AEW has signed some big named over the past several months, including Will Ospreay, Kazuchika Okada, and Mercedes Mone. After seeing Mercedes debut in AEW, Nikki Garcia almost joined that list. On the latest episode of the Nikki & Brie Show, the multi-time WWE Women’s Champion disclosed that she almost picked up her phone and called Tony Khan about doing business. After giving it serious consideration, she decided against it because she wants to devote her time to being a mother to her son, Matteo.
“Since we’ve been lifting so much, we always say, we always start to get that wrestling mindset, ‘We’re going to go back and do this story and cut this promo.’ You get it, but how serious I got where I was like, ‘Okay, I think I can do maybe a year at AEW and I can do it every week.'”
“When I saw Mercedes [Mone] debut and cut her promo, that line stuck with me, ‘Here, we’re going to make the evolution worldwide.’ I was like, ‘They do.’ It goes into many leagues, is what she means, it doesn’t have to be at one place. It can be at all these places where all these women are wrestling at. I go, ‘Brie, I think I can do it for a year. I can do it here to here and go every week.’
Then, I thought of Matteo. I had a good week of like, ‘This is it. I’m going to call Tony Khan. I’m your girl. I will commit.’ Then, I was like, ‘I can’t do that to my son right now. He needs me,'”
You can listen to the full episode embedded here, including Nikki’s comments about nearly calling AEW President Tony Khan:
Nikki Bella’s WWE Career and Exit
Nikki Garcia made a name for herself for years in WWE as Nikki Bella. Her contributions to the company helped spearhead the Women’s Revolution in the company, where she was placed on top of the card for years.
During that time in WWE, she achieved several notable accomplishments in the company. Nikki is a two-time WWE Divas Champion, and she was named Diva of the Year for three consecutive years in 2013, 2014, and 2015, with the 2013 award being shared with her sister, Brie Bella.
Additionally, Nikki was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame as part of the Class of 2020, alongside Brie as members of The Bella Twins.
Nikki Bella retired in 2018 because of neck and spine issues but made a comeback at the Royal Rumble in 2022. The Bella Twins left WWE in 2023 after their contracts ended to pursue independent ventures.
Since her WWE exit, Nikki has hosted Barmageddon, a show that aired after WWE RAW for a while. It was not lost on fans when Michael Cole internationally omitted her name while promoting the show during RAW.
Nikki Bella later commented on that snub from WWE to say, “I think more than anything, it’s disappointing. I worked there for 16 years and I helped paved the way for them. Not only that, they’ve always been family to me.”
