WWE: Why The Bella Twins Mean So Much More To The Women’s Revolution Than You Realize

Though the Bella Twins are subject to derision from an exclusively negative segment of the WWE Universe, their contributions to women’s wrestling shouldn’t be ignored. They stand today as irreplaceable icons in WWE’s Women’s Evolution, because they were the gateway from “Divas” era wrestling to “Women’s” wrestling.

The Bella Twins first made their debut on WWE Television in 2008, when Brie Bella defeated Victoria. Most of their programs in their early years involved love angles or storylines that fell in line with the general portrayal of women’s wrestling as a sideshow and not the depiction of an athletic contest. You know, what professional wrestling is supposed to be.

By 2015, however, Nikki Bella lost the Divas Championship to Charlotte Flair after a 301-day reign, putting together the best match of her career in the process. Charlotte’s eventual WrestleMania 32 victory for the new Women’s Championship signified a complete transition from the “Divas” era to the “Women’s Revolution”.

Wrestling fans had waited for years for WWE to recognize women’s wrestling as a sport, instead of just cheap entertainment. They knew the women of WWE were more than capable of wrestling for longer than a few minutes at a time, and the Four Horsewomen of NXT (Charlotte, Sasha Banks, Becky Lynch, and Bayley) were the catalysts for this revolution in WWE’s Women’s Division.

The Bellas Have Been Unfairly Made Convenient Scapegoats

Along the way, The Bella Twins became scapegoats, seen as relics of a past era of women’s wrestling. The Bellas are vilified by many of the same fans who claim to be undying supporters of women’s wrestling. Besides the jumble of selective feminists, there are wrestling writers who perpetuate this notion that the Bellas are a lasting stain on women’s wrestling.

It was UPROXX’s Brandon Stroud who railed against the Bellas, asserting that because the duo managed to cultivate a brand in spite of wrestling in an era where the quality of women’s matches were constrained by management, they shouldn’t be revered as legends.

Much of this animosity towards the Bellas dates back to AJ Lee’s famous “Pipebomb” promo during the Divas Era, where most of her criticisms seemed to be directed towards the Bellas.

The problem with gleaning anything serious from Lee’s promo is that it was clearly an over-the-top, in-character promo. Yes, there were elements of reality, since Lee turned down a spot on Total Divas, but if you believe for one second that Lee saw her co-workers as “useless”, “expendable”, or “worthless excuses for women”, then you are either remarkably gullible or maliciously misinterpreting her words to fit this narrative that the Bellas ruined wrestling.

No, seriously. You are incapable of performing basic research if you still reference that promo as an example of the Bellas’ toxicity, or whatever asinine point you want to concoct from the barren wasteland of the space that lies in between your ears. Even Lee herself made it clear that her “character” was acting like a “douche” when members of the roster took her comments personally. So why did Lee cut such a controversial promo? She was a heel who wanted to get the women on TV more often. It’s the exact same reason why any wrestler takes a risk.

(For future reference, instead of referencing the Pipebomb, maybe you should refer to Lee’s public, pointed criticisms of WWE short-changing its women.)

But They Wanted  To Keep Wrestling

It’s pathetic how grown adults (I was going to say men, but I would like to be spared from the inevitable #ButNotAllMen troglodytes) can cling onto a character-driven promo as an element of irrevocable truth while completely neglecting the fact that both of these women chose to continue wrestling.

You can’t sit there and chastise the Bellas for building a strong online presence and brand that includes a wine label, clothing line, and several high-profile guest appearances, while ignoring the fact that they didn’t eschew wrestling due to their increasing popularity outside the squared circle.

Nikki, for example, could have easily hung up her boots, because unlike WWE’s male part-timers in Hollywood, Nikki left wrestling due to a career-threatening neck injury. On top of that, Brie gave birth to her first child, meaning that she had to juggle being a mother and training to resume the career she loves.

Few people seem to realize the significance of this, even though Nikki and Brie have been quite open about their struggles. The Bella Twins legitimately love pro wrestling as much as anyone else, and it is frustrating to see fans fail to recognize this while celebrating the comeback stories of other wrestlers. Yes, those comebacks should be celebrated, but why is the threshold set so much higher for the Bellas?

They Aren’t Stealing Opportunities

It can’t be because they take away opportunities from others when they wrestle, since that just doesn’t hold any water. Since 2014, Brie Bella has been involved in just three title matches, losing literally all of them (one of them was that 14-woman match). In 2018 as a weekly performer, she’s just there to support Daniel Bryan in his feud against The Miz and Maryse or support Ronda Rousey alongside Nikki.

As for Nikki, she hasn’t been in the title picture since losing a Six-Pack Challenge for the SmackDown Women’s Championship at Backlash 2016 (aka the Becky Lynch PPV). She was a regular on SmackDown Live, but her main feuds were with Carmella and Natalya, and despite what people say about her lack of wrestling ability, her matches with Carmella  were decent, and that was when Carmella was at her most “green” on the main roster. Plus, she had a hell of a “Falls Count Anywhere” match against Natalya.

Both Bella Twins showed up at the first Women’s Royal Rumble to help fill out the field of 30 women, and while Nikki was the last woman to be eliminated by Asuka, she received that spot to give Asuka something of a Roman Reigns-esque nod. Understandably, nobody in the crowd wanted a returning part-timer to win the Rumble over the most dominant woman in WWE, and Nikki played her role of near-spoiler to perfection.

Far from incompetent in the ring, the Bellas consistently improved as wrestlers throughout their WWE careers. Compare Nikki’s title feud work with Charlotte and her 2017 “Falls Count Anywhere” match with Natalya to her matches earlier in her career, and you’ll see that she became a legitimately above-average in-ring talent.

Perhaps it’s resentment of her popularity, but many WWE fans have unfairly failed to see these strides or the clear effort made by both superstars. Instead, they prefer to make callous jokes about how Daniel Bryan or John Cena need to (explicit) wrestling ability into them (Warning: Language).

Yes, Building A Brand Helped Women’s Wrestling

What’s more important than bickering about wrestling ability is understanding that the Bella Twins have brought so many eyeballs to women’s wrestling by being willing to put in the work off the screen to assemble a presence. The Rock, Batista, and John Cena have helped raise the profile of pro wrestling by being key figures in pop culture, and the Bellas have done the same, even if it’s on a smaller scale.

It’s simply been that much harder for women in WWE to do this, because they receive even less money from the company and even less exposure. Hence, why #GiveDivasAChance became a trend. Though the Bellas were the ones who mostly benefited from Total Divas, the success of that show played a role in convincing the company that their women should be promoted significantly, much in the same way that WWE tries to benefit from The Rock’s or Cena’s brand.

The Bellas stand today with 3.53 million Twitter followers, nearly 1.8 million subscribers to their YouTube channel, and several “Female Athlete of the Year” nominations at the Teen Choice Awards.

That last part is overlooked, but it’s important for the Bellas’ legacy going forward. There’s this argument that the Bellas don’t inspire other women to begin wrestling, but, as is the case with the linked example, these observations come from men. Their opinions on whether a woman is inspiring to other women is irrelevant.

Instead, look here and here at just two of a myriad of examples of women who view the Bellas as being inspirational figures to them or other women. I mean, they wouldn’t be nominated for Teen Choice Awards, including a 2015 victory, if people didn’t find them inspiring in some way.

Every Woman In The ‘Evolution’ Matters

Perhaps the most exasperating aspect of the hatred for the Bellas is the seemingly ubiquitous misunderstanding of the word “Evolution”. The “Women’s Evolution”, like any complicated process that would invoke a term like “evolution”, has never been a straightforward march from “A” to “B”. In fact, it’s still far from its destination point, given the pay gap that exists, the disparity in PPV matches, and WWE’s involvement with Saudi Arabia.

Yet, there’s much to celebrate about where WWE’s Women’s Division is right now. We’ve seen women compete in Money in the Bank ladder matches, a Royal Rumble match, a WrestleMania Battle Royal, a Hell in a Cell match, and television main events. Five years ago, an all-women’s PPV would have seemed inconceivable. Ditto to the Mae Young Classic, which is currently in its second iteration.

It would be despicable, however, to deliberately demean the women of the past, who had to trudge through awful storylines, degrading material, and “dumb down” their wrestling matches to fit an impossibly tight window of time. They put their bodies in the line for little reward, and even though the Bellas managed to prosper, Nikki’s scary neck issue is a reminder that they didn’t skate by, even as hardcore, male WWE fans like to dismiss them as eye candy who couldn’t wrestle.

Without wrestlers like the Bella Twins, the Women’s Evolution in WWE is incomplete. They seamlessly ushered in the current era of women’s wrestling, where the focus is on being bad-ass athletes who are on television to produce the best possible matches. In the past, the focus was more on light entertainment, which didn’t project women in the best light.

The Bellas and others shouldn’t be penalized for this. Instead, they should be celebrated for taking some lumps and making the most out of them, partaking in atrocious storylines and comically short matches so that, years later, Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair could produce one of the best rivalries of the year.

What Makes The Bellas Important

What makes the Bellas legends is the fact that they were able to put more eyes on women’s wrestling by being moderate pop culture icons. Though they didn’t “make it big” like The Rock, it’s hard not to be impressed by what they’ve done, and they have inspired women by being body positive entrepreneurs and athletes. Yes, it takes a hell of an athlete to wrestle for years and come back from a severe neck injury.

Furthermore, in order to “bridge” two distinct eras of wrestling, they had to adapt. They had to be “Divas” and, later, wrestlers. They had to be involved in love angles, stand up to “The Authority”, withstand pipebombs and “I wish you died in the womb” promos (c’mon, you think they wanted that?), and wrestle praised title matches with Charlotte Flair. Never resting on their laurels, the Bellas had to improve in the ring, market themselves as celebrities, inspire their fans, and either start or contemplate starting a family.

Like any wrestlers, they have struggled physically and emotionally in this business. Whether it’s because men feel threatened by their looks, power, or popularity, many of their struggles have been glossed over. How is it that two women with 3.5 million followers on Twitter, several years of wrestling experience, and the respect of their peers are not legends? You can’t tell the story of women’s wrestling without the Bella Twins, and even though it would be disingenuous to pretend that they had the best matches or the best promos, that doesn’t make them any less valuable as entertainers or critical figures in the wrestling industry.

Wrestling Fans: Remember That Feminism Is About Equality And Respect

All these years later, they are back on television, supporting the men and women around them in WWE. They haven’t taken anybody’s spots in the title picture or the WrestleMania main event, and that’s something many of their oft-praised male legends could learn from. Even if they do get a push here or there, what’s the harm in honoring two women who have worked tirelessly for ten years to raise the profile of women’s wrestling? Yes, they did it differently than others, and, yes, elite wrestlers like Sasha Banks should be the future of this company, but there’s more than one way to be an inspirational woman in wrestling.

Not every woman is the same in terms of what they can offer to WWE, and the sooner fans realize this, the sooner the Women’s Evolution can truly progress. The in-fighting among fans and the shots at women, especially women of the past, is a harsh reminder that a lot of men don’t understand feminism, specifically in the context of fandoms.

See, feminism isn’t about supporting your favorite women in a given area. It’s about supporting all women, so chew on that the next time you tweet vitriol about the Bellas. You don’t have to like them, but it’s probably a good idea to respect them as human beings, especially given what they have contributed to this business.

Since this article was about recognizing two inspiring women, I’d  also like to take a second to thank the woman who edited this piece, Chelsea Marcus, and fellow contributor Laura Mauro for encouraging me to write this rather heated article.