The Bella Twins were aprofessional wrestlingtag team consisting of identicaltwin sistersBrie Bella andNikki Bella. They are best known for their tenure inWWE, where they are formerWWE Divas Champions. Brie is the first twin to win the championship, while Nikki won it twice with her second reign of 301 days being thelongest reign for the now defunct championship.
The Bella Twins signed with WWE in 2007 and were assigned to thedevelopmental territory,Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW). Brie was called up to the main roster in 2008. In early appearances, she surreptitiously switched places with her sister to win her matches. After some weeks, Nikki was revealed as her twin. During the next few years, they worked together as a tag team, as well as individually. Each sister won the WWE Divas Championship once before they were released in 2012. They made their return in 2013 and were featured in the reality showTotal Divas before getting their own spin-off,Total Bellas. They were inducted into theWWE Hall of Fame in2021 as a team. The twins would only make occasional appearances in WWE in their last few years, but acted as ambassadors for the company until their contracts expired in 2023. Following this, they retired the "Bella" name and reintroduced themselves as The Garcia Twins as "Garcia" was their maiden name. However, the Bella name was revived with Nikki's return to WWE in 2025.
Brianna Monique Garcia-Colace and Stephanie Nicole Garcia-Colace were born sixteen minutes apart on November 21, 1983, inBrawley, California and raised on a farm in the outskirts ofScottsdale, Arizona.[6] They are ofMexican andItalian descent[7] and played soccer in their youth. The twins graduated fromChaparral High School in 2002.[8] They returned to San Diego for college, where Nicole continued playing soccer forGrossmont College, with both twins also working at Hooters.[6] A year later, the twins relocated toLos Angeles in pursuit of acting and modeling opportunities, making ends meet doing various gigs from marketing for a now defunct record label, to cocktail waitressing at theMondrian Hotel.
They then made their first national TV appearance on theFox reality showMeet My Folks.[8][9] Following this appearance, the twins were hired to be the World Cup Twins forBudweiser and were photographed holding theWorld Cup trophy.[10] They were contestants in the 2006 "International Body Doubles twins search".[11] They participated in the2006WWE Diva Search, but did not make the cut.[12]
Starting in December 2007, they managed Derrick Linkin,[14] but this storyline was cut short when Linkin was released in January 2008. They then resumed theirfeud with Neidhart and Crawford, wrestling them throughout much of 2008.[15] In FCW, the twins competed inbikini contests and wrestled againstKatie Lea Burchill,Milena Roucka, andNattie Neidhart. Their last FCW appearance was on September 2, when they competed in aDivasbattle royal won byMiss Angela.[15]
On the August 29 episode ofSmackDown, Brianna debuted asBrie Bella and defeatedVictoria.[16] She had a series of matches with Victoria and Victoria's accompliceNatalya.[17][18][19] In each match, Brie would roll out of thering, slip underneath it, and emerge surprisingly revived to win the match.[17][20] On the November 7 episode ofSmackDown, Brie picked up a win against Victoria and then ran under the ring to escape Natalya and Victoria, but Victoria and Natalya both reached for Brie under the ring, resulting in both Nicole and Brie being pulled out.[21] Nicole was then introduced asNikki Bella. The twins had their first official match as a team on the November 21 episode ofSmackDown, defeating Victoria and Natalya.[22] They continued competing in tag team matches over the following months.[23][24][25]
Nikki (left) andBrie (right) during aRaw event in 2009
Starting in November, the twins developed an on-screen relationship withThe Colóns (Carlito andPrimo).[26][27] In February 2009, the storyline expanded to includeJohn Morrison and The Miz, whoflirted with the Bellas and took them on adate forValentine's Day.[28][29] The date provoked a rivalry between the teams of The Miz and Morrison and Primo and Carlito, with the four competing for the affection of the twins, who were seemingly unable to choose between them.[30][31] On March 17 onECW, Carlito and Primo, aiming for Morrison and The Miz, accidentally spat apples in the face of Brie.[32] Nikki began to laugh at Brie's misfortune, and a fight broke out between the two, which led to Nikki leaving with The Miz and Morrison while Brie stayed with Primo and Carlito.[32] Brie won her first match over Nikki in a six-personintergender tag team match onSmackDown the following week.[33] OnECW on March 31, Nikki pinned Brie in their firstsingles match against each other after a distraction from Morrison and The Miz.[34]
On April 15, The Bella Twins were both drafted to theRaw brand as part of the2009 supplemental draft.[35] On April 27, Brie made herRaw in-ring debut in an eight-Divatag team match, which her team won. Nikki also made an appearance, reuniting with her twin, as she was under the ring to help Brie during the match.[36] Nikki then made her in-ring debut for the brand the following month in a battle royal, but was eliminated byBeth Phoenix. On June 29, they were both traded to theECW brand.[37] They debuted onECW the following night onTheAbraham Washington Show, as the special guests.[38] They quickly developed a storyline feud withKatie Lea Burchill, when Nikki defeated her in a match by switching places with Brie behind the referee's back.[39] The following week onSuperstars, Brie defeated Burchill after a similar fashion, and the feud ended in September, when Nikki defeated Burchill onSuperstars.[40][41]
On October 12, the Bellas were traded back to Raw as part of a tri-branded Divas trade,[42] where they predominately appeared in backstages segments with theweekly guest stars and only occasionally competed in matches.[13] In June 2010, they developed a feud withJillian Hall, when Brie defeated her after switching places with Nikki.[43] The following week, Nikki defeated Hall after switching with Brie.[44] The feud was exacerbated when the Bellas acted as thespecial guest referees during one of Hall's matches. During the match, Hall attacked both twins, but lost the match when Nikki made a fast count, allowing her to be pinned byGail Kim.[45] The next week onSuperstars, the twins defeated Hall and Maryse in a tag team match to end the storyline.[46] On August 31, The Bella Twins announced they would be part of the all-female third season ofNXT, mentoring Jamie.[47] Jamie was the first rookie Diva eliminated on the October 5 episode ofNXT.[48] In November, the twins began a storyline withDaniel Bryan, when Brie accompanied him to the ring for his match. Following his win, Nikki ran out and the two fought over Bryan's affection, until Bryan broke it up and had them hug each other.[49] They began to manage Bryan and frequently accompanied him to the ring over the next two months.[50][51] In January 2011, they discovered Bryan kissing Gail Kim backstage and assaulted her.[52] They continued to attack Kim, both at theRoyal Rumble on January 30 and the following night onRaw.[53][54] On February 7, they teamed withMelina in a losing effort to Kim,Eve Torres andTamina.[55]
The Bellas began feuding withEve Torres after they appeared aslumberjills during aDivas Championship match between Torres andNatalya on the February 14 episode ofRaw. Following the match, they attacked Torres backstage beforeGail Kim and Natalya stopped them.[13] The next week onRaw, the twins defeated Torres and Kim in a tag team match.[56] The following week onRaw, Nikki won a battle royal to become the number one contender for the Divas Championship and unsuccessfully challenged Torres for the championship on March 7.[57][58]
On April 11, Brie defeated Torres to win the Divas Championship, marking the first time either twin had held a championship in WWE.[59][60] On May 22, Brie went on to successfully defend the championship againstKelly Kelly atOver the Limit after switching places with Nikki.[61] On a special "Power to the People" episode ofRaw on June 20, Brie defended her WWE Divas Championship against Kelly (who was selected by voters), losing the title and ending her reign at 70 days.[62] On July 17, Brie challenged Kelly for the championship in a rematch atMoney in the Bank on July 17, but she failed to win.[63]
The Bellas began to show friction in March 2012 after both twins lost toAJ Lee in singles competition.[64][65] After Brie's match with Lee, Nikki revealed that Brie was rooting forTeam Johnny in the 12-man tag team match atWrestleMania XXVIII on April 1 whilst Nikki was rooting forTeam Teddy, thus furthering their dissension.[66]
On the April 6 episode ofSmackDown, Nikki defeated the Divas ChampionBeth Phoenix in a non-title match after Kelly Kelly distracted Phoenix.[67] On April 23, Nikki defeated Phoenix in a lumberjill match onRaw to win the Divas Championship for the first time.[68][69] Brie lost Nikki's championship toLayla atExtreme Rules on April 29 after Twin Magic failed, ending her Divas Championship reign after only a week.[70] The following night onRaw, they competed in their last match with the WWE, failing to win back the Divas Championship from Layla in a triple threat match.[71] Later that night, WWE announced on their website that the twins had been fired by Executive Administrator Eve Torres.[72]
On May 1, 2012, the twins appeared at their first independent wrestling show inNewburgh, New York at Northeast Wrestling.[73][74] They later appeared for CTWE Pro Wrestling at the Season Beatings pay-per-view on December 15, each accompanying a different wrestler to the ring.
After returning to WWE, the twins began dressing in different outfits as seen here.
The Bella Twins returned to WWE on the March 11, 2013, episode ofRaw in a backstage segment with Team Rhodes Scholars (Cody Rhodes andDamien Sandow).[75] On the March 15 episode ofSmackDown, the twins attackedThe Funkadactyls (Cameron andNaomi)[76] and the following week interfered in matches between Team Rhodes Scholars andBrodus Clay andTensai, but were attacked by The Funkadactyls.[77][78] The twins made their in-ring return defeating The Funkadactyls on the March 27 episode ofMain Event after interference from Cody Rhodes.[79] The Bella Twins were scheduled to participate in an eight-person tag team match with Team Rhodes Scholars against Tons of Funk (Clay and Tensai) and The Funkadactyls atWrestleMania 29 on April 7, but the match was canceled due to time restraints[80] and instead took place the following night onRaw, where The Bella Twins and Team Rhodes Scholars were defeated.[81] In June, Nikki suffered afractured tibia.[82]
Upon the debut of theTotal Divasreality television program in July, The Bellas began a feud with their co-star on the showNatalya, with Brie and Natalya trading victories in singles competition onRaw and atSummerSlam on August 18.[83][84][85] The cast ofTotal Divas then transitioned into a scripted feud withDivas ChampionAJ Lee, who mocked the show and cast.[85] AtNight of Champions on September 15, Brie unsuccessfully challenged Lee for the Divas Championship in a four-way match, which also involved Natalya and Naomi.[86] Continuing their feud into October, Brie and Lee faced off atBattleground andHell in a Cell for the Divas Championship, but Brie was unsuccessful.[87][88] Nikki returned to in-ring action on the October 25 episode ofSmackDown, losing to Lee.[89] AtSurvivor Series on November 24, the twins were part of the victorious Team Total Divas.[90] On April 6, they failed to win the Divas Championship again atWrestleMania XXX in the Divas Invitational match, which was won by Lee.[91]
From the crowd, Brie (whokayfabe quit WWE) watches Nikki, who is about to participate in a four-on-one handicap match in July 2014.
In April 2014, Brie became involved in her real-life husbandDaniel Bryan's ongoing storyline withStephanie McMahon andKane,[92] whereas part of the storyline McMahon threatened to fire Brie if an injured Bryan did not relinquish theWWE World Heavyweight Championship atPayback on June 1, which forced Brie to "quit" WWE before slapping McMahon in the face.[93] After Brie "quit", McMahon put Nikki in severalhandicap matches as punishment.[94][95][96] After a month absence, Brie returned to WWE television, appearing in the crowd on July 21 and starting a confrontation with McMahon who slapped Brie and was subsequently arrested.[97] In order to have Brie drop the "charges", Brie was rehired and received a match against McMahon atSummerSlam.[98]
Nikki attacked Brie at the event on August 17, which allowed McMahon to win the match.[99] The next several weeks saw the twins fight in several backstage and in-ring segments, including a cameo appearance fromJerry Springer onRaw on September 8.[100] As part of the storyline, McMahon declared Nikki the face of theWWE Divas division and granted her a match atNight of Champions for the Divas Championship, which she failed to win.[101][102] AtHell in a Cell, Nikki defeated Brie in a match where the loser was forced to become the winner'spersonal assistant for 30 days.[103]
Nikki and Brie reunited atSurvivor Series on November 23 when Nikki defeatedAJ Lee with Brie's help to become a two-time Divas Champion.[104] Nikki retained her championship in three separate occasions—against Lee in a rematch atTLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs on December 14,[105] againstNaomi two days later onSmackDown[106] and againstPaige on February 22, 2015, atFastlane.[107] Paige and Lee then formed analliance against the Bellas[108] which led to a tag team match atWrestleMania 31 on March 29, which the Bellas lost.[109][110]
On April 20, 2015, at Monday Night Raw, the Bella Twins would briefly turn babyfaces. After Nikki retained her title over Naomi atExtreme Rules on April 26,[111] Nikki started afeud with Naomi after she aligned with the returningTamina to even the odds against Bellas. This led to a tag team match between the two teams atPayback on May 17, which Naomi and Tamina won.[112] AtElimination Chamber on May 31, Nikki retained her title against Naomi and Paige in atriple threat match, with Brie banned from ringside.[113] In June, The Bella Twins became heels once again by employingTwin Magic, which helped Nikki retain the title against Paige on the June 1 episode ofRaw and atMoney in the Bank on June 14.[114][115] During the feud with Paige,Alicia Fox allied with them to form Team Bella.[116] AtThe Beast in the East on July 4, Nikki retained the title against Paige and Tamina.[117]
After weeks of Team Bella outnumbering Paige, Naomi and Tamina,Stephanie McMahon called for a "revolution" in theWWE Divas division and introduced the debutingCharlotte andBecky Lynch as Paige's allies whileNXT Women's ChampionSasha Banks debuted as an ally to Naomi and Tamina, which led to a brawl between the three teams.[118][119] Nikki then lost to Charlotte in a tag team match on the August 3 episode ofRaw[120] and to Banks on the August 17 episode ofRaw in a non-title match.[121] On August 23, the three teams faced off atSummerSlam in athree team elimination match in which Team Bella first eliminatedTeam B.A.D. before Team PCB's win.[122]
On the September 14 episode ofRaw, Nikki defended her title against Charlotte, who pinned Brie after the twins had switched places to win the match. However, Nikki retained the championship since the title cannot change hands by disqualification; in the process, she became the new longest reigning Divas Champion in history, surpassing AJ Lee's previous record of 295 days.[123] On September 20, Nikkidropped the championship to Charlotte atNight of Champions, ending her reign at 301 days[124] and failing to regain the title in a rematch atHell in a Cell on October 25.[125] Shortly after, Nikki went on a hiatus from both television and in-ring competition due to a neck injury which would require surgery,[126][127] but returned for one night on December 21 to accept theSlammy Award forDiva of the Year.[128] During Nikki's absence, Brie continued to compete in singles competition and in tag team matches with Fox.[128][129][130] Brie was unsuccessful in winning the Divas Championship atFastlane on February 21 in a match against Charlotte.[131] During that time, Team Bella quietly disbanded.[132][133]
The Bella Twins celebrating along their fellowTotal Divas co-stars after Brie's victory atWrestleMania 32 in April 2016
In March 2016, Brie was placed in a feud withLana, who argued that Brie's fans only supported her out of pity for having a "bad husband".[134] Brie then aligned herself with fellowTotal Divas cast membersAlicia Fox,Natalya,Paige andEva Marie while Lana aligned herself withTeam B.A.D. (Naomi andTamina),Summer Rae andEmma (which was officially called Team B.A.D. and Blonde), leading to a 10-woman tag team match on theWrestleMania 32 kickoff show on April 3, which TeamTotal Divas would win when Naomi submitted to Brie. After the match, Nikki returned and celebrated with her co-stars.[135] On April 6, Brie confirmed that she would be taking an extended break from in-ring competition, citing family reasons while also stating that she will continue working for WWE as anambassador.[136]
On January 22, 2018, on theRaw 25 Years special episode, The Bella Twins were honored as part of a segment involving women considered legends that contributed to the company's success.[137] At theRoyal Rumble on January 28, Brie and Nikki participated in the first ever women's Royal Rumble match at No. 28 and No. 27, respectively, making it into the final four withAsuka andSasha Banks, with Nikki eliminating Brie before being eliminated herself by the winner Asuka.[138] On the September 3 episode ofRaw, The Bella Twins competed for the first time in three years, defeating The Riott Squad (Liv Morgan andSarah Logan). The Bellas teamed withRonda Rousey to defeat The Riott Squad atWWE Super Show-Down on October 6 and won the rematch two nights later onRaw. After the rematch, the Bellas attacked Rousey.[139] Nikki received a title opportunity against Rousey atWWE Evolution on October 28, but was unsuccessful.[140]
In March 2019, both Bellas announced onTotal Bellas that they had retired from in-ring competition with Brie making the announcement on the March 10 episode and Nikki announcing her retirement on the season finale on March 24.[141] At February 21, 2020 edition ofSmackDown, it was announced that both Bellas will be inducted into theWWE Hall of Fame, duringA Moment of Bliss segment.[142][143] Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the ceremony took place the next year. On January 30, 2022, after a three-year break from wrestling, The Bella Twins participated in the2022 Royal Rumble.[144] On March 14, 2023, on their podcastThe Nikki & Brie Show, Nikki and Brie announced that their contracts with WWE had expired; it was mutually agreed to not renew their contracts, as the twins wanted to start a new chapter in their lives. They subsequently reintroduced themselves as The Garcia Twins as "Garcia" was their maiden name.[145]
The twins guest starred on the television seriesPsych, in the 2014 episode "A Nightmare on State Street".[6][148] Nikki and Brie are part of the main cast for thereality television showTotal Divas, which began airing in July 2013.[149][150] In April 2016, it was announced thatTotal Bellas, aspin-off ofTotal Divas starring the twins, would begin airing in fall 2016.[151]
Both twins appeared on the WWEYouTube showThe JBL & Cole Show.[161]
On November 21, 2016, Nikki and Brie unveiled their new YouTube channel which features daily fashion, beauty, travel, fitness, relationship and health videos along with dailyvideo blogs, created by the twins themselves.[162]
The Bella Twins appeared inYouTuberiiSuperwomanii's video "When Someone Tries to Steal Your BFF" on March 2, 2017.[163]
On August 21, 2017, Nikki and Brie launched their own wine label called Belle Radici in collaboration with Hill Family Estates and Gauge Branding.[165] Later that year on November 1, 2017, Nikki and Brie launched Birdiebee, a lifestyleintimates andactivewear brand. The line includes transitionalintimates,activewear andloungewear aimed at "empowering and educating women through mirroring the twins' passion for life, strength, women's health and wellness, and fun".[166]
On January 28, 2019, Nikki and Brie launched Nicole + Brizee, a body and beauty line.[167] On March 27, 2019, Nikki and Brie launched their own podcast.[168]
In March 2020, Nikki and Brie released their memoirIncomparable.[169]
In 2021, Nikki and Brie launched another wine label called Bonita Bonita Wine.[170]
In 2021, Nikki and Brie launched their own baby gear collection in partnership with Colugo. Nikki and Brie also announced that they joined Colugo as investors and creative advisors.[171]
On May 9, 2017, Brie gave birth to her first child, a daughter, Birdie Joe Danielson.[172] In January 2020, the twins announced they were both pregnant, with due dates a week and a half apart.[173] On July 31, Nikki gave birth to Matteo Artemovich Chigvintsev. Twenty-two hours later, Brie gave birth to Buddy Dessert Danielson on August 1.
^"The Bella Twins Play Truth or Dab".YouTube. April 16, 2020. Archived from the original on September 6, 2021. RetrievedApril 16, 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
.jpg)
,Cagematch