wrestling / Columns

Nikki Bella’s Return Set Carmella Free

September 25, 2016 | Posted by Dino Zee
Nikki Garcia Bella SummerSlam Image Credit: WWE

The second she appeared on stage and hit that moonwalk, I knew that Carmella was going to be someone important. I had heard about her from friends (my NXT viewing is sparse, at best), but had seen next to nothing of her. Knowing that she was running with Enzo and Big Cass, however, at least told me that she probably brought something entertaining (if even just a little) to the table.

So, when Enzo and Cass made their debuts on Raw with Carmella nowhere to be seen, I was slightly let down. I had looked forward to seeing the three of them do what they do on the big roster, but it appeared that, for the time being, the WWE higher-ups had other plans entirely.

That would change with the draft in July, which would see Carmella picked by Shane McMahon and Daniel Bryan’s Smackdown Live brand. There were some questions as to why, after Stephanie McMahon and Mick Foley’s Raw brand had drafted WWE Women’s Champion Charlotte (and thus had the rights to the championship), the Smackdown Live contingent would want to draft any of the women wrestlers with no prize to dangle in front of their faces, but regardless, Carmella was now going to be a featured player on Tuesday nights.

SummerSlam would see the women of Tuesday nights put into a six woman match, with Naomi, Becky Lynch, and Carmella teaming up to take on Natalya, Alexa Bliss, and a returning Nikki Bella. Bella, through some unbelievable combination of sheer will, heart, and an incredible array of moves, was able to get the win for her team by hitting Carmella with a TKO for the pin. Not the best night for Carmella, but there’s always next time!

Two nights later, we’d get an answer to the Why are the women wrestling on SmackDown question, as the GM and the Commissioner would announce a new Women’s Title, along with a new Tag Team Title that would be exclusive to the brand. Announcing a Six Pack Challenge match to be held at Backlash, the entirety of the division was immediately named a valid #1 contender, opening up a huge opportunity for all the ladies in the land.

And Carmella realized, perhaps more than anyone else, how big this opportunity truly was. Forced to go it alone without the help of her two (crowd-pleasing) friends, Carmella had struggled a bit to gain any traction with most of the fans. Even in New York for SummerSlam, the response to her entrance was surprisingly quiet.

I’m not about to say she was “dead in the water” as I’ve seen and heard others claim, but she was absolutely not off to a great start. And, for those first few weeks, there was no real way to make a splash. There was no champion to attack. Hell, there wasn’t even a belt. On top of that, there was the consideration that, while they’re still tough competitors, names like Naomi, or even Natalya, weren’t exactly met with the highest level of respect from fans anymore. Natalya isn’t seen as a title threat by many due to age and outside interests, and Naomi has never seemed to be able to take things seriously enough to put it all together.

But in 48 hours, Carmella watched as the longest reigning female champion in recent years returned at the second biggest show of the year, while her show would give her division the championship that it needed to chase. To make things just a little bit more meaningful, Nikki Bella, as noted, pinned Carmella.

So after that meeting in the ring where the new belts were announced, Carmella went back to the locker room, and thought things over. She had a scheduled match with Nikki later in the night. She wanted to get some revenge for the SummerSlam mistake, but at the same time, she also just… kinda didn’t like Nikki Bella. It seemed that was true for most of the other women, too. Nikki just wasn’t endearing, and didn’t have many friends. This is a woman who told her own twin that she wished she “had died in the womb.” Supremely arrogant, and with many feeling that her quick rise to the top in 2014 was only due to the help of Stephanie McMahon, Bella’s entire run as champion was never given the respect it was most likely due.

And Carmella was more than aware of this. So, she figured, why not take out two birds with one stone? Why not make a statement at the expense of Bella, who had just returned after nearly a year out with a serious neck injury, and why not add a little bump to your popularity by attacking someone despised by nearly everyone in the WWE Universe?

Know that the second Carmella attacked, this columnist was applauding. But, for some reason, WWE Play-By-Play Man Mauro Ranallo seemed to be dismayed, claiming that Carmella was “ruining this feel-good moment” with her attack. The fans even booed as Carmella punched and kicked Nikki, with even David Otunga sticking up for Nikki, pointing out that “doctors told her she might not ever wrestle again!”

In that moment, I feared that Carmella was somehow being considered the rulebreaker here, while the fans were suddenly all-too-happy to make Nikki Bella a favorite once again. That attack, for me, was the moment I considered myself Carmella’s number one fan. But to nearly everyone else, it was, surprisingly, deplorable.

How did everyone forget so quickly just how bad Nikki Bella is? Did one injury suddenly wash away all of the ill-will she had more than earned with her attitude? With her words? With her underhanded tactics? The fans at SummerSlam even greeted her return with a huge ovation, which is just so baffling when we consider how the fans felt about Nikki when she left.

In an era of “Revolution” and the women wanting to be viewed as equal, Nikki Bella’s callback-to-the-Divas routine has always stuck out like your racist Grandfather. She represents an era many want to move as far away from as possible, but she remains in the picture, always valuable due to her Total Divas fame, regardless of what she does, or to whom she does it.

Carmella had thought the same thing – that an attack on the most disliked woman on the roster would get her back into the good graces of the fans – and she was just as surprised as I was when the fans instead decided to embrace Nikki Bella. The one they had booed so vociferously for so long, was now suddenly their heroine.

And yeah, she wasn’t happy about how things had been going down.

That Nikki’s brother-in-law would imply that Carmella was jealous – jealous – of Nikki Bella was absolutely insulting. As she put it, “Nobody wants to be like Nikki Bella.” It was supremely frustrating to her (and yours truly) to see everyone suddenly love Nikki so much. It made her wonder if it was even about Nikki at all. Maybe they just hated Carmella. And really, if that’s how it was going to be, then she really wasn’t going to worry about it anymore.

She may have lost the support of the fans, but Carmella finally figured out her purpose, re-established her focus, and has now found the path she needs to take to reach the highest mountain. She’s come close in recent outings to earn a title shot, but hasn’t quite got there yet.

No longer needing to worry about anyone but herself, The Princess of Staten Island is free to take over the world, as I thought she would the night she moonwalked into our hearts. That the fans turned on her isn’t her fault. They picked Nikki Bella. That’s on them.

So get your popcorn ready. She’s about to put on a show.


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article topics :

Carmella, Nikki Bella, Smackdown, WWE, Dino Zee