Nikki Bella’s highly anticipated return to WWE Raw was unexpectedly pulled from the show due to sudden changes.
Following her surprise appearance at the Royal Rumble, the two-time Divas Champion officially returned to WWE programming on the June 9th episode of Raw. During that show, Bella became involved in a verbal exchange with Liv Morgan. The confrontation culminated in Morgan delivering the Oblivion, seemingly laying the groundwork for a showdown at the upcoming Evolution event on July 13th in Atlanta, Georgia.
However, just one week later, plans are now up in the air. During a match between Liv Morgan and Kairi Sane on Raw, Morgan sustained a shoulder injury only moments into the bout, forcing an immediate stoppage after Morgan was assessed by medical staff. As reported by Dave Meltzer on Wrestling Observer Radio, Nikki Bella was backstage and had been scheduled to appear during the match to further the storyline:
“Nikki Bella was there and she was going to do a run-in in the Liv Morgan-Kairi Sane match to help set up this next part of the angle,” Meltzer said. “But they decided, for whatever reason, I guess because everything was a panic at that point, and they probably didn’t put her out on a promo, because it’s like well, if she’s okay, I mean, what do you say? So that’s why she was not on the show. Even though she’d been advertised all week, she was there.”
Future Plans for Nikki Bella Remain Unclear Following Scrapped WWE Raw Appearance
With Morgan now out of action, the creative direction involving Nikki Bella remains unknown. Original speculation pointed to either a singles match between Bella and Morgan at Evolution, or a potential tag team match featuring Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez defending the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships against Nikki and Brie Bella.
Given the circumstances, WWE may pivot to an alternate plan. One possibility could see Raquel Rodriguez paired with a new partner to take on The Bella Twins at the July event. The company has a precedent for similar adjustments. Chelsea Green was once teamed with Piper Niven after Sonya Deville suffered an injury, and Naomi stepped in to tag with Bianca Belair when Jade Cargill was temporarily sidelined.
H/t to Wrestling News.co for the use of transcription.
Featured image: WWE
