The Bella Twins reveal WWE contract status, retirement timeline
The Bella Twins are back in WWE for an extended period of time.
This Friday on SmackDown, Nikki & Brie Bella will challenge Nia Jax & Lash Legend for the WWE Women’s Tag Team titles. They spoke about the match on a new edition of the Nikki & Brie Show and revealed that, when Brie returned at the 2026 Royal Rumble, they signed new two-year contracts with WWE. They are planning for this to be their last wrestling contract before retirement.
“For me, I don’t think you and I will ever get that last retirement moment that like John [Cena] got and AJ Styles got,” Nikki said. “Let’s be honest, the men get, right?
“I don’t think you and I will ever get that, but I would love to have that. Because I do know that the contract that we signed, we signed a two-year deal starting Royal Rumble. And for you and I, the talks we’ve had and what I know just where I’m at, that’s it. That will be the end for me and for us.”
Nikki added that she’d love to have a moment where she gives a final bow and leaves her gear in the ring. She doubts she’ll ever get that, but she still really wants to have an iconic final run that their fans can be proud of.
“I want to have some of my best matches. I want to have a lot of fun,” Nikki said. “But I want to have like an iconic moment where it’s like, I could look back and go, ‘Damn, that was a great two years.’ We did it. I don’t want to walk away with any what ifs… I want to look back at these past two years that we’re about to create and be like, ‘Damn, girl. We did it.'”
In this final run, The Bellas are balancing who they are now with the people they used to be. Nikki & Brie are already WWE Hall of Famers — and becoming Women’s Tag Team Champions is one of the final things on their bucket list. Being able to accomplish this now that they are both mothers would be especially meaningful.
“This is like the final thing,” Nikki said. “So when I’m like 60, 70, 80, hopefully 90s, sitting with Brie on a porch, wine tasting, wine making, like we could, ‘Girl, we did that.’ We did Evolution. We did this. Tag team champs. Like, that’s how my mind works, like that’s accomplishments. But dang, to do it as moms. Nothing is better.”
The Lenovo Center in Raleigh, North Carolina is hosting this Friday’s SmackDown episode. After the show, there will only be four weeks left until WrestleMania 42.
Joseph Currier is the lead editor of F4WOnline.com, directing daily news coverage and writing articles on professional wrestling. He is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts, obtaining a journalism degree in 2016. Joseph joined F4W during his time at UMass and has now been writing about the industry for nearly a decade.
In addition to his work with F4W, Joseph has previously contributed to Sports Illustrated's wrestling coverage. He lives in Massachusetts and is a diehard fan of the Boston sports teams and Liverpool Football Club.