Nikki Bella has revealed that she received a backstage ovation following her WWE Women’s Intercontinental Championship match against Becky Lynch at Clash in Paris on August 31. Speaking on the most recent episode of The Nikki & Brie Show, Bella shared details of the internal reaction to her performance, which she described as a source of immense personal pride.
“The match, I’ll be honest, I’m so proud of myself,” Bella stated. She pointed to the difficulties of balancing her return with being a “full-time mom” and running two companies, all without the benefit of wrestling at live events to prepare for the title bout.
That feeling of accomplishment was validated when she returned through the curtain.
“When I came back, they were all clapping for me and it was really special,” Bella recalled. “It was cute because a lot of people pulled me aside and told me great things. I was so on cloud nine back there.”
The match in Paris was Bella’s first opportunity at a title in over seven years. It concluded when Becky Lynch retained the WWE Women’s Intercontinental Championship with a surprise roll-up backslide pin.
The warm internal reception offered a contrast to the atmosphere inside the LDLC Arena, where the live crowd was audibly supportive of Lynch, the storyline heel, over the babyface challenger. The contest also drew some online criticism regarding the execution of specific spots during the match.
For Bella, however, the event was a personal victory that reshaped her connection to the city. While previous trips were for her bachelorette party or wedding, this one was different.
“This was my first time experiencing Paris and what I’ve always talked about with the theme of this comeback is I’m not here to prove anything to anyone but myself,” she said. “It felt like I was finally in Paris for me… That was a dream for me, that’s a check off the bucket list.”
Looking ahead, Bella teased that her story is not over. “I’m excited about what’s to come in the story that I spoke about — there’s ideas moving forward, right? Those ideas, I’m really excited to get into because it’s going to be even different kind of wrestling for me that I’m excited to grow in.”