Nikki Bella smiles at the camera during the FOX 2016 Upfront event in New York City. (Photo : Getty Images/Ben Gabbe)
Nikki Bella burst on to the WWE scene with her twin sister Brie back in 2008. They each won multiple singles championships in addition to forming a formidable title-winning tag team in the women's division of the WWE. However, Nikki revealed that she had suffered from a neck injury that required surgery and an extended hiatus shortly after her record-breaking "Divas" title reign of 301 days.
"I have basically a broken neck, a pretty bad herniated disk," Bella told E! News in an interview. She explained that the treatment for her condition would be more complicated than usual due to the fact that a piece of the injured disk has found its way to the back of her spine. She added that this would require a bone fusion procedure that will last for approximately two hours.
Bella's doctors told her that she would have to be in a neck brace for at least three months following her surgery. In addition to not being able to travel in those three months, her medical care team also told her that the she will not be able to step inside a wrestling ring for at least six months.
Bella was hoping to be included in the 2016 edition of the WWE draft following her recovery from the herniated disk. However, as seen on the latest episode of "Total Divas," she was distraught to learn that she was deemed ineligible for the draft due to her recently-healed neck injury and did not seem to understand why this was the case, the Montana Standard reported.
This news came via email even after she cleared by her doctors to resume training and even make an in-ring return after 10 months of inactivity back in July 21, 2016. However, she has recently been experiencing success as part of a major rivalry in the SmackDown brand; against her "Total Divas" co-star Natalya.
Bella has chosen to drop her previous finishing move in professional wrestling, the "Rack Attack," due to its possible repercussions on her neck. She also revealed that she had begun training with her brother in law and former WWE World Heavyweight champion Daniel Bryan to get her back into fitness in addition to developing an all-new finishing maneuver.
Watch Bella take on Natalya on the Jan. 10 episode of WWE SmackDown in the video below:
