Nikki Bella addresses John Cena being referenced by Paige on WWE SmackDown

As seen during the September 4th 2026 edition of WWE SmackDown, there was a backstage promo involving Paige and Nikki Bella. Paige referenced John Cena’s former WWE motto, telling Nikki that she had built her career on “hustle, loyalty and respect.” Paige then added, “You just slept with it,” a reference to Nikki’s relationship with Cena.

While speaking on her podcast with sister Brie, Nikki addressed Cena being referenced by Paige…

“I’m all for what entertains a crowd, what helps make a crowd react. I’ve always loved bringing something personal into it. And it all got stirred up from what they were chanting [for Cena] in Canada. If they never chanted that, none of the stuff in the promo would have ever happened, right? So it’s just kind of fallen into place that way.

But I mean, the crowd just being there, because, we shot that live. It was amazing to hear the reactions and even the stuff I brought before. And it is funny to see the reactions online, you know, very torn.”