Why Nikki & Brie Bella Left WWE In 2012, Explained
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Nikki and Brie Bella are two of the most notable female wrestlers in WWE history, with them managing to bridge the gap between the Divas Era and the Women’s Revolution in a brilliant way, retaining their popularity despite a changing of the guard. They would earn themselves Hall of Fame careers over the years, with both women winning the Divas Championship. However, their legacies may not have been what they turned out to be, as their WWE’s career could have been over back in 2012. This was due to the Bella Twins leaving the company. They eventually returned, which was for the best, but some fans may wonder why they left in the first place.
The Bella Twins Had An Up And Down Time Before Leaving In 2012
The Bella Twins signed with WWE all the way back in 2007, with it taking them just over a year to first appear on WWE programming, debuting on the main roster, and appearing on SmackDown at the back end of 2008. They caught the eyes of fans due to their “Twin Magic” gimmick, in which they would secretly take one another’s places in matches, scraping wins and cheating. It was a fun gimmick, although their inexperience at the time was noticeable.
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The pair came in during the Divas Era of WWE, which was a time in which the female competitors were treated as afterthoughts, given little time in matches, and the creative focus largely leaning on the sexist side. Despite these obstacles, the Bellas managed to gain popularity over time, even with awful storylines in which they would each try to gain the love of certain male superstars such as Carlito, Primo, and Daniel Bryan.
For a few years, the Bellas didn’t really do too much of note, largely just acting as average members of the Divas division, with very few notable matches or feuds. In 2011, Brie Bella would win the Divas Championship, marking their first piece of success, coming a whole three years after debuting. Her reign wasn’t overly impressive, lasting around two months. Nikki Bella would also win the Divas Championship, but upon losing her title and a subsequent challenge for it, the pair were fired on screen by Eve Torres. In actuality, they had made the decision to leave WWE.
The Bella Twins Were Unhappy At WWE’s Treatment Of The Divas Division
There were a couple of reasons as to why the Bella Twins left WWE in 2012, the main one of which was due to the treatment of the women’s division. As mentioned, it was a far cry from what it is like today in WWE. Whilst it was a step up from Bra & Panties matches and Playboy Pillow Fights, it was still a terrible time for the individuals who wanted to showcase their professional wrestling ability.
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In an interview with Freddie Prinze Jr, The Bella Twins revealed that they were sick and tired of those “dark days” for women’s wrestlers. On live events, they were given ample time to improve their craft and wrestle good matches, but when it came to Raw and SmackDown, it was just two or three minutes here and there, which felt like a slap in the face to them. With their contracts running out in 2012, they decided to make an exit due to the disrespect the wrestlers were receiving.
WWE Was Too Late To Renegotiate The Bella Twins’ Contracts
In terms of their contract, WWE’s negligence also led to the Bellas making their exit. They had initially signed five-year deals, and upon the final year of their contracts, the pair tried bringing it up to WWE in order to perhaps sort out a new deal. However, their contact fell on deaf ears, and nothing was done about their expiring deals. Due to this, both Nikki and Brie Bella decided to stop trying, and instead allowed the contracts to simply expire. However, it seemed as though WWE didn’t actually want them to leave.
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Following their last match in 2012, WWE contacted them to try and sort out contract extensions, but due to their deals already ending, and the other issues already mentioned, they parted ways. It wouldn’t be too long until the two were back, returning a year later in 2013, although their scheduled match at WrestleMania 29 was bumped from the card, signaling that bad things were to maybe come again.
However, with Brie Bella having strong feuds and matches against the likes of Stephanie McMahon, and a great, record-breaking Divas Championship reign from Nikki Bella, the pair would manage to carve out successful careers on their way to becoming two of the most popular female performers in WWE history. Thankfully, their legacies and careers didn’t come to an end in 2012, otherwise the Divas Era would have undoubtedly been a lot worse.
