Are Nikki and Brie Bella Teasing AEW Debut?

By Liam Crowley

While both Nikki and Brie Bella have been retired as full-time wrestlers for a couple of years, both of the twins have remained an arm's length away from the squared circle. The two returned for a short program with Ronda Rousey in Fall 2018, were inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in Spring 2021, and most recently participated in the women's Royal Rumble match in January 2022. Nikki and Brie were once slated to show face on WWE programming as recently as this past January's Raw is XXX anniversary special, but did not end up appearing on the broadcast.

What seemed like a simple cancellation at first quickly spiraled into something bigger. Nikki revealed that her and her sister's absence from their promoted WWE appearance was due to WWE having "nothing for [them]." While the two sat at home for the anniversary special, they criticized the company's lack of spotlight on female talent during the big event. Raw is XXX infamously had one major women's segment, a steel cage match between Bayley and Becky Lynch, and that bout ultimately ended up getting postponed.

Recent developments on Nikki and Brie's socials indicate that the twins are attempting to distance themselves from WWE. Nikki has changed her Instagram handle to @nikkigarcia while Brie is now going by simply @brie. Their respective bios include mentions of their husbands' surnames, Chigvintsev and Danielson, but no reference to "Bella." Their joint Twitter account is now @NikkiAndBrie.

This has led to speculation that Nikki and Brie could be pursuing a return to wrestling outside of WWE. They have been able to use their WWE ring names for non-WWE professional endeavors for well over a decade. One of the few avenues that WWE would likely flag Nikki and Brie's use of "Bella" would be in another wrestling promotion.

If that is the direction that the twins are going, the shortlist of suitors really starts and ends with AEW. Nikki and Brie were backstage AEW Revolution earlier this month, showing support to longtime friends Saraya and Renee Paquette as well as Brie's husband, Bryan Danielson.

While Tony Khan's young company has often received criticism for inking available free agents simply for the sake of signing talent, there is a ready-made storyline for Nikki and Brie in AEW if they were to join the company. Saraya and Toni Storm turned heel at the start of 2023, targeting "AEW originals" and labelling themselves as "outcasts." Since then, Saraya and Storm have recruited Ruby Soho to their ranks.

Many fans see this "originals vs. outcasts" rivalry culminating in the first-ever women's Blood & Guts match, AEW's answer to WarGames. That double steel cage contest typically features teams of five, meaning Saraya, Storm and Soho would need to enlist the assistance of two more women. Coincidentally, a tandem of twins happen to have just shed all mention of their WWE history from their social platforms.

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Even if the stars seem to be aligning, it must be stressed that bringing Nikki and Brie in for such a violent match is a tall order. Nikki in particular has a history of injuries and has been outright disqualified from in-ring competition on a number of occasions.

Could Nikki and Brie be on their way to AEW? Let us know in the comments!

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