10 Wrestling Rituals You Didn't Know About

2. Butt-Slapping Bellas

Jon Moxley
WWE

In an interview with WWE.com, the Nikki and Brie Bella revealed that their pre-match superstition initially involves a lot of meditation and prayer in order to get into a state of calm and relaxation. From there, the twins make sure to kiss and slap each other on the ass.

As Brie put it during said WWE feature:

"Because she’s my sister, I know I’ll get honest feedback. Nikki knows how to calm me down if I’m overly nervous, and she can tell when I’m distracted. We’ve been together for 29 years: She knows what to say if I look distracted to get me back into the mode. She knows how to keep me on track. And one thing we do when we’re in Gorilla is we’ll kiss each other on the cheek and slap each other’s butts. Then we’ll say, ‘We’re going to do amazing out there.’"

Both Bellas are nowadays retired, although it remains to be seen whether a butt-slapping return will be on the horizon at some point in the future.

Knowing how marketable WWE views Nikka and Brie, one has to imagine that WWE would be eager to have either or both Bellas return down the line - although this year saw Nikki welcome her first child into the world, while Brie gave birth to her second.

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Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.