Nikki Bella had been away from the ring for three years when she made her return to the WWE Royal Rumble.
Nikki had remained in the public eye during her time away through reality appearances and her relationship with ex-husband Artem Chigvintsev.
During that time, she said she had lost her confidence. As she began training for her in-ring return, Natalya helped her regain that confidence.
"This time around, preparing for this run, Nattie has been a key piece for me because she knows me best when it comes to wrestling. She knows my personality, she knows how I move. The one thing she picked up on quick was, ‘We need to work on getting your confidence back.’ I told her, the past few years, I’ve really lost that. I’ve lost confidence in myself and feeling great about myself. That was a big part of being Nikki Bella. She oozed confidence. I went out there and I felt sexy and strong and confident. You couldn’t break me. Even if I was going to lose, I was going to make it look damn good and I felt so good about it. That is a piece of me that is lost. As I’ve been training these past three weeks, I’ve slowly been getting it back and it’s made me even more excited for this run because I’ve realized more than ever, I need it for me personally," Nikki said on the Nikki & Brie Show.
She continued, "Before my music it at 30 and I walked out, Nattie came running to Gorilla, and one thing she was teaching me when I was training to help build my confidence is, ‘You need to find your Fuck You.’ ‘You’re right.’ She goes, ‘When you’re hitting your moves and your forearms, you really need to find that inner Fuck You so you can deliver and be who you were.’ She comes running into Gorilla, as it’s counting down to ten, and she literally grabs me and goes, ‘Go give them your Fuck You.’ It was such a moment with Nattie. She is the most incredible person you will ever meet. She’s such a key part of WWE and the women’s division. Right when my music hit, I feel like I gave too much of a serious face because I was like, ‘I’m going to find my Fuck You.’ I did. I found my inner Fuck You and I’m excited to find that more as I do more in the ring"
Nikki entered the women's Royal Rumble at number 30.
Elsewhere during the podcast, Nikki commented on her moment with Roxanne Perez in the Rumble. You can find her full comments by clicking here.
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