After scoring her first singles victory on WWE Monday Night Raw in nearly seven years, WWE Hall of Famer Nikki Bella has clarified the unexpected finish to her match against Chelsea Green, revealing it was the result of instinctual “muscle memory.”
Speaking on Raw Recap, Bella admitted that the move she used to win—her classic Rack Attack finisher—was not actually planned. The finisher, which she stopped using after undergoing career-threatening neck surgery in 2016, made a surprise return in the heat of the moment.
“Everyone kept telling me backstage, ‘It’s like riding an old bike.’ Well, yeah, it was like riding such an old bike that I went and put Chelsea up in my old Rack Attack that broke my neck,” Nikki explained. “I haven’t hit that since 2016… It was weird that I naturally turned her and put her up. The second I did, I thought, ‘This is what broke my neck.’”
Bella called the finish “awkward” but emphasized that the victory still counted, even if it came with an unintentional flashback to a dangerous time in her career.
The Raw bout was Nikki’s first televised singles match since 2018 and came after years away from the ring and a new chapter as a mother. She addressed how difficult it was to return at this stage of her life:
“I knew I wasn’t gonna be an IYO SKY or a Rhea Ripley… But I did know to give it my best,” she shared. “It’s been seven years. You’ve had a baby. You haven’t been in that ring. Wrestling conditioning is different than anything… I was very blown up, but I gave it my all.”
While the win was a major milestone, Bella’s celebration was cut short by an attack from Alba Fyre and Piper Niven, members of Green’s Secret Hervice faction. However, the brawl was interrupted by Stephanie Vaquer, who made a surprise appearance to even the odds.
The moment ended with Vaquer and Bella forming a new alliance, adding intrigue to the cross-brand narrative ahead of Vaquer’s Women’s World Title match against Naomi at Clash in Paris on August 31.
