Nikki Garcia, one half of the popular Bella Twins in WWE, has revealed that there was no discussion with the company regarding the use of their ring names when she and Brie were departing from WWE.
The Bella Twins had built a substantial brand during their time in the company and believed there might be a conversation about the usage of their names for future projects. However, they were surprised to receive a legal letter just hours before their contracts ended, stating that WWE would retain control over their names.
Nikki shared her perspective on the situation, saying,
“There was never even a conversation. I think a lot of us, we thought, ‘Oh, maybe there will be a conversation because we have such a huge brand,’ and we were actually making WWE a lot of money. So we actually thought there was gonna be a conversation of, ‘Okay, you guys aren’t re-signing. Let’s talk about the name. Maybe when you do future projects, we take a percentage, you keep the name.’”
She then expressed her understanding of WWE’s stance, acknowledging that it was their intellectual property.
“I’ll be honest, I got a lawyer letter four hours before my contact was ending. They were seizing it all. I keep that letter in my office so I can always see it and just know that, as I enter this new chapter, it’s like I get to see what wasn’t even talked about [with] something I built for 20 years, but I know that I have the power as a woman to build something else for the next 20 years. It was upsetting because we were attached, but also I get a business, like, ‘Hey, this is our platform.’ I get it, I’m very understanding in that way. That is their IP. But we would have continued to have built that if there was a talk.”