Nikki Bella made her return to WWE RAW on October 20, 2025—but a split-second screen blackout had fans thinking something went wrong.
The former Divas Champion appeared live from the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, California, rushing to the ring to save Stephanie Vaquer from a double beatdown by Raquel Rodriguez and Roxanne Perez. The crowd erupted when Nikki stood tall with Vaquer after clearing the ring—but what aired on TV told a different story.
As Nikki got knocked down and quickly popped back up, the live broadcast abruptly cut to black, fueling immediate speculation online that she had suffered a wardrobe malfunction. Social media lit up with fan theories, but now we know what really happened.
Ringside News reviewed alternate footage of the segment—footage from the that did not include the blackout. The full clip shows Nikki getting up and continuing the segment without issue. There was no slip, no wardrobe malfunction, nothing out of the ordinary. Additionally, here is the final frame on the live feed before the black out:

It looks like WWE jumped the gun and blacked out the screen as a precaution, likely thinking a slip might’ve happened. They went with a “better safe than sorry” approach—but in doing so, they accidentally created a rumor storm that didn’t need to exist.
After the segment, Nikki and Stephanie were seen backstage, where Bella praised the Women’s World Champion and warned her that holding the title means always being hunted. Nikki said she wishes someone had given her the same advice when she was champion.
This was Nikki’s first RAW appearance since her match against Asuka on September 8, 2025. While she hasn’t wrestled since then, her involvement in this storyline might mean she’s getting ready for another run.
October 20, 2025 10:20 pm