WWE ban 16-year veteran from being mentioned on live TV shows or programming after criticizing Vince McMahon’s company
Nikki Bella's contract expired with the WWE in March
FORMER Divas Champion Nikki Bella has seemingly been banned from any mentioning on Raw.
On WWE’s Monday Night Raw, wrestling commentator Michael Cole read a promo for Barmageddon, making no mention of co-host Nikki.
Nikki, now known as Nikki Garcia, performed in the WWE alongside her twin sister Brie for 16 years.
Garcia is a two-time Divas Champion, even headlining the all-female Evolution pay-per-view when she challenged Ronda Rousey for the Raw Women’s Championship.
Now unaffiliated with the WWE, Nikki was glossed over in the promo copy read by Cole for her show Barmageddon.
Barmageddon and Raw both air on USA Network, with the game show following wrestling.
Instead, Cole only mentioned Blake Shelton as the host, failing to recognize the former WWE star.
She might’ve been omitted because of recent remarks criticizing the WWE and Vince McMahon’s company.
Nikki’s been critical of the wrestling promotion after her contract expired, with the company no longer allowing her to use her WWE-trademarked “Bella” name.
In an with Renee Paquette, Nikki recalled she was disappointed by promos she did in the past.
“I could have said a lot more stuff on the mic to get these greater reactions; it was never worth it to me because we’re still telling stories, and that’s kind of how I left it the rest of my career,” she said.
“But then some of the stuff would be said to me on a hot mic, with not even realizing.
“I just remember being disappointed, like, okay, we just took five steps back.
“[We should have been] just tearing these barriers down, breaking them; which, we still shattered them. It just took even more work.”
Nikki made it official in March that her WWE contract had expired.
To see her in a new role as a co-host, Barmageddon airs live on Mondays at 11 pm ET.
The show is currently in its second season.