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Nikki Bella Cleared For WWE Return – Will She Replace Eva Marie At ‘SummerSlam’?

By Aaron Sass
Published on: 18:42 PST, Aug 18, 2016

Former WWE Divas Champion Nikki Bella, who has been out of action for several months due to a neck injury which required surgery, has been cleared by WWE’s medical staff for a return, according to Pro Wrestling Sheet.

Nikki began preparing for her comeback last month, as she began training at the WWE Performance Center. Since then, she’s been waiting to get the green light to return to action, and now she finally has it.

News broke of Nikki being cleared shortly after WWE announced the suspension of Eva Marie, who was supposed to be in a six-woman tag-team match at SummerSlam. But as of now, that match has been changed to a three-on-two handicap match, with the team of Becky Lynch, Carmella, and Naomi taking on the team of Natalya and Alexa Bliss.

WWE’s website is teasing that Natalya and Alexa Bliss will recruit someone to replace the suspended Eva Marie, and that someone could end up being Nikki Bella.

The women’s tag-team match is featuring every woman on the SmackDown roster, and it’s been known for quite some time now that Nikki Bella will make her return to the blue brand after she gets cleared. So, it would make sense for her to make her return this Sunday night in the multi-woman tag-team match as Eva Marie’s replacement.

Prior to her undergoing neck surgery, it was revealed that Nikki Bella would only be able to come back as a part time performer if the surgery was successful, and according to Pro Wrestling Sheet, that’s still the case. So, like John Cena, who’s her significant other, she’ll only be a part timer on the blue brand.

It’s unclear if Nikki’s part time status will cause her to be absent from WWE television for several months at a time or if her part time status means that she’ll only perform on television and pay-per-views, and not the non-televised WWE live events.

SmackDown seems to be the perfect fit for Nikki because of the fact that their women’s division is extremely weak. Also, there are plans to create a new Women’s Championship for SmackDown, which Nikki and Becky Lynch will presumably be doing battle over.

If Nikki were to join Raw, it would be a bit of a surprise because the women’s division on Monday nights is already in good shape, with women like Sasha Banks, Charlotte, Nia Jax, and presumably Bayley once she’s done in NXT.

It’s been reported that Nikki will have to come up with a new finishing move upon her return, which is probably something that she’s been working on during her time at the Performance Center over the last month. Her previous finisher — The Rack Attack — caused her neck injury, which is why WWE won’t allow her to use it upon her return.

Nikki last appeared on WWE programming during WrestleMania 32’s pre show, after the multi-woman tag-team match concluded. She came out to the ring with a neck brace on, and she embraced her sister — Brie — who was having her retirement match at the event.

If Nikki does return during the SummerSlam six-woman tag match, she’ll be returning as a heel, which she has been for the majority of her career. Of course, due to the fact that she and John Cena are an item, the crowd will probably have no problem treating her like she’s a heel, so it will probably be a smart move to have her return on the heel side, especially if she’s going to be battling Becky Lynch for the SmackDown Women’s Title in the near future.

[Image via WWE]

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News wrestling Sports smackdown summerslam natalya RAW Becky Lynch John Cena Nikki Bella Alexa Bliss
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