Bellas Say They Were Originally Set to Feud With IIconics After WrestleMania, Talk Learning Nikki’s Career Was Over

– During the most recent episode of the Bella Twins’ podcast, the Nikki and Brie Bella discussed how they were originally set to feud with the IIconics after WrestleMania for the Tag Team Titles before Nikki found out her career was over. Nikki and Brie discussed how close the feud was to happening and how Nikki learned her career was done due to a brain cyst and herniated disk.

The highlights from the discussion, as well as the full podcast, are below:

Nikki and Brie on the original plan to feud with the IIconics:

Nikki: “So Brie and I, we were gonna come back and fight for the tag titles after WrestleMania. And we were gonna go against the IIconics for a few months, it was gonna be a lot of fun. [We were] really excited and, you know, deep down inside I kept having this weird feeling that I needed to get an X-ray on my neck. Because for a while I wasn’t feeling okay. Brie knows that in December, after Evolution, I just kept telling her like, ‘Brie, I just feel off. Like, my head doesn’t feel right.’ My head just kept feeling off, and I even told her, ‘Do you think I’m just like, super unhealthy?’ I live a very healthy lifestyle, but I just couldn’t figure it out.”

Brie: “Well, and also because we’re so busy that we’re exhausted a lot, that sometimes you kind of thing, ‘Well, maybe I’m just tired of being in these plans and travelling, and stress.”

Nikki: “And it was the first time that I kind of just chilled. So I was thinking all of these different things, right? But I just, in my heart I knew something wasn’t right. So I went to this detox spa in Palm Springs called the We Care Spa, which I’m obsessed with, and detoxed mind, body and soul for the next three days. I was feeling good after that for a bit, and then I just started not feeling good. So I got my blood drawn, and I realized that certain levels were off, that I had to fix. I even went to this one doctor who will look at you and put you on these Chinese herbs. And that was incredible, but nothing was … fixing me permanently. So it was like, I was the healthiest I’d ever been in my whole life, but I still felt off.”

Brie: “We had our gear [for the match], we had everything.”

Nikki: “We were ready. I mean, Bella Twins were coming back in a big way.”

Brie: “The Smackdown after WrestleMania, I mean, we had it all planned out. We’re in New York, thinking it’s still happening, you guys.”

Nikki on her health issues: “So I called my surgeon, a week and a half before, I think it was. It was a week before, week and a half before WrestleMania. And I said, ‘Look, between you and I, I need to get an MRI done. I’m just, I don’t feel right, not knowing what’s going on with my neck if go I get in that ring. So can you just set me up somewhere in LA, can I get an MRI?’ He said, ‘Definitely.’ And he goes, ‘You know, like I just have this feeling. I want to get an MRI on your brain too. Let’s just see how everything is looking.’ And I’m like, ‘Oh!’ Like, I didn’t think twice about it. It’s your surgeon, he’s been on this whole neck journey with me. He saved me, he created a miracle on my neck, so like, I listen to Dr. Uribe.”

Nikki on finding out her in-ring career was over: “So I go and I get my MRIs done, and literally the Thursday before WrestleMania. So I’m in New York, doing my appearances with Brie. Dr. Uribe calls me, and he goes, ‘We need to talk.’ And you know what? It’s crazy, when a doctor says it to you in a certain tone, immediately you’re like, ‘Okay, this isn’t good.’ So he was just like, ‘Nikki, I want you to know that why you’re feeling how you do is, you have so much inflammation around the metal in your neck. On top of that, you’ve herniated your disk above where you had surgery. It’s fully herniated. And on top of that, I found a cyst on your brain … I don’t think it’s anything we need to worry about. I can tell it’s benign, we need to check on this every year.’ And I was like, ‘wait, what?’ And he kept telling me, ‘I don’t want to freak you out, but you need to know these things.’ And he said, ‘You know, Nikki, I didn’t want you going back before.’ Because Dr. Uribe since Day One has not wanted me to get back in the ring … and he goes, ‘You’re done. I’m so sorry, but you get back in that ring,’ he goes, ‘One hit, you’re either paralyzed or you’re lights out for good.'”

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit The Bellas Podcast with a h/t to 411mania.com for the transcription.