Brie Bella spoke with WWE.com recently about her decision to step away from pro wrestling. Here are the highlights.
There’s been a lot of speculation around the internet regarding your current status with WWE. Is there anything you would like to announce to the WWE Universe?
Yes. WrestleMania 32 was my last match.
I wouldn’t say my last match forever, just my last match that you’ll see in a while. I am here at home because Daniel Bryan and I want to start a family soon. Or I shouldn’t say soon — we want to start it now! We’re going to start having babies, so I have to put my career on hold.
It doesn’t mean that I’m going to be gone. I’m going to be an ambassador for WWE. But I’m going to try motherhood.
So, this isn’t an official retirement then, but it is more than just a break.
Exactly. The hardest part is that it takes a while to have a baby. So, I hate saying retirement because after I have kids, I would love to make a comeback into the ring. I feel like I could bring a whole army with me, like Trish Stratus, who’s a mother. Michelle McCool, who’s a mother. Beth Phoenix, who’s a mom. It’s a good bunch of us who could come back and have one hell of a career.
I just don’t know the timing of it. I don’t know if it will be a year and a half, two years or three years. So, it feels like a retirement. At the same time, I’m just not going to close that door.
When did you make the decision to step away from the ring?
Daniel and I have been wanting kids for a while. It’s always been on our mind, and we know we wanted it sooner rather than later.
I think, too, something that just made me know everything was happening for a reason and in the right place was when he was forced to retire, having to move on and start a new chapter in his life. It just made me realize like it’s time for me to start a new chapter with him. It’s time for both of us to start the next stage of our lives, which is parenthood. I felt like that just sent this light bulb going off in my head, saying, “Okay, it’s time. We definitely need to start trying.”
Around the time of Daniel Bryan’s retirement, was that also where you started to look at WrestleMania 32 for a possible swan song?
Definitely. I was thinking, “Okay, let’s go till SummerSlam, or maybe even next year.” I didn’t know when, exactly.
When he retired, I definitely knew, okay, WrestleMania 32 in Dallas — the largest stadium, probably the largest audience we’ll have — what a great place to have my last night! Especially when I found out that I would be in the ring and on my team with Paige, Nattie, Eva and Foxy… These are my good friends, and these are the girls I’ve had some great memories with. I’ve had so much fun in my career with them. This is a happy ending, and you can’t beat that.
You can read the entire interview here.
