Nikki Bella returned to weekly TV action on WWE Raw during the post-Evolution 2025 episode, this past Monday night. While the Bella Army was all fired up to have their leader back in the wrestling game after so long, the practical experience wasn’t that smooth, given how long she’s been away from the ring, and she’s not denying the fact, either.
On the July 14 episode of WWE Raw that went down from the Legacy Arena in Birmingham, Alabama, Nikki Bella defeated Chelsea Green in her first match on the flagship show of the WWE in 7 years. The returning star was able to fend off the heel antics at ringside by Green’s Secret Her-Vice members, Piper Niven and Alba Fyre, before connecting with the Rack Attack 2.0 to secure the pin-fall win.
In a weird moment, Nikki Bella wanted to perform the original rack attack finisher that broke her neck a decade ago. After undergoing neck surgery, she officially retired the move, but due to ring rust, she forgot it and wanted to perform it again. Ultimately, she executed he edited version, but fans watching WWE Raw did spot her awkwardness.
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Nikki Bella defeated Chelsea Green in her first singles match in 7 yearspic.twitter.com/dig1WiWxH3
— WrestleFeed (@WrestleFeedApp) July 15, 2025
WWE Raw: Nikki Bella forgot retiring original Rack Attack finisher
Speaking on the mishap, the longest-reigning Divas Champion of all time admitted that it’s not easy to be back in the ring after so long and be perfect all the time. Appearing on WWE Raw Recap show on YouTube, she revealed that attempting the Rack Attack was due to muscle memory and that she completely forgot about dropping the finisher from her moveset.
“What was weird is I haven’t hit that since 2016. So it was weird that I naturally turned her and put her up. And the slight second I go, ‘This is what broke my neck, what am I doing?’ … We have these moments where we’re not perfect,” elaborated Nikki Bella on her botched move on WWE Raw.
“It’s been seven years. You’ve had a baby. You haven’t been in that ring. And people don’t understand how hard it is to be in there. Wrestling conditioning is different than anything … So I was very blown up, but I gave it my all.” (quotes courtesy Wrestling INC)
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As admitted in the conversation, Bella was frustrated with how the match ended, but she was glad that she didn’t perform the original Rack Attack on WWE Raw. Despite that, she got the thrill of picking up a win over former women’s United States Champion, Chelsea Green. The 41-year-old further noted that she will “be here for a while,” attending WWE programming regularly, moving forward.