Nikki Garcia is on the brink of return to the ring.
The WWE Hall of Famer — who goes by Nikki Bella professionally — shared an update on her recovery after undergoing ankle surgery for an injury she sustained within the lead-up to WrestleMania 42 in April.
In a series of Instagram Stories posts on Sunday, July 5, Garcia shared photos and videos of her appearing to coach inside a wrestling ring. In a single picture taken by her 5-year-old son, Matteo, the wrestler, 42, will be seen flexing her biceps within the ring, while one other picture shows her and Matteo lying on the canvas. (The athlete shares Matteo with ex-husband Artem Chigvintsev of Dancing With the Stars fame.)
In April, Nikki and twin sister Brie Garcia (aka Brie Bella) were set to compete for the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship in a fatal four-way match at WrestleMania, but Nikki had to drag out on the last minute resulting from an injury.
Nikki revealed on the time that she had been injured in March and needed to undergo ankle surgery before the massive two-night wrestling extravaganza.
“I’ll fill you all in soon … fractured, tore and sprained my ankle,” she wrote over a video showing her bruised foot shared via X in April. “It’s been a painful two weeks.”
During a post-WrestleMania press conference, she added, “So I actually got surgery two weeks ago yesterday. So I managed to interrupt, sprain, and tear my ankle.”
While Nikki was unable to team up with sister Brie at WrestleMania, she still made an appearance — albeit on crutches — as she cheered on Brie and Brie’s surprise tag team partner, returning WWE star Paige, within the Women’s Tag Team Championship fatal four-way match. Brie and Paige (real name Saraya-Jade Bevis) won the match, defeating the teams of Nia Jax and Lash Legend, Charlotte Flair and Alexa Bliss and Bayley and Lyra Valkyria.
Nikki previously described how she had bumped into Paige while she was recovering from surgery in Birmingham, Alabama, and knew she’d be the right wrestler to exchange her within the match.
“So, listen, how crazy that is … after I’m heading to Birmingham to get surgery, guess who’s in Birmingham?” she said. “And Brie and I are actually on the phone, and I’m like, ‘Brie, there isn’t a way I’m going to make WrestleMania, but like, you continue to should have your moment,’ and each at the identical time are like, ‘The one individual that will still make it feel special is Saraya, Paige.’ There isn’t any one else, and I actually mean this, no other WWE Superstar previously or now that I’d need to take my spot aside from Paige.”
Paige made her return to WWE at WrestleMania after a four-year absence. Nikki returned to WWE after her own several-year absence in January 2025, followed by Brie, who got here back in January on the 2026 Royal Rumble event.