Winning the WWE Women’s Tag Team titles sits near the top of what the Bellas want to accomplish before they walk away. Both are already WWE Hall of Famers, but the tag titles represent one of the few remaining milestones they have yet to check off.
“This is like the final thing,” Nikki said. “So when I’m like 60, 70, 80, hopefully 90s, sitting with Brie on a porch, wine tasting, wine making, like we could, ‘Girl, we did that.’ We did Evolution. We did this. Tag team champs. Like, that’s how my mind works, like that’s accomplishments. But dang, to do it as moms. Nothing is better.”
