Boston Baked Betrayal: A Look at Nikki Bella's Villainous Turn

The November 10, 2025 edition of Monday Night Raw will forever be remembered as one of the most magical Raws in WWE history. It started off on a magical note already. John Cena, for the first time in his storied and iconic career, finally... finally captured the Intercontinental Championship. He did it! He completed the Grand Slam, joining the prestigious list that includes Edge, Jeff Hardy, Triple H, Shawn Michaels, Rey Mysterio, and someone who we are still mourning 20 years later, Eddie Guerrero. Raw kicked off with something that I had been waiting at least a decade for.

And later in the evening, we received something I and other fans had expected for just a few months.

I didn't expect Nikki Bella's Women's Rumble appearance this year to lead to a long-term run, but it's been a fun one so far. Nikki engaged in a brief feud with Becky Lynch over the Women's IC Championship, and it was during this time that we would see Nikki in a few segments with Stephanie Vaquer, where the Hall of Famer praises Vaquer numerous times. It became a bit of an alliance, especially after Vaquer captured the vacant Women's World Championship. As Vaquer had her dealings with Judgment Day's Roxanne Perez and Raquel Rodriguez, there was Nikki at her side. Now, we all knew what would come. It was obvious that Nikki has something fiendish planned, especially after segments which saw Nikki's continued praise being laid on quite thick.

So with that, the question was not centered on if Nikki would turn on Vaquer, it was "When?"

About over an hour after Cena's big win, Nikki accompanied Vaquer to the latter's contest against Raquel Rodriguez, which was for Raquel's title. The match was back and forth, and we wouldn't see involvement from Nikki and Roxanne until after it was over. Vaquer retained, and Roxanne entered, only for Nikki to make the save.

I sensed something at that moment, and I was right. Vaquer taunted Roxanne and Raquel, but once she turned around, she ended up tasting her own belt, courtesy of the evil Nikki Bella. Nikki turned heel for the first time in eight years by clocking Vaquer with the title, posing with it, and for good villainous measure, she opens her red top and reveals a black one, because "Evil Wears Black." While fans asked "When?" and "How?," I never did, because I knew how. I've watched Nikki Bella for 17 years. Not only is Nikki a natural villainess, her heel turns have always been viciously physical. I knew that she wouldn't do anything small, I knew she'd go on the attack, and that is exactly what she did.

It's clear what Nikki's villainous motive is. It's the very thing she used to attack Vaquer: the Women's World Championship. That's what this has been about. Both women played up the angle on social media. Vaquer vowed payback against Nikki, while Nikki coyly stated that she couldn't "play nice" forever, adding that "Every queen needs a strategist." So it's clear that we will get Vaquer vs Nikki, and hopefully, this happens at next month's Saturday Night's Main Event. I need to be treated to a big heaping helping of Nikki Bella's heel persona for at least a month before she and Vaquer finally face off with the title on the line. It's why I predicted SNME for the title clash, though if they push it to either the final Raw of 2025 or the first Raw of 2026, that could work.

I've watched Nikki's heel turn on a loop as well, because it was a thing beauty for sure. I am anxious to see if Nikki will give a promo detailing her motive on the next edition on Raw, even though we all know it. I do expect talk of Nikki's legacy, Hall of Fame status, and how she built the Women's Division. The typical heel rhetoric, but Nikki can make sound delicious. For now, enjoy the awesome imagery, including and especially this very stunning shot of the evil Nikki Bella in her sinister black gear.