As the significant other of John Cena, it is difficult to drum up sympathy for Nikki Bella. That she comes across as largely unlikable at times on the E! Network reality show Total Divas only makes it that much more hard. Somehow, WWE Creative managed to make Nikki sympathetic, thanks to some incredibly old school wrestling booking. With sister Brie engaged in a heated rivalry with Stephanie McMahon, Nikki found herself the target of The Authority. Suddenly, she was forced into handicap matches and bouts in which her arms were tied behind her back. Nikki was always at a disadvantage and, more times than not, wound up lying in a heap. When she blasted Brie with a hard forearm to the face, shocking the fans and leading to Stephanies win over her sister at SummerSlam, it was somewhat understandable. The insults that she directed at her twin were not understandable, though. I wish you would have died in the womb! she memorably exclaimed on an episode of Raw this past fall. Nikki would defeat Brie at Hell in a Cell, earning her sisters service as her own personal assistant for 30 days, then defeated AJ Lee to capture the Divas Championship after an unlikely reunion with her sibling at Survivor Series. Ending the year as the Divas champion, Nikki has developed into not only a strong heel villainess but also a fine in-ring performer. Her power-based offense helps her standout within the Divas roster and her Rack Attack finisher is one of the more impressive finishers in all of WWE. If she can continue to evolve and develop as a ring worker well into 2015, the Diva once considered the Marty Jannetty of her sibling tag team could very well become the face of womens wrestling in WWE.
Erik Beaston is a freelance pro wrestling writer who likes long walks in the park, dandelions and has not quite figured out that this introduction is not for Match.com. He resides in Parts Unknown, where he hosts weekly cookouts with Kane, The Ultimate Warrior, Papa Shango and The Boogeyman. Be jealous.
