Triple H Gave Nikki Bella The Option To ‘Say No’ To Paige Replacing Her At WWE WrestleMania 42

WWE

Brie & Nikki Bella have detailed how the “stars aligned” for Paige to make her return at WWE WrestleMania 42.

After Brie Bella made her return to WWE during the 2026 Women’s Royal Rumble, the stage seemed set for herself and twin sister Nikki to capture the Women’s Tag Team Championships at WrestleMania 42 in Las Vegas.

However, those plans hit a major snag when Nikki broke her ankle during a March 27 match on WWE SmackDown, leading to a replacement having to step in and team up with Brie at “The Showcase of the Immortals.”

That replacement would eventually be revealed to be none other than Paige, who like Brie, was making her return to the company after several years away.

Appearing on the Battleground Podcast, Brie recalled first texting Paige to ask her about potentially replacing Nikki at WrestleMania 42, and how Paige, like herself, had wanted to return for some time before it would ultimately come to fruition.

Brie said:

“Oh my gosh I remember texting her, feeling her out, like see where she’s at. We’ve always kept in touch, She’s one of our closest friends and she was like, ‘Hell yeah sis, you guys need me I’m there.’

“But obviously you have to go through a process, but from the moment we reached out to the end, she was stoked. She was kind of like me where we were wanting to come back for a while, but it seemed like an absolute no.”

If you use this transcription or any portion of it please credit WrestleTalk.com and link to this page.

Nikki then continued, recalling how Triple H gave her the option to say no to Paige replacing her at WrestleMania 42.

“You guys were texting (Paige & Brie), but I wasn’t a part of that. And then right before I literally landed in Birmingham to get surgery, but Paul, he was texting me in there and he goes, ‘Hey, I really need to talk to you.’

“…I had just taken off from Newark to head to Birmingham, I’m like, I think I’m in the air for like three hours. And I remember him texting me again like, ‘Have you landed yet?’ I’m like, ‘Oh, he has something important to say.’

“But Brie and Paige had been communicating more, like that she (Paige) was already in Birmingham. And then he called me and he’s like, ‘let me know how you feel.’ He totally gave me the option of, ‘Paige is available to take your place.’ He really teed it up and I agreed that would be the one person that would make it so meaningful and blah blah blah and all the things.

“He was like, ‘If you want to say no, I mean that’s up to you.’ I was like, ‘No, that’s the one person actually that would make the moment feel super iconic, she’s like our sister. We have incredible chemistry and Paige is a massive superstar.’ So, it was perfect.”

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Brie then pointed out how the “stars aligned” when Paige was also in Birmingham, Alabama at the same time Nikki was there to undergo ankle surgery:

“It was perfect, but you know what’s crazy? You know when they say sometimes stars align? Paige, when Nikki was flying to Birmingham, Paige was actually there getting cleared. Randomly.

“I even told her, she’s like, ‘What are we thinking?’ I go, I don’t know, Nikki’s on her way to get surgery in Birmingham. She’s like, I’m in Birmingham. I’m like, ‘Wait what?’”

Nikki then added:

“You two were starting to chat, just by yourselves. And then Paul calls me with his same thoughts, but no one else talked.”

Brie: “No one talked yet. It was wild.”

If you use this transcription or any portion of it please credit WrestleTalk.com and link to this page.

Brie Bella and Paige would go on to win the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships at WrestleMania 42, defeating The Irresistible Forces (Nia Jax & Lash Legend), Charlotte Flair & Alexa Bliss and Bayley & Lyra Valkyria.

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• WrestleMania 42
• wwe
• Triple H
• Nikki Bella
• brie bella
• paige
• The Bella Twins

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