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Cody Rhodes Pitches Conspiracy Theory On Why WrestleMania Match With Nikki Bella Was Cut

Originally posted on Wrestling on SI | By Aidan Chacon | Last updated Jul 23, 2025 2:02 PM ET

WWE Hall-of-Famer Nikki Bella sat down with Cody Rhodes for an episode of his "What Do You Wanna Talk About?" podcast and discussed the possible reasons why a tag team match including the pair was cut.

Brodus Clay, Cameron, Lord Tensai, and Naomi were set to face the four-man group of Team Rhodes Scholars and the Bella Twins in a intergender tag match inside Metlife Stadium at WrestleMania 29. However, their match was cut while the participants were in gorilla position.

The eight superstars involved in the match received the news and had to walk back to the locker room without a WrestleMania moment. "I’ve had some walk of shames in college. That was the worst walk of shame I’ve ever done in my life," Bella said.

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Rhodes told his side of the story:

“So, my walk of shame is a little different. I knew you guys had been hit hard by it. There was one point, I’m not naming names, who is overly optimistic and like, ‘Alright! Well, we’ll do it at Raw!’ And they were in that place. I was so angry.

Rhodes went on to explain that moment was the first time he ever considered walking out of WWE.

"And at that point, I think that’s the first moment where I was like, ‘I’m out. I am out.’ Out didn’t come till years later but I thought, no, I’m out"

The former Divas Champion seems convinced the match was cut due to time constraints, but Rhodes proposed a different reality.

"Total Divas being your show. Moving into Total Bellas, executive producing. This wonderful career that comes out of it...conspiracy was that the match was never supposed to happen in the first place, that the drama of it being cut would be entertaining but I felt like we weren’t thinking that."

Bella stressed how it would make her feel if it was confirmed that their match was cut to create a devastating moment for Total Bellas. "So, I feel like it actually really did get cut but, if they cut it for drama for TV, that actually pisses me off," Bella said.