Brie Bella Opens Up About Long Journey To Her WWE Return At Royal Rumb

Brie Bella made her triumphant return to WWE during the women’s Royal Rumble in Saudi Arabia, her first match back since the 2022 Rumble despite her twin sister Nikki’s return to WWE in 2025. Bella had remained open to the possibility of a return to WWE for one last run as the Bella Twins to chase the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships, but explained on an episode of “The Nikki & Brie Show” that she wasn’t always sure that was going to happen.

Bella said that when she’d get asked during interviews if she was going back to WWE, she’d jokingly say she “hadn’t gotten the call,” which she said wasn’t really a joke. She said that when her sister went back, she got the itch to return, and kept getting told “no,” but explained now that she believes the timing wasn’t right until now.

“I’ve had a lot of patience and I feel like it was just mean to be this way,” she said. “Doing it in Saudi Arabia, the first thing I thought when I got the call, I was like, ‘Um. I don’t think they know who I am. Could I just wait to debut in Philadelphia?’ They’re like, ‘The Saudi people know who you are.’ I’m like, ‘Do they?’ I’ll admit, I was stressed up until my music hit that I was going to have zero reaction, people were going to be like, ‘Who?’ …But honestly, I was like so stressed and so nervous and I’m just going to say it, I was not expecting the reaction I got.”

She admitted she didn’t have a lot of time to train ahead of the Rumble. Bella said “the minute” she knew she’d be in the match, she dedicated every day to doing something to get ready.