WWE News: Major Update On Nikki Bella’s Timetable For WWE Return

The WWE Universe is divided when it comes to Nikki Bella. A lot of WWE fans find her “Fearless” message as a WWE superstar to be endearing, and she was the longest reigning WWE Divas Champion in the history of the championship, which is arguably one of the greatest achievements in the history of women’s wrestling.

However, there is an equal majority of the WWE Universe that despises Nikki Bella because of her “lackluster” wrestling ability and the belief that she only became the longest reigning WWE Divas Champion in WWE history because her relationship with John Cena influenced the backstage politics of WWE programming.

A lot is said about Nikki Bella, but that is also the point. She is one of the biggest draws in WWE, and the “Bella brand” is one of the most lucrative for the company. Also, Nikki doesn’t get enough credit for improving her in-ring skills over her career, which are going to be on full display when she returns to WWE programming soon.

Back in October, Nikki Bella went down with a serious neck injury that required major surgery to repair. Fortunately, it was revealed recently that the surgery was a great success, and she will make a full recovery. She is currently training at the WWE Performance Center for her return to WWE programming, which was projected to be over the next few months. However, a new report is claiming to have a lot more detail on Nikki Bella’s timetable for her return to the ring and WWE television.

According to a report from RingSideNews.com, Nikki will be missing WWE Summerslam in three weeks. There were rumors throughout her recovery that WWE Summerslam would be the goal for her return, but it seems she will be coming up just short. However, the expectation is that Nikki Bella will be back in the ring by the end of September.

A lot has changed over the past 10 months that Nikki has been on the shelf. For example, Brie Bella has formally retired as a full-time performer for WWE. The WWE Women’s division has been rebranded, The Four Horsewomen have taken over, and WWE is officially in a new era after the brand extension and WWE Draft. Nikki Bella is returning to a completely different WWE.

There are more questions about Nikki Bella’s return to WWE television than just her health. Nikki wasn’t drafted during the WWE Draft earlier this month, so she is one of the few WWE superstars without a brand. Although it may seem obvious for her to go to SmackDown based on the lack of depth on the Women’s roster and John Cena being drafted to SmackDown, there are a lot of opportunities for her on Raw as well.

There is no question that Raw’s Women’s division is a lot stronger after the WWE Draft than SmackDown’s. The truth is there may not be much more for Nikki Bella to accomplish in WWE. If that’s the case, Raw is a much more competitive brand for her to wrestle on that may give her character more purpose on WWE programming, especially considering she would serve mainly as a veteran on SmackDown to help get the next generation of women in WWE over.

When she returns to WWE television, there are a lot of uncertainties. Nikki Bella doesn’t have a brand; her career goals are questionable heading into a return to the ring, and she is coming off rehab for a serious neck injury that kept her out of action for almost a full year. She’ll also be on her own without Brie around for the first time in her career.

Nikki Bella could retire from pro wrestling right now and be considered one of the most important female wrestlers in WWE history, or she could return to cement her legacy with the WWE Universe. There will still be Total Divas and Total Bellas to focus on either way, but Nikki Bella is a competitor at heart. She’s going to compete until she can’t any longer.

[Image via WWE.com]