Nikki Bella is preparing for her first singles match since suffering a serious ankle injury, and the circumstances surrounding her opponent Paige have added another layer to their SmackDown showdown in Mexico City.
Speaking on The Nikki and Brie Show, Bella was already celebrating ahead of the match and confidently predicted that she would come away with the victory. “We celebrate the wins before they happen, because you know your girl’s gonna win,” she said.
Brie Bella, who has spent much of this year teaming with Paige, encouraged her sister to take it easy on her partner. Nikki quickly made it clear that wasn’t happening.
Friday’s match also carries some personal significance for the Bella family. Nikki recalled that she and Brie were part of WWE’s previous televised event in Mexico City roughly 15 years ago. “Isn’t it crazy to think the last time we, as a company, WWE did a televised event in Mexico City, which was their first time ever, you and I were on it,” she said.
Several members of Bella’s family are making the trip, including her father and members of his side of the family, as well as their sister Alexia and brother Ezekiel. Nikki and Brie also plan to record their podcast from Mexico City.
The rivalry with Paige became increasingly personal during their recent SmackDown promo exchange, something Bella said she fully embraced. “I’m all for what entertains a crowd, what helps make a crowd react, and I’ve always loved bringing something personal into it,” she said.
According to Bella, the direction wasn’t something that had been completely mapped out beforehand. Instead, she said the crowd reaction during WWE’s stop in Canada helped shape what followed. “It all came up from what they were chanting in Canada. If they never chanted that, none of the stuff in the promo would have ever happened,” Bella said. “So it’s just kind of falling into place that way.”
Bella also enjoyed experiencing the audience response in real time and then seeing the divided reaction continue online. “The crowd just being there, because we shot that live, it was amazing to hear the reactions, and even the stuff I brought before,” she said. “And it is funny to see the reactions online. Very torn.”
For Bella, that division only makes the rivalry more interesting. “That’s, you know me, I’ll always feel that way,” Bella said. “It’s gonna make it really fun for what we’re gonna do tomorrow night.”
The history between Bella and Paige goes beyond their recent exchanges. Nikki suffered a fractured, torn and sprained ankle during the March 27 episode of SmackDown, rolling it during an exchange with Charlotte Flair in a tag team match against Flair and Alexa Bliss. Initially reported as a sprain, an MRI later revealed the full extent of the damage, requiring surgery just two weeks before WrestleMania 42.
Nikki and Brie had been scheduled to challenge for the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship in a four-way match involving champions Nia Jax and Lash Legend, Flair and Bliss, and Bayley and Lyra Valkyria. With Nikki sidelined, Paige returned to WWE and replaced her alongside Brie.
Paige and Brie went on to capture the titles and held them for 91 days before losing to Lainey Reid and Fallon Henley at Saturday Night’s Main Event from Madison Square Garden.
Nikki later revealed that she first met Paige during that period while she was in Birmingham for surgery, with Paige also in the city at the time. Bella said there was nobody she would rather have seen take her WrestleMania spot.
The opportunity was significant for Paige as well. Her previous WWE match had taken place in December 2017 before a neck injury ended her first run, meaning replacing Bella at WrestleMania ultimately facilitated her return to the ring after more than eight years away.
Bella made her own comeback on the July 24 episode of SmackDown, saving Brie and Paige from an attack by Fatal Influence and helping set up a six-woman tag team match at SummerSlam.
Friday’s bout against Paige will now mark Nikki’s first singles match since the ankle injury and only her second singles contest since 2018. Her previous one came against Chelsea Green on Raw last year during the run that followed Bella’s surprise appearance in the 2025 Women’s Royal Rumble and eventually led to a program with Becky Lynch over the Women’s Intercontinental Championship.
