The Bella Twins
Statistics
Members	Brie Bella Nikki Bella
Name(s)	The Bella Twins The Bellas
Heights	5 ft 6 in (1.68 m) each[1][2]
Combined weight	270 lb (120 kg) 135 lb (61 kg) each[1][2]
Hometown	San Diego, California[3]
Billed from	Scottsdale, Arizona[1][2]
Debut	September 15, 2007[3]
Promotions	Florida Championship Wrestling WWE
Trainer	Tom Prichard[3]

Brianna Monique Garcia-Colace^[4] and Stephanie Nicole Garcia-Colace^[4][3] (born on November 21, 1983)^[3] are Mexican American twin professional wrestlers. The twins are a professional wrestling tag team under the ring names Brie Bella and Nikki Bella respectively and collectively referred to as The Bella Twins. They are best known for their time with WWE, working on its Raw, SmackDown and ECW brands from 2008 to 2012. They are both former WWE Divas Champions.^[5]

Before being promoted to the main WWE roster, The Bella Twins wrestled with Florida Championship Wrestling, where they were trained by Tom Prichard, and competed mainly in tag team competition. Brie made her debut first on SmackDown in August 2008. As part of her in-ring persona, would disappear under the ring during matches, emerging revived. It was later discovered that she was switching places with her twin, Nikki, while under the ring, in order to gain an advantage. They then competed in tag team matches. Beginning in November 2008, an angle was written in which The Bella Twins developed an on-screen relationship with The Colóns (Carlito and Primo). They were later involved in storyline romances with John Morrison and The Miz in early 2009 and Daniel Bryan in 2010. On April 11, 2011, Brie defeated Eve Torres to win her first WWE Divas Championship and on April 23, 2012, Nikki defeated Beth Phoenix to win her first WWE Divas Championship.

On April 30, 2012 the Bella twins parted ways with WWE.

Early life and career[link]

Brianna and Nicole Garcia were born in Scottsdale, Arizona and raised in San Diego, California in a family of Mexican and Italian Nationality.^[2] They played soccer up until college, when they started modeling, acting, and doing promotional work.^[1][2] They made their first national TV appearance on the Fox reality show Meet My Folks.^[6] Following this appearance, the Garcia twins were hired to be the World Cup Twins for Budweiser and were photographed holding the World Cup trophy.^[7] They then participated in the 2006 "International Body Doubles twins search".^[8] They participated in the 2006 WWE Diva Search but did not make the cut.^[9] The twins also appeared in Atreyu's music video for "Right Side of the Bed"^[10]

World Wrestling Entertainment / WWE (2007–2012)[link]

Florida Championship Wrestling (2007–2008)[link]

They were signed to developmental contracts by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) in June 2007 and assigned to Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW), WWE's developmental territory, in Tampa, Florida.^[6] On September 15, 2007 the twins debuted in FCW, dubbed The Bella Twins, by defeating Nattie Neidhart and Krissy Vaine with Victoria Crawford as the special guest referee.^[3][11] The duo quickly started a scripted rivalry with Neidhart and Crawford, and had a series of matches against them throughout October 2007. As a part of their on-screen personas, they switched places behind the referee's back if one of them was hurt. They also occasionally competed in mixed tag team matches, teaming with male wrestlers including Kofi Kingston and Robert Anthony. They also made some non-wrestling appearances on Heath Miller's "Happy Hour" promo segment.^[11]

Starting in December 2007, they began managing Derrick Linkin,^[11] but this storyline was cut short when Linkin was released in January 2008. They then resumed their feud with Neidhart and Crawford, wrestling them throughout much of 2008.^[12] After Neidhart was called up to the WWE roster in April 2008, however, Milena Roucka took her place in the feud.^[12][13] They also competed in bikini contests, and wrestled against other competitors including Katie Lea Burchill and Daisy. Their last FCW appearance was on September 2, when they competed in a Divas Battle Royal won by Miss Angela.^[12]

Debut and Brand switches (2008–2010)[link]

On the August 29, 2008 episode of SmackDown, Brianna debuted as Brie Bella under a fan favorite character and defeated Victoria.^[14] She quickly began a scripted rivalry with Victoria and Victoria's accomplice, Nattie Neidhart, who was now using the ring name Natalya, and had a series of matches against them.^[15][16][17] In each match Brie would roll out of the ring and go underneath it, emerging and appearing revived, and then win the match.^[15][18] On the October 31 episode of SmackDown when Brie went under the ring Victoria grabbed her legs, but a second pair of legs kicked her off, implying that a second person was under the ring.^[19] The following week on SmackDown, Brie picked up a win against Victoria and then ran under the ring to escape Natalya and Victoria, but Victoria and Natalya both reached for Brie under the ring, resulting in both Nicole and Brie being pulled out. The twins then attacked them and celebrated afterward.^[20] Nicole was then introduced as Nikki. The twins had their first official match as a team on the November 21 episode of SmackDown, defeating Victoria and Natalya.^[21] They continued competing in tag team matches for the next few months.^[22][23][24]

The Bella Twins in a Santa's Little Helper match in December 2009.

Starting in November, they developed an on-screen relationship with The Colóns (Carlito and Primo), appearing in numerous backstage segments with them, and accompanying them to the ring.^[25][26] On the February 13, 2009 episode of SmackDown, John Morrison and The Miz flirted with the Bellas backstage. As Morrison and The Miz were scheduled to have a match against Carlito and Primo that night, a stipulation was added that the winning team would win a date with the Bellas on Valentine's Day.^[27] During their date, Primo and Carlito were disguised as waiters and tried to sabotage the date, resulting in the Bellas getting angry with the two.^[28] The date provoked a rivalry between the teams of The Miz and Morrison and Primo and Carlito, with them competing for the affection of The Bella Twins, who were seemingly unable to choose between them.^[29][30] On the March 17 episode of ECW, Carlito and Primo, accidentally spat apples in the face of Brie, which was originally aimed at Morrison and The Miz.^[31] Nikki started to laugh at Brie's misfortune, and a fight broke out between the two of them, which led to Nikki leaving with The Miz and Morrison, while Brie stayed with Primo and Carlito.^[31] This turned Nikki heel in the process. Brie won her first match over Nikki in a six-person intergender tag team match on the March 27 episode of SmackDown.^[32] In their first singles match, on the March 31 episode of ECW, Nikki pinned Brie after Morrison and The Miz caused a distraction.^[33] On April 15, 2009, The Bella Twins were both drafted to the Raw brand as part of the 2009 Supplemental Draft.^[34] On the April 27 episode of Raw, Brie made her Raw in-ring debut in an eight-Diva tag team match, which her team won. Nikki also made an appearance, reuniting with her twin, as she was under the ring to help out Brie during her match.^[35] Nikki then made her official in-ring debut on the May 18 episode of Raw in a battle royal but was eliminated by Beth Phoenix.

The Bella Twins arriving at the arena before a show

On June 29, 2009, they were both traded to the ECW brand.^[36] They debuted on ECW on June 30, 2009 on The Abraham Washington Show, as the special guests.^[37] The following Tuesday on ECW Nikki defeated Katie Lea Burchill, by switching places with Brie behind the referee's back.^[38] The following week on WWE Superstars Brie also defeated Burchill after a similar switch.^[39] The Bella Twins were then featured on September 10 episode of Superstars, when Nikki defeated Burchill.^[40]

On October 12, 2009, the Bellas were sent back to Raw as part of a tri-branded divas trade,^[41] where they predominately appeared in backstage segments with the weekly guest stars and occasionally competed in matches.^[3] On the January 4, 2010, episode of Raw, Brie participated in the tournament to determine the new Divas Champion tournament match, but lost to Maryse in the first round. During the match, the twins switched places behind the referee's back so it was Nikki who was pinned.^[42] In June 2010, they developed a feud with Jillian Hall, when Brie defeated her after switching with Nikki.^[43] The following week, Nikki defeated Hall after switching with Brie.^[44] On the July 8 episode of Superstars, the Bellas acted as the special guest referees during a mixed tag team match with Primo and Hall facing Yoshi Tatsu and Gail Kim. During the match, Hall attacked both twins, but lost the match when Kim pinned her and Nikki made a fast count.^[45] On the next episode of Superstars, the twins defeated Hall and Maryse in a tag team match.^[46]

On August 31, The Bella Twins announced they would be part of season three of NXT, mentoring Jamie.^[47] Jamie was the first rookie eliminated on the October 5 episode of NXT.^[48] On the October 19 episode of NXT the Bellas heel turn started as Nikki became upset after Kelly Kelly's rookie Naomi kicked Brie in the face during the match. Nikki attacked Naomi and eventually threw Brie (the legal woman) out of the ring and pin Naomi. Over the rest of the season a similar trend of a more aggressive Nikki continued.

On the November 22 episode of Raw, Brie ran out to accompany Daniel Bryan to his match against Ted DiBiase who had Maryse in his corner. Following Bryan's win, Nikki ran out and the two fought over Bryan's affection only to have Bryan break it up and have both of them hug each other.^[49] They began to manage Bryan, frequently accompanying him to the ring.^[50][51]

Divas Championship reigns and departure (2011–2012)[link]

On the January 24 episode of Raw, the twins discovered Bryan kissing Gail Kim backstage. After it was explained to them that Gail was Bryan's girlfriend, the Bellas assaulted her, turning both heel for the first time in their WWE careers.^[52] On January 30 at the Royal Rumble, they once again assaulted Gail Kim, and again the following night on Raw.^[53][54]

On the February 7 episode of Raw, they debuted in their first match as heels, teaming with fellow recently-turned heel Melina in a losing effort to WWE Divas Champion Eve Torres, Tamina, and Gail Kim.^[55] The Bella Twins began feuding with Eve Torres after they appeared as lumberjills during a WWE Divas Championship match between Eve and Natalya on the February 14 episode of Raw. Following the match, they attacked Eve backstage before Gail Kim and Natalya made the save.^[3] The following week, The Bella Twins defeated Eve and Gail Kim in a tag team match after using "Twin Magic".^[56] The following week, Nikki won a Divas battle royal to become the number one contender for the WWE Divas Championship after Brie switched with her twin sister. Nikki cashed in this title shot on the March 7 episode of Raw, but fell to win.^[57][58] On the March 17 episode of WWE Superstars, The Bella Twins teamed up with Melina and Alicia Fox in a losing effort against Tamina, Gail Kim, Natayla, Eve Torres. The following week on the March 31 episode of WWE Superstars, The Bellas and Melina, defeated Eve, Gail, and Natayla after Brie pinned Eve following another "Twin Magic" switch. On the April 11 episode of Raw, Brie Bella defeated Eve to win the WWE Divas Championship from her, marking the first time that either twin had held a championship in the WWE.^[5][59] Brie went on to successfully defend the championship against Kelly Kelly at Over the Limit, after switching places with Nikki again.

The following night on Raw, they teamed with fellow heels Maryse and Melina against Kelly Kelly, Beth Phoenix, Gail Kim, and Eve Torres, however, the match ended in a no-contest following an interruption from Kharma.^[60] On the May 30 episode of Raw, The Bella Twins were defeated by Kelly Kelly and Eve. Later that night, they interrupted and mocked Kharma when she revealed that she was pregnant and that she was taking a year's leave of absence from the WWE.^[61]

On the June 6 episode of Raw, The Bella Twins were defeated in a divas tag team match by Kelly Kelly and Beth Phoenix after Brie was pinned by Phoenix.^[62] Their losing streak continued on the June 13 episode of Raw, when they lost a 7 on 7 divas tag team match teaming with Melina, Rosa Mendes, Alicia Fox, Maryse, and Tamina in a losing effort to Kelly Kelly, Beth Phoenix, Gail Kim, Eve Torres, Natalya, AJ, and Kaitlyn.^[63] On the June 20 episode of Raw, a special "Power to the People" episode, where Brie would defend her title against either Eve, Kelly Kelly, or Beth Phoenix, Kelly was selected by the WWE Universe as her opponent, who defeated Brie and won the Divas Championship. The following week on Raw, Nikki faced Kelly in a Raw Roulette match. A submission match was picked and Nikki lost after tapping out to a Boston crab. After the match, both of the Bellas attacked Kelly until Eve Torres came to the rescue, throwing both Bellas out of the ring. It was later announced that Brie's rematch for the WWE Divas Championship would take place at the Money In The Bank pay-per-view.^[64]

On July 17, Brie challenged Kelly for the WWE Divas Championship at the Money in the Bank 2011 pay-per-view, but failed to win. On the August 1 episode of Raw, Brie and Nikki both took part in a battle royal to face Kelly Kelly for the Divas Championship at SummerSlam. They both failed to win but were eliminated last simultaneously at the hands of the victorious Beth Phoenix.^[65] On the August 29 episode of Raw, The Bellas' losing streak finally ended when Brie Bella defeated Kelly Kelly after switching places with her sister Nikki. On the September 29 episode of WWE Superstars, The Bella Twins defeated Chickbusters (A.J. and Kaitlyn). On the October 27 episode of WWE Superstars Eve and Kelly Kelly defeated The Bella Twins, when Kelly pinned Brie. On the November 29 episode of SmackDown, Brie Bella won a Divas "Mistletoe on a Pole" match. After the match, Mick Foley confronted Brie and told her that she have the opportunity to kiss a Superstar of her choice between now and Christmas. At the 2011 annual Tribute to the Troops, The Bella Twins teamed up with Beth Phoenix and Natalya in a losing effort to Kelly Kelly, Alicia Fox, Eve & Maria Menounos.

They would then enter into a storyline where they pursued Alberto Del Rio. On the January 2 episode of Raw, The Bellas defeated Kelly Kelly and Eve Torres in a tag team match. On January 16 episode of Raw, they were defeated by Kelly Kelly and Alicia Fox, since Raw's special guest, Perez Hilton thwarted their attempt at Twin Magic. After the match, Nikki and Brie would go and try to attack Perez but Kelly Kelly and Alicia Fox would come to the aid of Perez. The Bella's began to show friction for the second time since joining WWE after both twins had lost to AJ in singles competition. After Brie's match with AJ, Nikki revealed that Brie was rooting for Team Johnny in the 12-man tag team match at WrestleMania XXVIII, whilst Nikki was rooting for Team Teddy, thus furthering their dissension.^[66] On the April 6 episode of SmackDown, Nikki Bella (without the assistance of her twin sister Brie), took on the Divas Champion Beth Phoenix. Before the match started, Kelly Kelly came out to distract Phoenix, which then allowed Nikki pick up the win. ^[67]

On the April 23 episode of Raw, Nikki defeated Beth Phoenix in a lumberjill match for the WWE Divas Championship, ending Phoenix's reign as champion at 204 days.^[68] Brie lost Nikki's championship to Layla at Extreme Rules, after attempting Twin Magic, ending her Divas Championship reign after only a week. The following night on Raw, they competed in their last match with the WWE, failing to win back the Divas Championship from Layla in a triple threat match. Later that night, WWE announced on their website that the twins had been fired by Executive Administrator Eve Torres.^[69] This storyline was reportedly used to facilitate the expiration of their contracts, which the twins had decided not to renew.^[70]

Personal lives[link]

Nikki previously dated WWE wrestler Dolph Ziggler while Brie previously dated Richie Kotzen, former guitarist of bands Poison and Mr. Big.^[71][72] As of March 2012, Brie has been in a relationship with WWE wrestler Daniel Bryan. ^[73]

In wrestling[link]

Nikki Bella applying a headlock to Natalya.

• Finishing moves
  • Bella Buster (Sitout facebuster)^[67]
  • Twin Magic^[3] (Simultaneously switching places on a distracted referee usually followed by a Bella Buster or a Cradle pin)^[74]
• Signature moves
  • Armbar
  • Dropkick^[68]
  • Diving crossbody
  • Jumping snapmare^[75]
  • Monkey flip^[68]
  • Snap swinging neckbreaker
  • Springboard arm drag

• Wrestlers managed
  • Carlito and Primo
  • John Morrison and The Miz
  • Daniel Bryan

• Managers
  • Carlito and Primo – Brie
  • John Morrison and The Miz – Nikki
  • Daniel Bryan – Brie and Nikki

• Entrance themes
  • "Feel My Body" by Hollywood Music Library (2008 - 2009) ^[76][77][78]
  • "You Can Look (But You Can't Touch)" by Kim Sozzi and Jim Johnston (2009–2012)^[79][80]

Championships and accomplishments[link]

• World Wrestling Entertainment / WWE
  • WWE Divas Championship (2 times) – Brie (1), Nikki (1) ^[5]

• WWE.com
  • WWE Emmy for Lead Actress in a Drama – Nikki for That Article^[81] and The Bella's fury over Twitter regarding WWE.com article Divas of Doom ... or salvation?^[82]
  • WWE Emmy for Supporting Actress in a Drama – Brie for That Article

• Pro Wrestling Illustrated
  • PWI ranked Brie #21 of the best 50 female singles wrestlers in the PWI Female 50 in 2011^[83]

References[link]

External links[link]

Find more about The Bella Twins on Wikipedia's sister projects:
	Images and media from Commons

Professional wrestling portal

• Official website
• The Bella Twins on Twitter
• The Bella Twins on Facebook
• The Bella Twins's channel on YouTube
• Brie's WWE profile
• Nikki's WWE profile
• Online World of Wrestling profile

AJ Lee
AJ at Fort Bragg in December 2011.
Ring name(s)	AJ[1] AJ Lee[2] April Lee[2] Miss April[2]
Billed height	5 ft 3 in (1.60 m)[1]
Billed weight	107 lb (49 kg)[2]
Born	(1987-03-19) March 19, 1987 (age 25)[2]
Billed from	Union City, New Jersey[1]
Trained by	Jay Lethal[2]
Debut	September 29, 2007[2]

April Jeanette Mendez^[3][4] (born March 19, 1987)^[2] is an American professional wrestler. She is signed to WWE, where she wrestles as part of the SmackDown brand under the ring name AJ.^[1]

Mendez enrolled in a wrestling school in March 2007, and debuted six months later. In the following years, she performed for several Northeast-based independent promotions including Women Superstars Uncensored (WSU) as Miss April. In WSU, she was part of the AC Express alongside Brooke Carter and the duo held the WSU Tag Team Championship once. In May 2009, she signed a developmental contract with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), and was assigned to Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW), WWE's developmental promotion, using the ring name AJ Lee.^[5] In FCW, she was Queen of FCW and FCW Divas Champion, and was the first person to have held both titles. In 2010, she was part of the third season of NXT, having dropped her last name, and became part of WWE's SmackDown brand in May 2011, forming a tag team with Kaitlyn known as The Chickbusters.^[6]