Nikki Bella

[3.0] "I get that Nikki Bella is one of the most iconic women's wrestlers, but I'm not a fan. It just feels weird seeing people say that she "paved the way" when women's wrestling was at a much more advanced stage outside of America for decades. Regardless, I'm just not a fan of her in-ring and character work."

[0.0] "She's terrible. Always has been, always will be. That should be the end right there. The fan perception that Nikki Bella suddenly got better in the ring in 2015 is somehow not seen for what it is, an upgrade in opponents. She was never good and the only thing she did that was over was literally shaking her ass during entrance and occasionally during a match. She represents everything that was bad about women's wrestling during the time she was active. To make matters worse, she's come back several times to bask in the hard work of her contemporaries. Not all of it is her fault. That's the way WWE was but the the whitewashing of her place in wrestling is aggravating. She couldn't wrestle, couldn't cut a promo, and is involved in some of the worst matches in the history of WWE and pro wrestling."

[8.0] "Nikki Bella is quite a decent wrestler. Yes, she's not Iyo Sky or Charlotte Flair in the ring, but she's great as a promo, good on the mic, and she's a recognizable character. Total Bellas, where she was the host, was a good entertainment show. I remember how I hated Nikki with all my heart when I watched WWE in 2014. Back then, she was constantly winning and humiliating my favorite beauty, AJ Lee. I hated the Bella Twins so much at that moment. But I was young then. I understand now how much of a good heel Nikki Bella really is within a company like WWE. For example, let's take the segment from 2015, where she and her sister spray-painted a black spray on Paige's white stomach. They intentionally take the beauty hostage, whom we sympathize with, and mock her beautiful, flat, snow-white belly -- provoking pity and sadness from the face, and hatred for the Bellas. That's exactly what they aimed for. It's strange to hate a wrestler as a person when she's a great worker. The heels should be like the Bellas--not to evoke pity like a conditional Kevin Owens, but to just blow the top, cause a real explosion of anger, like they've been doing since the Sergeant Slaughter days. Like Gunther, Becky Lynch, Nikki Bella, Lash Legend do now. Like Ciampa did in the best times on NXT. Nikki Bella is a diligent worker, charismatic, and a pretty girl. And yes, Nikki Bella has a very beautiful, iconic stomach."

[5.0] "She is mid wrestler here i mean she had some good matches but i never impressed in her matches even for once"

[4.0] "I'm one who's guilty of being a little too harsh on her imo. She's God awful as a singles wrestler but I'm perfectly fine with her tag work. I haven't been impressed with her since returning, I'm hoping that changes with these tag matches that she's going to be doing in the future."

[3.0] "Her sister and her have never been entertaining to me in any way. They are below average at every facet of pro wrestling. Her score on this site is very very generous. She is not convincing as a threat for any reason. Her offensive ability is almost nil. She can't sell. And when she has a microphone i usually can't wait til it's over."

"Nikki Bella represents one of the most fascinating and hard-fought evolutions in the history of professional wrestling, a journey that saw her transform from a novelty act alongside her twin sister into a legitimate, powerhouse worker who demanded respect from even her harshest critics. Entering the industry during the height of the "Diva" era, she and Brie were initially defined by their "Twin Magic" gimmick--a playful yet technical ploy of switching places behind the referee's back that often left purists skeptical of their long-term potential in the ring. However, Nikki's trajectory took a dramatic turn during her record-breaking 301-day reign as the WWE Divas Champion, a period where she consciously decided to reinvent herself as a "fearless" powerhouse. She didn't just adopt a new motto; she completely overhauled her arsenal, incorporating high-impact strikes like her signature forearm smash--a move often compared to the stiff, legendary style of Japanese icon Mitsuharu Misawa--and the "Rack Attack, " a devastating Argentine backbreaker drop that eventually took a severe toll on her neck. This physical evolution was a testament to her dedication; while many of her contemporaries were content to play the roles assigned to them, Nikki pushed for longer match times and harder-hitting sequences, bridging the gap between the glitz of the mid-2000s and the grit of the modern Women's Revolution. Her ability to transition from the world of reality television and mainstream fame with Total Divas to the main event of WWE's first-ever all-women's pay-per-view, Evolution, proved that her celebrity wasn't a crutch but a catalyst for growth. Even after a career-threatening neck surgery and a forced retirement due to a brain cyst, her "Fearless" spirit remained unbroken. Her shocking return at the 2025 Royal Rumble and her subsequent 2026 run--where she targeted the Women's World Title and stood toe-to-toe with modern elite technicians like Stephanie Vaquer--solidified her as a timeless icon. Nikki Bella's rating isn't just about win-loss records or technical perfection; it is a 10/10 in resilience, charisma, and the sheer audacity to prove an entire industry wrong. She walked so the modern generation could run, turning "Diva" into "Legend" through pure force of will and an undeniable passion for the squared circle that continues to inspire millions of fans who see in her the possibility of radical self-improvement and the courage to bet on oneself regardless of the odds."

[1.0] "Her promos match the intolerable stereotypical ditzy-girl thing that modern wrestling should have absolutely zero room for to a tee, but oh my god, the rack attack botch, the absolutely terrible Lynch match, the kicking Perez square in the face botch, & all this crap took only 5 matches to churn out? Why have her here, what is the point? Terrible, highly dangerous worker, boring character, garbage physique, limited appearances, wardrobe malfunctions & implant injuries... this is every, little thing that you don't want from a female talent in the year of 2025. (I've switched from 0 to 1 because at Survivor Series '25, she proved that she has the ability to be carried by an excellent opponent to an okay match, but again, that doesn't really count for much when you consider all that surrounds. )"

[6.0] "ENGAGER: 8 STRIKER: 6 CRAFTMASTER: 6 AERIALIST: 3 POWERHOUSE: 7 EXTREMIST: 5 ENTRANCE: 7 NARRATIVE: 7 GIMMICK: 6 ANGLE: 6 GRUDGE: 7 ELOCUTION: 6"

[0.0] "I never liked Nikki Bella. She was/is really limited in the ring and her mic work was nothing special either. Her record-breaking Divas title reign went on way too long and never felt earned. There were plenty of women at the time who were clearly better wrestlers, like AJ Lee, Paige, Natalya. AJ carried that division when it mattered, so having Nikki break her record just felt forced. It came off more like WWE pushing a brand than rewarding actual talent."

[4.0] "Nikki's mic skills have always been really bad and awkward. She's one of those people where it never feels like she believes what she's saying. I do think that she became a decent wrestler from 2016-2018 or so, however. The stuff she did with Carmella, Nattie, etc wasn't all that bad."

[5.0] "She's okay, not super good but I did enjoy her tag team work with her sister. She has a great look and she has plenty of charisma. Her reality show got over enough to where I can see why she's popular among many female wrestling fans. However she feels a bit out of place in today's wrestling climate because she's nowhere near the level of an Iyo, Asuka, Vaquer, Giulia, Flair, and many of the women in NXT and other promotions. Even Alexa took a while off yet she's able to put on solid matches with great pacing, timing and psychology, but Nikki unfortunately lags a bit behind whether due to ring rust or not. She's put on some not too good matches lately, and she doesn't really stand out too much as a singles wrestler. Maybe she has potential if she's willing to train harder, it's hard to say for sure. The best thing she has going for her is her power."

[2.0] "I have never seen the appeal behind either Bella, but Nikki was especially awful. Can't wrestle, can't grapple, can't cut a promo, can't fly, she kinda can't do anything really. Seemingly the best thing she can do is attempt to be considered a trailblazer for women's wrestling when in reality she was a trailblazer solely for WWE's women's "division", if you could even call it one at the time. At the veey least I can appreciate her influence on the modern product as questionable as it may be, just not the person herself. Also "I WISH YOU DIED IN THE WOMB" is an all timer wrestling quote."

[1.0] "in my opinion the prime example of "and then the bell rings". I don't know what other see in her. neither in the past divas era nor now. not a single match of her career is memorable. Her weaknesses are quite visible with today's talent. They can make infinite segments where other wrestlers say how much she paved the way but reality is quite different. The single most overrated wrestler in America."

[1.0] "I hate Nikki Bella. She represents a mediocre era in WWE (the Diva era). She wrestles really poorly, although I will admit that some of her moves are okay (that's the only positive thing about her). They're really trying to make us like her by teaming her up with Iyo, Stephanie, or Rhea, but she just doesn't fit in. Her character is bland and completely lacks originality. She might have been popular during that awful Diva era, but she's outdated now. We don't want female wrestlers based on their looks, but on their skills! Nikki only has her looks, and it's a shame that WWE is still focusing on that."

[7.0] "Definitely the more talented Bella twin (not that the bar was particularly high) and definitely one of the women who was imperative in making sure that the divas era was as good as it could be, whilst also showing a good transitional gap to the women's era we see today"

[4.0] "Fans can like her for whatever reason which i don't see, but in the ring... let's just say never been a fan"

[4.0] "Her matches often lacked depth, relying more on image and branding than wrestling skill. She improved over time, especially during her Divas Title reign, but stood out like a sore thumb when compared to Paige, Natalya or the Four Horsewomen. Her influence owes more to reality TV and crossover fame than actual ring work. She worked hard and made the most of the platform...but as a wrestler, her legacy is more commercial than competitive. We'll see what she does with her return"

[7.0] "Nikki Bella has had a big impact on women's wrestling in the late 2000's and early 2010's. She held up a women's division before the new wave (Charlotte, Becky, Sasha and Bayley) came through. She'll be remembered for all that work she's done and she rightfully deserves her place in the WWE Hall of Fame."

[7.0] "Nikki Bella gets too much hate. She brought in a whole generation of young women to enjoy pro wrestling (which if you don't know why that's important I really don't care to hear your opinion on the matter) She was a good in ring worker towards the end of her last run with the company. She's not as good as a lot of women that followed her but one could argue she really never got the opportunity to shine because her peak happened during a time when women got a single 5 minute match on PPV."

[8.0] "Well, she have AMAZING mic skills, her heel era in 2014/2015 was magistic, she is a great seller and a great wrestler. definitly carried the divas era of her back along with AJ Lee & Paige, also great to see her getting another run in 2025"

[8.0] "People get very weird when it comes to Nikki Bella. They act like her and her sister had no impact whatsoever in changing women's wrestling in North America. As a wrestler, she got quite decent in the ring, especially near the end, which has been intentionally worded as to not go overboard. I am not the biggest fan of The Bella Twins (my username is ironic), but the list of wrestlers citing them as their inspirations to start wrestling is getting astonishingly long. I don't know if without them, Total Divas became the success that it did, that then grew the female audience of WWE and in turn started an industry wide shift towards better presentations for women in wrestling. As someone who finds the "it's not about the moves or in-ring quality" rhetoric a little irritating, it's bizzare that it's parroted by a large portion of the WWE audience, and yet somehow when it comes to Nikki Bella (who does not look out of place on the WWE roster in terms of work rate) her in-ring ability isn't up to the right standard? We're drawing the line here? They act like she's an Eva Marie tier of wrestler. A lot of her most vocal critics didn't watch her matches. She's not even worse than a good chunk of the people being praised on the main roster right now! Once you go down the Bella internet criticism rabbit hole, it starts to feel like the Twilight Zone."

[9.0] "Being real, she was a lot better than some of the people you think deserved her spot. There are some wrestlers who are perfect litmus tests to see which wrestling fans watch from bell to bell and not just promos and entrances, and which people just see opinions on Twitter and make them their own. She was more than a product of her circumstances at the time and excelled much further. Her final Divas title reign was entertaining. She was a great heel."

[6.0] "Nikki showed improvement in the ring throughout her career. She had the look they were looking for in the diva's era. She proved she could keep up decently well during the women's revolution. She had some stinkers of feuds like her feud with her sister. On the mic she was solid. Unfortunately did a lot of damage to her body during her time in this sport."

[9.0] "I love Nikki, and she truly doesn't get the credit she deserves. Her in-ring skills improved significantly during her 2016-2017 run, and she has only continued to evolve. Beyond that, she played a major role in bringing Total Divas viewers into wrestling, which is an incredible achievement that helped expand the audience in a unique way."

"I LOVE YOU NIKKI! Twirling my hair, giggling until my stomach ached, biting my lip, joyous explosion erupted, shrieking, unadulterated yell of pure, unbridled happiness, followed by another, and another, a whirlwind of flailing limbs and ecstatic sound, tears streamed down my face, sheering overwhelming joy, feeling lighter than air, vibrating, threw my head back and laugh again."

[7.0] "She improved, got physically strong and decent in the ring. Her promos and mic skills also improved but her acting skills are still kinda less than average. I think the Bellas get a lot of unnecessary hate, though her wrestling was boring. Deserves a bit higher rating for her popularity and how much she was over."

[10.0] "I think she is a very good wrestler. She is great at what she does and I don't know or rather I don't understand why she has such a low rating. I love her with all my heart and I think she has unusual and very absorbing fights starting and finishing. She is very good and I like her a lot. She is iconic and has a cool entrance music. I was very happy when she entered during Royal Rum Le 2025. The same was with Alexa Bliss' return after a long 2 years. Nikki stands out a lot in her personality. She has a cool style of clothing and unusual methods of fighting during WWE galas. I am glad she is back and we finally saw her on screen. It's a shame I can't say the same about Brie."

[1.0] "I do not like Nikki, I cannot appreciate his work because it is not good and because he does not have to like me, to be more just with them, their content is for a certain sector that was not part, it is for the sector that sees total divas, that cared about the female division in 2013, is for a more casual fan. But sadly I am not that kind of fans and that is why it seems bad to me, their matches are mediocre, they are not bad but they are not good either. To say that Nikki is better that Brie is true, but it is not not a compliment, she is simply less bad than Brie."

[2.0] "Did Nikki improve in her time within WWE? Yes but not much her early time with the company was beyond bad and though she improved it wasn't much to deserve much more than a 2/10 and her returns since 2017/18 era, when WWE started putting more emphasis on in ring ability, is beyond pointless she will easily be one of the weakest in ring talents within the women's roster and will be found out very quickly."

[6.0] "I'm going to be completely honest Nikki Bella is extremely overrated but she's above average at best and had a couple of enjoyable matches here and there."

[4.0] "In her profession, Nikki Bella is a hard wrestler for me to like; Her over-the-top Diva-esque character (with her sister) and promos just did not resonate with me and I found it annoying. However, I can admit that I am NOT the target audience meant to like Nikki, as many wrestlers have different audiences that make them appeal to different fans, so that's that. However, I believe I can justify my rating of 4 based on her Promo skills and Workrate, which were rather poor for her era. She did improve and become just average in-ring by the end of her full-time run but it still doesn't make her career overall "average", as she had bad promos (her heel-turn promo on Brie Bella) and there are a lot of bad matches in her catalogue. I will admit though, for as much as I don't like her as a wrestler. I am happy for her (and her sister too) when it comes to succeeding in their personal lives and other ventures, such as being very marketable for entertainment and business purposes; their shows were very popular and drew millions of viewers on the E Network. However, I still stand by my rating of her as a wrestler."

[6.0] "She got a lot better after her injury, I do think her becoming the longest reigning divas champion should never have happened but she was decent. Her greatest match will always be against Ronda at Evolution, honestly an enjoyable match and she really shined there. She deserves her flowers because she was apart of the womens evolution."

[7.0] "Nikki Bella is too underrated. Yes she was the girlfriend of Cena, yes she was the main reason Total Divas existed but that doesn't automatically make her a bad wrestler. People need to understand the impact this woman had on the industry (women's side ofc). In her era, Nikki had everything a women wrestler needed to succeed. Correct and entertaining in-ring moveset / IQ, great chemistry with the roster, charisma and mic skill. Very underappreciated worker, her powerhouse style of wrestling was so freakin cool, the Rack Attack is still one of the coolest finisher."

[10.0] "Nikki Bella was one of the greatest Divas wrestler at that time. She carried the Women's Divas from 2014-2015, and her and her sister Brie brought many fans into the WWE. Ofcsourse she didnt have the best matches ever, but after watching the bella twins documentry, you can tell how much she wanted to improve. She was really good as a singles and tag team wrestler. It kills me to see that they didnt do that much with her after the divas reign. wish that the Bella Twins would have won the Tag Titles at some point."

[10.0] "Nikki is an underappreciated worker. She may not be an elite worker in the ring, but she can work. In wrestling, other than in ring is given priority especially in WWE which is looks, charisma, mic and body which is all in Nikki. Besides, Nikki has brought the divas era to the top, her contribution is a lot in that era and has influenced the women wrestlers of today's generation. So she deserves more respect and those who say she has no talent are just stupid. I expect one more run in her and that too is in AEW. Tony Khan should sign her and bring her to the company, she will be a good addiction and attraction for them in big events. Not only her but also her sister Brie. And it's a pity to see that cause she deserves a bit better rating."

[10.0] "The amount of strength she has is astonishing. She got alot of power. She also is really attractive. She got a torso she likes to flaunt. It would have been a dream to have Nikki bella doing customs at her physical peak. Her attire is always on point. Her abs and overall body looked amazing in 2016. Slender but muscular. I like to imagine in another universe she stopped at wwe in 2015 after losing her belt and started doing customs instead. She would be without a favorite and would be doing more custom matches than anyonr"

[10.0] "Great performer, 2016 she was at her physical peak with an absolute amazing athletic body, she is quite strong for her slender frame. Beautiful face, she unfortunately retired.. i think she should do customs. I would definitely buy them. She is both great as heel and face. And she makes jobbing look fantastic. Probably my favorite to watch. She did a fantastic job also in the handicap matches where she took quite a beating. Would love to see her win a handicap match instead of losing. I dont mind seeing her be a jobber."

[7.0] "At her best she was a solid wrestler especially as a heel.My favorite matches are with her and Charlotte matches where she would really dominate attack body part throughout the match.She improved over time honestly one of favorites of the diva era in the wwe."

[2.0] "Absolut überschätzt und overhyped, wirkte auf mich immer künstlich aufgesetzt und uncharismatisch. Ihr ganzer push ist vermutlich auf Merchandise Verkäufe und ihren Ex Mann zurückzuführen. Ein Paradebeispiel dafür warum die "Divas Era" enden musste und Plastikprodukte durch richtige Athletinnen mit Herz und Seele für das Business ersetzt wurden."

[6.0] "eeeeh, Nikki is ok sometimes. she is really boring with this extended title reign and i don't like it. there are so many divas to have as champion and nikki is one of the worst."

[6.0] "Sold a lot of t-shirts and had a hilarious reality tv show. Passable wrestler, but waaaaaay overpushed. The better of the two sisters. Unlike moolah she was at least easy on the eyes, could wrestle matches that were watchable, and didn't run a human trafficking ring. No one's mistaking her for Brett Hart, but had several pretty decent matches. Improved as her career went on."

[10.0] "I dont care what you say about her in-ring work, she was a pioneer of the Divas Era (along with Brie, Natalya, AJ Lee, Beth Phoenix, Eve, & many others.) She was actually pretty decent in the ring and had a ton of charisma compared to her sister at the time. (The roles swapped when Brie turned, obviously.) I really think this era of womens wrestlers got low ratings because of some of the booking, which will always be a problem. However, with that being said Nikki was a very accomplished wrestler in her own right as she was Divas Champion twice and held the championship for a combined total of 307 days."

[6.0] "Well Nikki Bella was once my former favorite Divas wrestler, but that title goes to Liv Morgan now. I never found her too exciting in the ring, she wasn't anything special on the mic or her promos. She had a decent feud with her sister Brie Bella. Her biggest highlight would be her return in Summerslam 2016."

[8.0] "Nikki is so underrated it's ridiculous. She's such a solid worker, she's amazing at bringing heat as a heel. She was one of the, at the time, rare Powerhouse in the women's division. As she had said in interviews, she spearheaded the movement that tried to make the term "Diva" a brand and a term of empowerment, then was thrown under the bus when they decided that "Diva = bad", and suddenly everything they accomplished was crap. Guys, if you still think she only got to where she was because of Cena...... Well, there's no convincing you but the right response is... so what ? People have said that HHH was only as big as he was because of Steph... that doesn't change that he's one of the greatest performer in wrestling history. I'll say however, that her micwork was lacking. She was unable to not sound like an uncomfortable teenager while talking. That's one of the rare aspects where Brie was better than her. ( Crazy that Cena's girlfriend was the better wrestler while Bryan's wife was the better talker =D )"

[4.0] "Meh wrestler, cool for the company and helping women get more spotlight and helped them get taken more seriously, but she's just not that good in comparison to today's stars"

[3.0] "A horrible wrestler who did absolutely nothing for womens wrestling in America, how is she celebrated as a legend? At least she was better than Brie."

[1.0] "The Bella Twins were really bad when they debuted. Nikki improved a bit unlike her sister. But she was still bad and was not deserving of a lengthy title reign. It's laughable that she and her sisters are in the hall of fame."

[6.0] "A bit underrated. I think she was really ok in the ring - and definitely better than her sister. In 2015-2016, it proved to be a heel and I think it was better than the face character from 2017 (cooperation with John Cena). Some people equate her with sexism and worse times for WWE's Women's Division, but I think that's a bit of an exaggeration. Nikki's character has never been so sexualized."

[8.0] "She is one of the most improved wresters in the ring in history. She was a fantastic heel. She was a really good power house during the evolution. She deserves to be the longest reigning divas champion. Her return in 2016 was iconic and helped the division a lot. I hope she will return for one more run."