Nikki Garcia says the recent omission of her name on WWE Raw is “sad.”
During the November 13th episode of Monday Night Raw, Michael Cole took some time to promote the season two premier of Barmageddon, which aired immediately after Raw on the USA Network. While reading the promotional material, Cole mentioned only Blake Shelton as the host of the show, leaving out Nikki Garcia’s name despite the WWE Hall of Famer being co-host of the show and heavily featured in USA’s advertising.
In a recent interview with NBC Chicago, the former Nikki Bella called the situation “disappointing” and questioned whether she would have been snubbed if she were a man.
“It’s sad. Like, there’s obviously a lot of things I could say about that. I think more than anything, it’s disappointing. I worked there for 16 years, and I helped pave the way for them. Not only that they’ve always been family to me, and no matter what, walking away, for me, it wasn’t malicious.
“I’m at a point in my life. I wanted to do things without hearing the word ‘no,’ and it was just strictly business. Maybe there were some personal things that had happened over the years that also pushed me towards that, but I think more than anything, it’s disappointing because I don’t see it happen with the men.”
“They Just Want To Ban Us” – Nikki Garcia On Women Being Outspoken Post-WWE
After their WWE contracts expired in March, Nikki and her sister Brie announced that they would now be known as The Garcia Twins, leaving the Bella name behind. Since that time, Nikki Garcia has sometimes been critical of WWE’s booking of its women’s division as well as its business practices, and she cites this as the reason her name wasn’t mentioned on Raw.
“For some reason with the women who are outspoken and we’ve seen this with the women in the past, they just want to ban us. I think it’s sad because we all look at it as family and so, ‘Okay, they don’t want to say my name, that’s fine.
“Barmageddon got a shout-out and so did Blake Shelton, so that makes me happy. So many people at WWE will always be family to me, and I communicate with so many of them. The WWE Universe will always be family to me, as well as my Bella Army. So I’m just so appreciative for all of you and all of us that can still have the memories.”
Nikki Garcia’s final match in WWE came when she and her sister Brie returned to compete in the 2022 Royal Rumble.
Back in February, the former Nikki Bella explained the one thing Vince McMahon wasn’t able to control in WWE.
h/t Fightful