After staying in retirement since experiencing a neck bump en route to Wrestlemania 33, Nikki Bella came back to WWE programming, a year later, for a special occasion. With Ronda Rousey ruling the roost of the WWE Raw Women’s Division with the top women’s title, she proceeded to challenge the UFC Hall of Famer in a title match in what would become the headliner for Evolution, the first-ever all-women all-female professional wrestling event in the WWE.
Nikki Bella and Ronda Rousey appeared to be the two respective mainstream greats from the pro-wrestling and MMA genres, at that point, as WWE wanted to bring them together to sell out Evolution I, a plan that worked out well for them. Eight years later, as the second edition of the PLE approaches, that bout has been revisited by the elder Bella.
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The news that WWE is going to bring back Evolution, this year in July, was promoted during this year’s SummerSlam Kickoff, where Nikki Bella was in attendance, and she was asked to comment about her match with Ronda Rousey at Evolution I and how it impacted her career. Responding positively, she noted that moment to be on top of all the moments she had experienced inside the squared circle.
“It was a career highlight. It… Nothing gets bigger than that for me, I mean, maybe some things now in the future; we’ll see” Nikki Bella recalled. “That was the top of the top, and it truly marked what that pay-per-view means, Evolution, from all of the women in the past, the blood, sweat, tears, the triumphs, everything.” (quotes courtesy Wrestling INC)
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Original plans for Nikki Bella at Evolution II were canceled
Last month, Nikki Bella made her return to WWE television on the June 9 episode of Raw, where she confronted Women’s Tag Team Champion Liv Morgan. The segment ended with Morgan dropping Nikki with her Ob-Liv-Ion finisher, setting the stage for a match at WWE Evolution 2025, either a singles bout or a tag match also involving Brie Bella and Raquel Rodriguez.
A week later, Morgan suffered a shoulder dislocation that led to the above-mentioned plans to be scrapped. Irrespective of the road bump, the latest reports claim that Nikki Bella would be involved at the PLE in some capacity, and she’s subsequently been added to the official poster of the show. The veteran talent is also seemingly excited about the legacy of the PLE, but the backstage reaction to the PLE announcement hasn’t been that great.