Nikki Garcia Shares Health Update After Missing WrestleMania Due to Ankle Injury and Surgery

Nikki Garcia is getting ready to return to the ring.

The WWE Hall of Famer — who goes by Nikki Bella professionally — shared an update on her recovery after undergoing ankle surgery for an injury she sustained in the lead-up to WrestleMania 42 in April.

In a series of Instagram Stories posts on Sunday, July 5, Garcia shared photos and videos of her appearing to train inside a wrestling ring. In one picture taken by her 5-year-old son, Matteo, the wrestler, 42, can be seen flexing her biceps in the ring, while another picture shows her and Matteo lying on the canvas. (The athlete shares Matteo with ex-husband Artem Chigvintsev of Dancing With the Stars fame.)

In April, Nikki and twin sister Brie Garcia (aka Brie Bella) were set to compete for the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship in a fatal four-way match at WrestleMania, but Nikki had to pull out at the last minute due to an injury.

Nikki revealed at the time that she had been injured in March and had to undergo ankle surgery before the big two-night wrestling extravaganza.

“I’ll fill you all in soon … fractured, tore and sprained my ankle,” she wrote over a video showing her bruised foot shared via X in April. “It’s been a painful two weeks.”

During a post-WrestleMania press conference, she added, “So I actually got surgery two weeks ago yesterday. So I managed to break, sprain, and tear my ankle.”

While Nikki was unable to team up with sister Brie at WrestleMania, she still made an appearance — albeit on crutches — as she cheered on Brie and Brie’s surprise tag team partner, returning WWE star Paige, in the Women’s Tag Team Championship fatal four-way match. Brie and Paige (real name Saraya-Jade Bevis) won the match, defeating the teams of Nia Jax and Lash Legend, Charlotte Flair and Alexa Bliss and Bayley and Lyra Valkyria.

Nikki previously described how she had bumped into Paige while she was recovering from surgery in Birmingham, Alabama, and knew she’d be the perfect wrestler to replace her in the match.

“So, listen, how crazy this is … when I’m heading to Birmingham to get surgery, guess who is in Birmingham?” she said. “And Brie and I are literally on the phone, and I’m like, ‘Brie, there is no way I’m going to make WrestleMania, but like, you still have to have your moment,’ and both at the same time are like, ‘The only person that will still make it feel special is Saraya, Paige.’ There is no one else, and I truly mean this, no other WWE Superstar in the past or now that I would want to take my spot other than Paige.”

Paige made her return to WWE at WrestleMania after a four-year absence. Nikki returned to WWE after her own several-year absence in January 2025, followed by Brie, who came back in January at the 2026 Royal Rumble event.