Nikki Bella vs. AJ Lee: Winner and Reaction from 2014 WWE TLC

After taking the Divas Championship from AJ Lee at Survivor Series, Nikki Bella was successful in her first title defense Sunday night at TLC.

Benefiting from a distraction by her sister, Brie, Nikki sprayed some sort of substance into AJ's eyes, which stunned the former champ long enough for Nikki to hit her with a devastating forearm. From there, Nikki used the Rack Attack to win, per WWE:

AJ is the longest-reigning Divas champion in WWE history, and she was hoping to seize the title for a record fourth time. The Black Widow came up short, though, which means one of WWE's resident Total Divas will continue to rule over the division.

While AJ has long been one of the most outspoken Divas on the entire roster, she has been especially talkative in recent weeks. AJ has made no effort to hide the fact that she despises Nikki and other Divas of the same ilk.

With that said, Nikki wasn't shy about firing back and giving AJ a dose of her own medicine, according to WWE Divas on Twitter:

There has always been on-screen tension between AJ and the Total Divas cast, but things reached another level at Survivor Series when Nikki used underhanded tactics to beat AJ and become Divas champion for the second time.

In that match, AJ was distracted when Brie Bella got on the apron and planted a big kiss on her lips. Nikki capitalized with a forearm followed by the Rack Attack to win the title in just over 30 seconds.

That manipulation predictably enraged AJ and caused her to take aim at Nikki and Brie even more than she had previously, per WWE Universe on Twitter:

Despite the fact that AJ dropped the title at Survivor Series, she received a consolation prize of sorts just a few weeks later. The former champ was voted Diva of the Year at the Slammy Awards, and she used her acceptance speech as a platform to both admonish the Bellas and announce her TLC intentions:

Although AJ's focus entering the pay-per-view was undeniable, Nikki once again got the best of her. If nothing else, though, they proved capable of putting on an entertaining match against one another.

They were robbed of that opportunity at Survivor Series due to the quick finish, but they both had a chance to show off their ability and prove they could mesh at TLC.

AJ is widely considered to be among the best in-ring workers among Divas, and while Nikki isn't often mentioned in the same breath, there is no doubt she has come a long way in that regard and established herself as a quality performer as well.

Since AJ has held or been around the Divas Championship for the better part of two years, it is somewhat refreshing to see someone else get a run. Now that AJ has lost her return match, one can only assume Nikki will move on to face a new foe.

Based on her work with AJ at TLC and throughout their feud, Nikki seems prepared to take the next step regardless of her opponent.

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