Nikki Bella has outlined her expected return timeline after the ankle injury that kept her out of WrestleMania 42, while also setting clear goals for the final phase of her in-ring career. Speaking on The Nikki and Brie Show, she confirmed she is aiming for a comeback in June and pointed to Night of Champions as a possible stage for her return.

“Hopefully I will get to see you all in June. They just announced Night of Champions is going to be happening in June, so fingers crossed that still goes forward. But obviously, I’d love to see you all there,” Nikki said.

The injury occurred on the March 27 episode of WWE SmackDown, where she fractured and sprained her left ankle. The setback forced her to miss WrestleMania 42. In her absence, Paige stepped in to team with Brie Bella, and the duo captured the Women’s Tag Team Championships in a fatal four-way match.

Despite being sidelined, Nikki has already mapped out her next move once she returns. When asked about future championship goals, she made it clear that she is aiming for the top prize currently held by Liv Morgan.

“I always love to think and dream big. So for me, it would for sure be the Women’s World Championship. And all this time I have right now to lay on my back and ice and elevate my ankle and be in therapy, you know me, I’m always just the wheels start turning and knowing that Liv just won it and there’s a lot of unfinished business there. And then I was like, ‘Oh wait, Liv has Judgment Day and I technically have Paige and Brie. We can call Team Bella. And I’m like, wait, this sounds all amazing and perfect.’ So I would go after that. I would go after Liv’s championship,” she said.

Nikki also revealed a longer-term goal that goes beyond competing in the ring.

“I would love one day before I call it goodbye for good, I would love to be a Women’s World Champion. Also, what I would love to be and what I love about this one is I can do this not being in the ring, but there was a lot of talk about it today on X about when should they change up the General Managers. And I would love to be General Manager at Raw at one point. So Liv’s championship, Women’s World Championship. And then after in-ring stuff, I would love at some point to be a General Manager for Raw,” Nikki added.

With a target set for June and clear goals in place, Nikki Bella is already planning the next chapter of her WWE return, both inside the ring and beyond.

Nikki Bella Targets June Return And Women’s World Title

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Carmelo Hayes has opened up about the mixed reaction he received when he first arrived on WWE SmackDown, explaining why fans struggled to view him as a heel early on. Speaking with Michael Fairman, Hayes described the disconnect between his intended character and how audiences responded during his main roster debut.

“I did feel at one point the fans weren’t sure how to feel about me. Like it almost was like they wanted to cheer for me but I was kind of telling them not to. It’s a warm feeling, you don’t want to be in that position. So the fact that we allowed them to say, ‘It’s okay to like this guy,’ I think they were like, ‘Okay good because we like this guy, we don’t know why we were supposed to not like this guy. He hasn’t done anything for us to not like him,’” Hayes said.

Hayes explained that the issue came from a lack of clear reason for fans to dislike him. Without a strong negative moment or storyline, the crowd had no reason to reject him, which created confusion instead of a clear reaction.

He also shared his view on what makes a strong heel character in wrestling.

“I think the best heels come from where you learn to love somebody and then they break your heart and then you learn, ‘Okay, nah I hate you.’ But I never did anything to them so they were just kind of didn’t really care one way or another. And then you’re going up against their favorite wrestlers and stuff. Why would they cheer you over them?” Hayes added.

Hayes joined WWE SmackDown during the 2024 WWE Draft and quickly stepped into a major spotlight. He challenged Cody Rhodes for the Undisputed WWE Championship on the April 26, 2024 episode. He later teamed with The Miz in 2025 before winning the United States Championship in December.

His title reign ended before WrestleMania 42 when he lost the championship to Sami Zayn. Zayn then defended the title against Trick Williams at the event, where Williams captured the championship in one of the standout moments of the show.

Despite gaining fan support during his run, Hayes did not appear at WrestleMania 42. He previously addressed that absence by stating that success in WWE is not always earned, but often given.

His comments provide insight into the challenges of character alignment on the main roster, especially when audience reactions do not match creative direction.

Carmelo Hayes Addresses Mixed Reaction To SmackDown Debut

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