Nikki Bella Shows Off Foot Injury That Led to Paige's WWE Return

Nikki Bella kept her injury status pretty close to the vest in the weeks leading up to WrestleMania 42, but it's pretty obvious now that the damage she sustained during the March 27 episode of SmackDown was always going to result in her having to phone in an old friend to help out her sister Brie.

It was clear to many of us in the Allegiant Stadium press box that something major was about to transpire when the now former WWE Women's Tag Team Champions, Nia Jax and Lash Legend, were the third of four teams to be introduced for the match. It seemed odd that the champions wouldn't come out last, but we soon found out why the order was switched up from the norm.

Nikki Bella, still in a walking boot and using a crutch, gingerly stepped out onto the stage to officially announce that she was not cleared in time to compete. Later on social media, she revealed the full extent of the damage suffered when she rolled her ankle a few weeks back.

🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼 pic.twitter.com/Auo3Mm5I0s
— Nikki & Brie (@NikkiAndBrie) April 19, 2026

It turns out that the WWE Hall of Famer fractured, tore and sprained her ankle, and she promised that she would fill in her beloved Bella Army on all the details in due time. Presumably on her podcast.

Nikki's unfortunate injury did set the stage for one of the best moments of the entire night. It was reported early in the morning on Friday that former WWE Divas Champion and AEW Women's Champion Paige, also known as Saraya, had agreed to a multi-year deal to return to the company.

The crowd inside Allegiant Stadium erupted when Nikki said she called in an old friend to assist Brie in fulfilling her WrestleMania moment, knowing full well who was about to step out onto the stage. They popped again when Paige's music hit and their suspicions were confirmed.

Paige is back home and once again a champion in WWE

It had been well over eight years since Paige had competed inside a WWE ring. She was forced to retire back in 2018 after she suffered a severe neck injury the previous December.

After spending years in a variety of different on-screen roles, Paige left WWE in the summer of 2022 and made her miraculous return as an active competitor for rival All Elite Wrestling a few months later.

Speaking on the WrestleMania 42 night one post-show, Paige said she always had a goal of returning back home to WWE one day.

A WWE girl AND a Total Diva forever 😍

Welcome home, Paige.@Saraya | @NikkiAndBrie pic.twitter.com/ikHTgEDGEY
— WWE (@WWE) April 19, 2026

“WWE is my home. I was raised here," Paige said. "I’m a WWE girl forever... I'm a Total Diva, baby. I didn’t know how anyone was gonna react, I’m walking out there, I forgot how big WrestleManias were. It was magical, it was surreal, I forgot how to skip at one point."

The last time that Paige competed on the main WrestleMania card was back in 2015, where she teamed with AJ Lee to beat - fittingly enough - The Bella Twins. Now, she's one half of the WWE Women's Tag Team Champions alongside Brie Bella.

Nikki told the post-show panel that Paige was only woman who felt like the right choice to replace her in the match.

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