Facts about the Bella twins

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Brand switches (2008–2011)

On the August 29, 2008 episode of , Brianna debuted as Brie Bella and defeated . She quickly began a scripted rivalry with Victoria and Victoria's accomplice, Nattie Neidhart, who was now using the ring name Natalya, and had a series of matches against them. In each match Brie would roll out of the and go underneath it, emerging and appearing revived, and then win the match. On the October 31 episode when Brie went under the ring Victoria grabbed her legs, but a second pair of legs kicked her off, implying that a second person was under the ring. The following week on SmackDown, Brie picked up a win against Victoria and then ran under the ring to escape Natalya and Victoria, but Victoria and Natalya both reached for Brie under the ring, resulting in both Nicole and Brie being pulled out. The twins then attacked them and celebrated afterward. Nicole was then introduced as Nikki. The twins had their first official match as a team on the November 21 episode of SmackDown, defeating Victoria and Natalya. They continued competing in tag team matches for the next few months.

Starting in November, they developed an on-screen relationship with ( and ), appearing in numerous backstage segments with them, and accompanying them to the ring. In February 2009, the storyline expanded to include , who with the Bellas and took them on a on . The date provoked a rivalry between the teams of The Miz and Morrison and Primo and Carlito, with the four competing for the affection of the Bella Twins, who were seemingly unable to choose between them. On March 17, on , Carlito and Primo, aiming for Morrison and The Miz, accidentally spat apples in the face of Brie. Nikki started to laugh at Brie's misfortune, and a fight broke out between the two of them, which led to Nikki leaving with The Miz and Morrison, while Brie stayed with Primo and Carlito. Brie won her first match over Nikki in a six-person tag team match on SmackDown the following week. On ECW on March 31, Nikki pinned Brie in their first singles match against each other, after a distraction from Morrison and The Miz. 

The Bella Twins arriving at the arena before a show

On April 15, 2009, the Bella Twins were both drafted to the Raw brand as part of the . On April 27, Brie made her Raw in-ring debut in an eight-Diva tag team match, which her team won. Nikki also made an appearance, reuniting with her twin, as she was under the ring to help out Brie during her match. Nikki then made her official in-ring debut for the brand the following month, in a battle royal but was eliminated by .

On June 29, 2009, they were both traded to the ECW brand. They debuted on ECW the following night on The Abraham Washington Show, as the special guests. They quickly developed a storyline feud with Katie Lea Burchill, when Nikki defeated her in a match by switching places with Brie behind the referee's back. The following week on Brie defeated Burchill after a similar switch, and the feud ended in September, when Nikki defeated Burchill on Superstars.

On October 12, the Bellas were sent back to Raw as part of a tri-branded divas trade, where they predominately appeared in backstage segments with the and only occasionally competed in matches.On the January 4, 2010, episode of Raw, Brie participated in a tournament for the vacant , but lost to Maryse in the first round, when a switch resulted in Nikki being pinned. In June 2010, they developed a feud with , when Brie defeated her after switching places with Nikki. The following week, Nikki defeated Hall after switching with Brie. The feud was exacerbated when the Bellas acted as the special guest referees during one of Hall's matches. During the match, Hall attacked both twins, but lost the match when Nikki made a fast count, allowing her to be pinned by . The next week on Superstars, the twins defeated Hall and Maryse in a tag team match to complete the storyline.

On August 31, the Bella Twins announced they would be part of of , mentoring Jamie. Jamie was the first rookie eliminated on the October 5 episode of NXT. In November, the twins began a storyline with , when Brie accompanied him to the ring for his match. Following his win, Nikki ran out and the two fought over Bryan's affection, until Bryan broke it up and had them hug each other. They began to manage Bryan and frequently accompanied him to the ring over the next two months. In January 2011, both Bellas turned into when they discovered Bryan kissing Gail Kim backstage and then assaulted Kim. They continued to attack Kim, both at the and on Raw, and on February 7, they teamed with in a losing effort to Kim, , and .