Nikki Bella Says Her “Original Four Horsewomen” Caption Was a Joke and the Backlash Comes From “Angry Men”

Nikki Bella is not backing down from the controversy her “Original Four Horsewomen” Instagram caption sparked after WrestleMania 42 — and on the Nikki & Brie Show, she both explained the intention behind the post and went directly at the people who criticized it. According to Nikki, the caption was always meant as a playful nod to a long-running fan joke rather than a serious attempt to rewrite WWE history.

“Forever on social media, people have talked about ‘my original Four Horsewomen’ — AJ, Paige, Brie, and I. So we all thought it’d be funny to play into that, like totally being funny. It would be fun to have a storyline with them down the line — like us four against the other four. So we’re like, oh my God, let’s have some fun,” Nikki said. She then shifted focus to the reaction itself. “To hear the haters right now — you just love to b****. Please get baptized, please do something. You all need to get your soul cleansed. The majority of them are dudes. They are just those angry men that just hate life, wanna cut everyone down, especially women, because they’re pu**ies who can’t do it to men, so they love to do it to women.”

Nikki Bella Says Female Fans Understood the Joke Immediately and Pushed Back Against the Critics Online

Nikki also pointed to the split in reactions as evidence that the criticism does not represent the broader audience. “I don’t know how you’re always on Twitter. They think they’re the only people who watch wrestling. You guys are the tiniest percentage.” She expressed appreciation for the female fans who understood and defended the post. “The women fans went after them — they go, ‘No, we’ve all been waiting for this moment, so bye.’ They’re going after them so hard because we knew the group online who got that, and we all had fun with it and we loved it. It was such a fun moment.” Bayley — who is widely recognized as part of WWE‘s Four Horsewomen alongside Charlotte Flair, Becky Lynch, and Sasha Banks — had publicly responded to the caption with “NEVER IN MY LIFE HAVE I EVER HEARD ANYONE CALL YOU GUYS THAT.”