text: the bella twins the bella twins were a professional wrestling tag team which performed on wwe and consisted of twin sisters brie and nikki bella . they are both former wwe divas champions , with nikki 's second reign of 301 days being the longest in the title 's history . in november 2015 , nikki was ranked # 1 in pro wrestling illustrated 's female 50 in 2015 . brie announced that she was taking an extended break from in - ring action in april 2016 . early lives and careers born sixteen minutes apart to parents jon garcia and kathy , brianna and nicole were born in san diego , california and raised on a farm in scottsdale , arizona . they are of mexican and italian descent . keen soccer enthusiasts , they both played for scottsdale clubs from second grade . in third grade , the girls were separated into different classes by their mother to allow for more independence . the twins graduated from chaparral high school in 2002 . they both returned to san diego for college , where nicole played soccer for grossmont college , but relocated to los angeles a year later , where they worked as waitresses at the mondrian hotel while trying to find an agent . they then started modeling , acting , and doing promotional work . they made their first national tv appearance on the fox reality show meet my folks . following this appearance , the garcia twins were hired to be the world cup twins for budweiser and were photographed holding the world cup trophy . they were contestants in the 2006 " international body doubles twins search " . they participated in the 2006 wwe diva search but did not make the cut . professional wrestling careers world wrestling entertainment / wwe florida championship wrestling ( 2007 – 2008 ) brianna and nicole were signed to developmental contracts by world wrestling entertainment ( wwe ) in june 2007 and were assigned to florida championship wrestling ( fcw ) , wwe 's then - developmental territory , in tampa , florida . on september 15 , 2007 , the twins made their in - ring debut . dubbed the bella twins , they defeated nattie neidhart and krissy vaine with victoria crawford as the special guest referee . the duo quickly started a scripted rivalry with neidhart and crawford , and had a series of matches against them throughout october 2007 . as a part of their on - screen personas , they switched places behind the referee 's back if one of them was hurt . this was called " twin magic " . they also occasionally competed in mixed tag team matches , teaming with male wrestlers including kofi kingston and robert anthony . they also made some non - wrestling appearances on heath miller 's happy hour promo segment . starting in december 2007 , they managed derrick linkin , but this storyline was cut short when linkin was released in january 2008 . they then resumed their feud with neidhart and crawford , wrestling them throughout much of 2008 . after neidhart was called up to the wwe roster in april 2008 , milena took her place in the feud . the twins also competed in bikini contests , and wrestled against other competitors including katie lea burchill and daisy . their last fcw appearance was on september 2 , when they competed in a divas battle royal won by miss angela . brand switches ( 2008 – 2011 ) on the august 29 , 2008 episode of smackdown , brianna debuted as brie bella and defeated victoria . she quickly began a scripted rivalry with victoria and victoria 's accomplice , natalya , and had a series of matches against them . in each match , brie would roll out of the ring and go underneath it , emerging and appearing revived , and then win the match . on the october 31 episode of smackdown , when brie went under the ring victoria grabbed her legs , but a second pair of legs kicked her off , implying that a second person was under the ring . the following week on smackdown , brie picked up a win against victoria and then ran under the ring to escape natalya and victoria , but victoria and natalya both reached for brie under the ring , resulting in both nicole and brie being pulled out . the twins then attacked them and celebrated afterward . nicole was then introduced as nikki bella . the twins had their first official match as a team on the november 21 episode of smackdown , defeating victoria and natalya . they continued competing in tag team matches over the following months . starting in november , the twins developed an on - screen relationship with the colóns ( carlito and primo ) , appearing in numerous backstage segments with them , and accompanying them to the ring . in february 2009 , the storyline expanded to include john morrison and the miz , who flirted with the bellas and took them on a date for valentine 's day . the date provoked a rivalry between the teams of the miz and morrison and primo and carlito , with the four competing for the affection of the twins , who were seemingly unable to choose between them . on march 17 , on ecw , carlito and primo , aiming for morrison and the miz , accidentally spat apples in the face of brie . nikki began to laugh at brie 's misfortune , and a fight broke out between the two , which led to nikki leaving with the miz and morrison , while brie stayed with primo and carlito . brie won her first match over nikki in a six - person intergender tag team match on smackdown the following week . on ecw on march 31 , nikki pinned brie in their first singles match against each other , after a distraction from morrison and the miz . on april 15 , 2009 , the bella twins were both drafted to the raw brand as part of the 2009 supplemental draft . on april 27 , brie made her raw in - ring debut in an eight - diva tag team match , which her team won . nikki also made an appearance , reuniting with her twin , as she was under the ring to help brie during the match . nikki then made her in - ring debut for the brand the following month in a battle royal , but was eliminated by beth phoenix . on june 29 , 2009 , they were both traded to the ecw brand . they debuted on ecw the following night on the abraham washington show , as the special guests . they quickly developed a storyline feud with katie lea burchill , when nikki defeated her in a match by switching places with brie behind the referee 's back . the following week on superstars , brie defeated burchill after a similar fashion , and the feud ended in september , when nikki defeated burchill on superstars . on october 12 , the bellas were traded back to raw as part of a tri - branded divas trade , where they predominately appeared in backstage segments with the weekly guest stars and only occasionally competed in matches . on the january 4 , 2010 , episode of raw , brie participated in a tournament for the vacant wwe divas championship , but lost to maryse in the first round , when a switch resulted in nikki being pinned . in june 2010 , they developed a feud with jillian hall , when brie defeated her after switching places with nikki . the following week , nikki defeated hall after switching with brie . the feud was exacerbated when the bellas acted as the special guest referees during one of hall 's matches . during the match , hall attacked both twins , but lost the match when nikki made a fast count , allowing her to be pinned by gail kim . the next week on superstars , the twins defeated hall and maryse in a tag team match to end the storyline . on august 31 , the bella twins announced they would be part of the all - female third season of nxt , mentoring jamie . jamie was the first rookie diva eliminated on the october 5 episode of nxt . in november , the twins began a storyline with daniel bryan , when brie accompanied him to the ring for his match . following his win , nikki ran out and the two fought over bryan 's affection , until bryan broke it up and had them hug each other . they began to manage bryan and frequently accompanied him to the ring over the next two months . in january 2011 , both bellas turned into villainous characters , when they discovered bryan kissing gail kim backstage and assaulted her . they continued to attack kim , both at the royal rumble and on raw , and on february 7 , they teamed with melina in a losing effort to kim , eve torres , and tamina . divas champions ( 2011 – 2012 ) the bellas began feuding with eve torres after they appeared as during a divas championship match between torres and natalya on the february 14 episode of raw . following the match , they attacked torres backstage before gail kim and natalya stopped them . the next week , the twins defeated torres and kim in a tag team match . the following week , nikki won a battle royal to become the number one contender for the divas championship , and unsuccessfully challenged torres for the championship on march 7 . on april 11 , brie defeated torres to win the divas championship , marking the first time either twin had held a championship in wwe . brie went on to successfully defend the championship against kelly kelly at over the limit , after switching places with nikki . on a special " power to the people " episode of raw on june 20 , brie defended her wwe divas championship against kelly , who was selected by voters . kelly then defeated brie and won the championship . on july 17 , brie challenged kelly for the championship in a rematch at money in the bank , but failed to win . the twins spent the majority of the rest of the year in tag team matches , regularly facing kelly and torres . the bellas began to show friction for the second time since joining wwe in march 2012 , after both twins lost to aj lee in singles competition . after brie 's match with lee , nikki revealed that brie was rooting for team johnny in the 12 - man tag team match at wrestlemania xxviii , whilst nikki was rooting for team teddy , thus furthering their dissension . on the april 6 episode of smackdown , nikki defeated the divas champion beth phoenix in a non - title match , after kelly kelly distracted phoenix . on april 23 , nikki defeated phoenix in a lumberjill match on raw to win the divas championship for the first time . brie lost nikki 's championship to layla at extreme rules after twin magic failed , ending her divas championship reign after only a week . the following night on raw , they competed in their last match with the wwe , failing to win back the divas championship from layla in a triple threat match . later that night , wwe announced on their website that the twins had been fired by executive administrator eve torres . independent circuit ( 2012 – 2013 ) on may 1 , 2012 , the twins appeared at their first independent wrestling show in newburgh , new york at northeast wrestling . they later appeared for pro wrestling at the season beatings pay - per - view on december 15 , each accompanying a different wrestler to the ring . return to wwe total divas storylines ( 2013 – 2014 ) the bella twins returned to wwe on the march 11 , 2013 , episode of raw in a backstage segment with team rhodes scholars ( cody rhodes and damien sandow ) . on the march 15 episode of smackdown , the twins attacked the funkadactyls ( cameron and naomi ) , and the following week interfered in matches between team rhodes scholars and brodus clay and tensai , but were attacked by the funkadactyls . the twins made their in – ring return facing and defeating the funkadactyls on the march 27 episode of main event after interference from cody rhodes , and also defeated them on raw five days later . the bella twins were scheduled to participate in an eight – person tag team match with team rhodes scholars against tons of funk ( clay and tensai ) and the funkadactyls at wrestlemania 29 , but the match was cancelled due to time restraints , and instead took place the following night on raw , where the bella twins and team rhodes were defeated . the twins continued their feud with the funkadactyls throughout april , defeating them in standard tag team , and six – diva tag team matches . in june , nikki suffered a fractured tibia . upon the debut of the total divas reality television program in july , the bellas began feud with their co – star on the show , natalya . brie and natalya went on to trade victories in singles competition on raw and at summerslam . the cast of total divas then transitioned into a scripted feud with divas champion aj lee , who mocked the show and cast . at night of champions , brie unsuccessfully challenged lee for the divas championship in a four - way match , which also involved natalya and naomi . following brie 's real - life engagement to daniel bryan , their relationship began to be acknowledged on wwe television . continuing their feud into october , brie and aj lee faced off at the battleground and hell in a cell pay - per - views for the divas championship , but brie was unsuccessful . nikki returned to in - ring action on the october 25 episode of smackdown , losing to lee . at survivor series the following month , the twins were part of the victorious team total divas . the twins failed to win the divas championship again at wrestlemania xxx in the divas invitational match , which was won by aj lee . feud with stephanie mcmahon and brief split ( 2014 ) in april 2014 , brie became involved in her real - life husband daniel bryan 's ongoing storyline with stephanie mcmahon and kane , where as part of the storyline , mcmahon threatened to fire brie if an injured bryan did not relinquish the wwe world heavyweight championship at payback , which forced brie to " quit " wwe before slapping mcmahon in the face . after brie quit , mcmahon put nikki in several handicap matches as punishment . after a month absence , brie returned to wwe television , appearing in the crowd on july 21 ; following a confrontation , mcmahon slapped brie and was subsequently arrested . in order to have brie drop the " charges " , brie was rehired and received a match against mcmahon at summerslam . at the pay – per – view , nikki turned villainous by attacking brie , which allowed mcmahon to win the match . the next several weeks saw the twins fight in several backstage and in - ring segments , including a cameo appearance from jerry springer on raw on september 8 . as part of the storyline , mcmahon declared nikki the face of the wwe divas division and granted her a match at night of champions for the wwe divas championship , which she failed to win . nikki then obtained permission to begin forcing brie to compete in handicap matches , similar to her punishment at the hands of mcmahon , although brie was able to win them . this led to a match between the twins at hell in a cell , where the loser was forced to become the winner 's personal assistant for 30 days , in which nikki defeated brie . five days later on smackdown , nikki won a halloween costume battle royal to become the number one contender for the divas championship . divas champion and team bella ( 2014 – 2015 ) nikki received her title match against aj lee on november 23 at survivor series , which she won , with brie 's help , to become a two – time divas champion . the duo had reconciled at this point , with brie also turning heel in the process . nikki then went on to retain her championship in three separate occasions — against lee in a rematch on december 14 , at tlc : tables , ladders and chairs , against naomi two days later on smackdown and against paige at fastlane on february 22 , 2015 . paige and aj then formed an alliance against bellas which led to a tag team match at wrestlemania 31 , where aj and paige were victorious . on april 26 , after nikki , with the help of brie , once again retained her title against naomi at extreme rules a feud started , with naomi aligning with the returning tamina ( naomi 's real life husband jimmy uso 's real life cousin ) to even the odds against bellas , who began showing more heroic characteristics , this change in character was criticized as " sudden " , " randomly " and " for no reason " . this led to a tag team match between the two teams on may 17 , at payback , which naomi and tamina won . two weeks later , at elimination chamber , nikki retained her title against naomi and paige in a triple – threat match , with brie banned from ringside . in june , the bella twins became villains once again by employing twin magic , which helped nikki retain the title against paige on the june 1 episode of raw and at money in the bank . during the feud with paige , alicia fox allied with them to form team bella . at the the beast in the east on july 4 , nikki retained the title against paige and tamina . after weeks of team bella outnumbering paige , naomi , and tamina , stephanie mcmahon called for a " revolution " in the wwe divas division and introduced the debuting charlotte and becky lynch as paige 's allies . nxt women 's champion sasha banks debuted as an ally to naomi and tamina , which led to a brawl between the three teams . nikki then lost to charlotte in a tag team match on the august 3 episode of raw , and to sasha on the august 17 episode of raw in a non – title match . the three teams faced off on august 23 at summerslam in a three team elimination match , in which team bella first eliminated team b.a.d. , before team pcb 's win . on the september 14 episode of raw , nikki defended her title against charlotte , who pinned brie after the twins had switched places to win the match , however , since the title can 't change hands by disqualification , nikki retained the championship , and in the process , became the new longest reigning divas champion in history , surpassing aj lee 's previous record of 295 days . nikki 's injury and brie 's semi - retirement ( 2015 – 2016 ) nikki dropped the championship to charlotte , on september 20 , at night of champions , ending her reign at 301 days , and failed to regain the title in a rematch on october 25 at hell in a cell . shortly after , nikki went on a hiatus from both television and in - ring competition due to a neck injury which would require surgery , but returned for one night on december 21 , to accept the slammy award for diva of the year . during this time , brie continued to compete in singles competition , and in tag team matches with fox . after defeating charlotte in a non – title match on the february 1 episode of raw , brie was granted a match for the wwe divas championship at fastlane on february 21 , where she failed to capture the title . during that time , team bella quietly disbanded and brie transitioned into a fan favorite . in march 2016 , brie was placed in a feud with lana , who argued that brie 's fans only supported her out of pity for having a " bad husband " , and went on to distract brie during her matches and attack her after the matches . brie then aligned herself with fellow total divas cast members alicia fox , natalya , paige and eva marie , while lana aligned herself with team b.a.d. ( naomi and tamina ) , summer rae and emma ( which was officially called " team b.a.d. and blonde " ) , leading to a 10 - woman tag team match on the wrestlemania 32 kick - off show , which team total divas would win when naomi submitted to brie . after the match , nikki returned and celebrated with her co - stars three days later , on april 6 , brie confirmed that she would be taking an extended break from in - ring competition , citing family reasons , while also stating that she will continue working for wwe as an ambassador . other media prior to working with wwe , the twins appeared on meet my folks . both twins also appeared in the music video for " right side of the bed " by the band twins made a guest appearance on the mtv series in october also appeared in the music video for " na na " by trey songz in 2014 . the twins guest starred on the television series psych , in the 2014 episode " a nightmare on state street " . nikki and brie are part of the main cast for the reality television show total divas , which began airing in july 2013 . in april 2016 , it was announced that total bellas , a spin - off of total divas starring the twins , would begin airing in fall 2016 . nikki and brie co - starred in the 2014 independent film confessions of a womanizer , and provided voices for the 2015 movie the flintstones & wwe : stone age smackdown ! . both twins appeared on the wwe youtube show the jbl & cole show . nikki appeared at the miss usa 2013 pageant as one of the celebrity judges . they appeared at the 2014 mtv europe music awards , where they presented the award for best female . the twins were both nominated for choice female athlete at the 2015 teen choice awards . brie appeared alongside paige , natalya and the family on the 88th academy awards edition of e ! countdown to the red carpet in february 2016 . the bella twins have appeared in seven wwe video games . they made their in - game debut at wwe smackdown ! vs. raw 2010 and appeared in wwe smackdown vs. raw 2011 , wwe 12 ( dlc ) , wwe 13 , wwe 2k14 ( dlc ) , wwe 2k15 , and wwe 2k16 . brie was confirmed to be one of the first three wrestlers to be scanned for wwe 2k17 but it is unknown if she will make the cut . filmography film television personal lives since 2012 , nicole has been dating fellow professional wrestler john cena . nicole previously dated nick nemeth , who is known on - screen as dolph ziggler . in may 2014 , nicole revealed on total divas that she had married her high school sweetheart at the age of 20 ; the marriage was annulled three years later . nicole also announced on total divas in 2014 that she is a qualified real - estate agent . brianna and her long - term boyfriend , retired professional wrestler bryan danielson ( better known as daniel bryan ) , revealed their engagement in september 2013 . the couple married on april 11 , 2014 . she was previously in a relationship with former poison guitarist richie . brianna is an animal and environmental advocate , and has used her appearances on total divas to promote awareness of environmental and animal cruelty issues . in wrestling finishing moves used by both bella buster ( sitout facebuster ) — 2008 – 2013 twin magic ( simultaneously switching places on a distracted referee , often followed by a bella buster or a small package ) brie 's finishing moves bella buster ( sitout facebuster , sometimes while running or diving ) — 2008 – 2016 " yes ! " lock ( ) – 2014 – 2016 ; adopted from her husband nikki 's finishing moves rack attack ( argentine backbreaker drop ) — 2013 – 2015 signature moves used by both abdominal stretch , transitioned into a modified chinlock , to a seated opponent diving crossbody flying clothesline , sometimes done repeatedly in succession fireman 's carry takeover , followed by an armbar hair - pull mat slam jumping snapmare monkey flip multiple pinning variations roll - up schoolgirl , sometimes out of a corner reverse chinlock snapmare , followed by a rolling neck snap running one - handed bulldog slingshot suplex snap suplex springboard arm drag suicide dive sunset flip powerbomb , from an elevated position brie 's signature moves backflip knee arm drag ddt flying clothesline , sometimes from the ring apron multiple kick variations baseball slide missile drop , from the second rope , with theatrics running low drop , to the head or side of a kneeling opponent running single leg drop repeated shoot , to the chest , back or midsection of a kneeling or cornered opponent bicycle toe multiple pinning variations crucifix small package multiple elbow drop strikes , to an seated opponent 's shoulder modified headscissors armbar running knee , to a seated opponent 's head , with theatrics single leg boston crab , sometimes while kneeling on the opponent 's back thesz press , followed by multiple punches nikki 's signature moves alabama slam back body drop cross front powerslam , while applying a hammerlock headscissors , sometimes transitioned into figure - four and followed by multiple push - up handstand cornered backflip calf kick , to an oncoming opponent one - handed press , followed by multiple mat slams modified achilles lock running elbow or forearm smash , sometimes to an oncoming opponent snapmare knee attack spinebuster , sometimes to an oncoming opponent springboard roundhouse kick tilt - a - whirl headscissors takedown tag team moves double team finishing moves double superkick rolling double leg slam double hair - pull mat slam double team signature moves double arm wringer hair - pull mat slam double dropkick , to an oncoming opponent double flapjack double with alicia fox double team signature moves double axe handle , to an opponent 's midsection , sometimes followed by a legsweep ( nikki ) diving double axe handle , from the second rope , to the opponent 's arm double suplex managers eva marie alicia fox wrestlers managed the colóns ( carlito and primo ) daniel bryan john cena john morrison the miz luke robinson jerry lawler team rhodes scholars ( cody rhodes and damien sandow ) eva marie alicia fox entrance themes " you can look ( but you can 't touch ) " performed by kim and composed by jim johnston ( 2008 – 2016 ) " beautiful life " by cfo $ ( brie bella , 2014 - 2016 ) championships and accomplishments pro wrestling illustrated pwi ranked brie 16 of the best 50 female singles wrestlers in the pwi female 50 in 2014 pwi ranked nikki 1 of the best 50 female singles wrestlers in the pwi female 50 in 2015 rolling stone diva of the year ( 2015 ) – nikki wrestling observer worst feud of the year ( 2014 ) brie vs. nikki worst feud of the year ( 2015 ) team pcb vs. team b.a.d. vs. team bella worst worked match of the year ( 2013 ) with cameron , eva marie , jojo , naomi and natalya vs. aj lee , aksana , alicia fox , kaitlyn , rosa mendes , summer rae and tamina snuka on november 24 wwe wwe divas championship ( 3 times ) – brie ( 1 ) , nikki ( 2 ) slammy awards ( 4 times ) couple of the year ( 2013 , 2014 ) – brie ( with daniel bryan ) diva of the year ( 2013 , 2015 ) — ( 2013 – both , 2015 – nikki )