Nikki Bella Still Injured, ‘Will Not Be Cleared’ For WWE WrestleMania 42 Match

Published: Apr 17, 2026 by Liam | Last Updated: Apr 17, 2026 by Liam

Liam has been reporting & analyzing wrestling news for over eight years, and is currently the Managing Editor at WrestleTalk.com. Immersed in wrestling for 18 years, he has over 11,000 published articles in addition to leading and overseeing WrestleTalk.com's coverage.

Nikki Bella Still Injured, ‘Will Not Be Cleared’ For WWE WrestleMania 42 Match

Nikki Bella is reportedly still injured and not cleared to compete at WWE WrestleMania 42 in Las Vegas this weekend.

UPDATE: A major spoiler has emerged on a WWE return at WrestleMania to replace Nikki Bella – click here for the latest.

Bella suffered an ankle injury on SmackDown a few weeks ago and WWE had noted she had been looking to rehab in time for WrestleMania.

However, PWInsider Elite reports that she will “will not be cleared” in time for her match on Saturday.

Bella and twin sister Brie were set to be part of the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship four-way along with champions Nia Jax and Lash Legend, as well as Alexa Bliss and Charlotte Flair, and Bayley and Lyra Valkyria.

There’s no word yet on how WWE will change its plans regarding that match, but as of now, Nikki Bella is reportedly no longer set to work WrestleMania due to her injury.

The company has yet to make an official announcement, so we’ll provide any updates as they emerge.

We wish Bella all the best as she continues to recover.

How Nikki Bella Could Be Replaced

WWE has a few options when it comes to potentially replacing Nikki Bella at WrestleMania, one of which would be for Brie Bella to have a new tag team partner, though there have been no definitive hints as to who that would be.

Also, WWE could remove Brie Bella from the match as well and sub in another duo, whether that be someone like Kiana James and Giulia or the Kabuki Warriors who aren’t on the WrestleMania card.

Or, there’s even the option to go with simply a three-way match for the Women’s Tag Team Championship with the three teams who were already in the match other than the Bellas.