Nikki Bella Suffers A Wardrobe Malfunction On Raw

Today’s WWE Women’s Division is all about sex appeal and athleticism. Some fans grumble about that, complaining that WWE too often rewards appearance over wrestling ability. But let’s get real here, professional wrestling is not a legitimate sport. So it’s perfectly understandable that an entertainment company would want to prominently feature beautiful women.

Just like in other areas of entertainment, WWE executives want to promote the most appealing product possible. With a key demographic of 18-to-35-year-old men, it isn’t surprising that looks of WWE female talent matter.

Having to wrestle while looking amazing is a challenge for the women of WWE. The infamous term ‘wardrobe malfunction’ will inevitably be used when a female talent has to wrestle in a bikini-style outfit. On several occasions, fans have gotten to see much more than intended and that includes Nikki Bella.

On Raw on July 21, 2014, Brie Bella, whose character had recently quit WWE, appeared in the audience as a fan to show her support for her sister. Brie, however, could not help herself and argued her way into a physical confrontation with Stephanie McMahon that saw her slapped and removed from her seat.

As hot as their confrontation came across on television, it was quickly overshadowed by the fact that Nikki, who wrestled Eva Marie, Alicia Fox, Rosa Mendes and Cameron in a 4-on-1 Handicap Match minutes later, had a wardrobe malfunction!

After being thrown out of the ring by her opponents, Nikki was lying in pain on the floor. As she struggled to regain her composure, disaster struck.

With millions of fans watching worldwide, her breast became exposed on live TV.

Her tiny red top momentarily slipped below her ample cleavage.

While Nikki’s wardrobe malfunction was a blink-and-you-miss-it moment, it quickly went viral after photos surfaced online. Since then, millions of fans have gotten a glimpse of her embarrassing moment.

Two weeks before the incident, Nikki nearly had a nip slip as she was lying on the ground with one arm tied behind her back.

This wasn’t the first time where a Bella Twin experienced a wardrobe malfunction at a WWE show. In fact, it was almost a year to the day that Brie had a nip slip of her own.

On Raw on July 22, 2013, Brie’s left boob got exposed on Miz TV when the cast of Total Divas dropped by to talk about the premiere of their brand-new E! reality show. As she was sitting casually on a chair, Brie’s breast just inexplicably escaped her dress.

WWE executives were furious over Brie’s wardrobe malfunction, prompting the Total Divas star to issue an apology.

She wrote on Twitter, “I apologize 4 my wardrobe malfunction I’m embarrassed & it looks as though the humidity made my tape come off You’ll never see that again! B.”

During a red carpet interview in 2014, The Bella Twins revealed their number one tip for avoiding a wardrobe malfunction.

Nikki told Hollywood Life, “Uh, wear panties? No, I’m just kidding. Um, make sure it’s not cold out [Nikki glances at her chest]. As you could tell, that was my mistake today.”

Brie said, “I would think, laugh it off. I’ve had one. If you laugh it off and don’t make a big deal, everybody’s gonna like, ‘OK, it’s not a big deal.’ But the minute you make it a big deal, it really sticks out.”

Nikki added, “When you have a sister, we do the checks before and like, we kinda move around all weird, ‘Like, anything? Anything?'”

According to Wrestling Observer Newsletter editor Dave Meltzer, WWE women are emphatically told by organization officials to cover their nipples while performing.

“WWE women are told emphatically to make sure when they wrestle or appear to have costumes that are going to cover nipples,” Meltzer said. “Although in doing matches, straps have given way or boobs have escaped from their holsters every now and then.”

According to Maria Kanellis, a former WWE Superstar, the trick to keeping things in place involves double-sided tape.

She revealed in a blog about her wrestling outfits, “I usually try to wear something practical and cute to wrestle in. But the problem is that most things that are sexy are so small and have a tendency to slip and move so the tigers (a.k.a. boobs) or other places come out to visit. As much as that might be entertaining to some of the studs out there (maybe some of the ladies too hehe), I think I would get thrown off the show. So, all of us girls have a secret that I am about to tell you to keep our clothes in place. It is double-sided tape. Sexy, right? Well at least it keeps the Divas covered so we can come out to play every week without getting thrown off the air for over-exposure.”

Apparently, double-sided taped is not enough for Nikki. Following the incident, there was talk behind-the-scenes of the Total Divas star wearing bigger tops as opposed to relying on double-sided tape.