Nikki Bella competed in her first televised match since October 2018 this past month. The longest-reigning Divas Champion entered the Women’s Royal Rumble at the 24 spot, eliminating two participants before being eliminated herself by sister Brie Bella.

Speaking with TV Insider, Nikki emphasized how much the return to the ring meant to both her and her sister.

“It was so incredible. Brie and I had a moment where we were selling on the ground during the Rumble. We were thinking, ‘This is so awesome.’ We just didn’t want it to end. We didn’t want to get out. It felt amazing,” Nikki said. “We were nervous at first because we hadn’t been in the ring for three years. You can go and practice, but there is nothing like a live crowd and going full at it. It was like riding a bike. We didn’t have to say a word. We didn’t miss a beat.”

Both Nikki and Brie had stressed that an in-ring return for the Bella Twins was inevitable, pointing to the WWE Women’s Tag Titles as motivation. Those plans were put on indefinite hiatus in Fall 2o21, as Nikki revealed doctors had ruled out an in-ring return due to past injuries.

Despite being unable to “imagine taking a bump again,” Nikki was able to get cleared for the Rumble just four months later. While the Royal Rumble was a one-off, Nikki noted she still has tag gold in her sights.

“We really hope there is an opportunity to go after the tag titles,” Nikki said.

Beyond the tag division, Nikki praised the current women’s roster and cited numerous former champions that she hopes to work with down the line.

“Being in the ring with Bianca Belair, I would love to come back and work with Bianca. I would love to come back and work with Rhea [Ripley]. I’m a huge fangirl of hers. Just seeing her presence in the ring-up close, I would die to do a story with her. It felt so cool to be in the ring again with Ronda [Rousey],” Nikki said. “She is just awesome and has an incredible presence. We all had a lot of fun in the locker room after.”

While a full-time return is impossible, Nikki did mention the temptations to come back for a program or two are there.

“I really missed it, but I’m in mom mode and things are different now. I was sore for a few days. I can’t lie. The show made me think about how we can come back and do more of a story,” Nikki said. “Unfortunately, where we are at in our lives Brie and I can never be back full-time. We hope there is something soon or in the future that we can come back and do something. Just getting the taste in the ring made us want more.”