Nikki Bella Wants Bad Bunny amid WWE Return Rumors, Latest on Cody Rhodes, Chelsea Green's Injury

Bleacher Report catches you up on the latest news from the WWE Universe.

Nikki Bella Expresses Interest in Working with Bad Bunny

Amid rumors of multi-time Grammy-winning musician Bad Bunny returning to WWE in the near future, WWE Hall of Famer Nikki Bella went on record as saying that she would like to work with him.

Appearing this week on Casuals with Katie Nolan (h/t Subhojeet Mukherjee of Ringside News), Bella was asked about Bad Bunny, and she responded by saying, "So I would die for the day for him to come back and even be his manager. I'll manage you, I'll do anything."

Nikki also divulged a conversation she had with Bad Bunny on the set of Happy Gilmore 2 about his previous appearances in WWE.

"I was on set with Bad Bunny at Happy Gilmore 2, and I had said something to him about coming back," Bella said. "At one point, he said he'd love to come back, and what's crazy is he felt like he could have done even better. Everyone was blown away by him, because he was so incredible in the ring and with his character."

Nikki's comments come on the heels of Wrestling Observer Live's Bryan Alvarez (h/t Steve Carrier of Ringside News) recently reporting that Bad Bunny "is going to end up back in WWE very soon."

Bad Bunny is arguably the biggest musical sensation in the world currently, and his star grew even brighter when he performed Sunday at Super Bowl LX.

Despite his massive popularity, Bad Bunny has taken time to pursue another passion of his in the form of professional wrestling.

Bad Bunny teamed with Damian Priest to beat The Miz and John Morrison at WrestleMania 37 in 2021 before entering the Royal Rumble as a surprise the following year.

His most recent match, which took place at Backlash 2023 in his homeland of Puerto Rico saw him beat Priest in his first legitimate, one-on-one match.

It has been nearly three years since Bad Bunny last wrestled, but based on Alvarez's report, perhaps a return and match at WrestleMania 42 in Las Vegas this coming April could be in the cards.

Rhodes Reportedly Wasn't Considered for Rumble Win

Cody Rhodes was widely viewed as one of the top contenders in the 2026 men's Royal Rumble match, but he was reportedly never actually in the running to win.

According to Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Radio (h/t Carrier), WWE made an early call on Rhodes not winning the Rumble once it came to a decision on his WrestleMania direction.

Per Meltzer, that direction will see him win the men's Elimination Chamber match in order to earn a WWE Championship opportunity at WrestleMania 42. WWE reportedly wanted Rhodes to face some adversity in the form of losing the Rumble and needing to win the Chamber.

Rhodes, who won back-to-back Rumbles in 2023 and 2024, entered the 2026 Royal Rumble after dropping the WWE title to Drew McIntyre last month.

During the Rumble, Cody mixed it up with Jacob Fatu, who played a role in the title change, as he interfered during the steel cage match between Rhodes and McIntyre.

However, it was McIntyre who was responsible for Rhodes' Royal Rumble elimination, as he showed up out of nowhere and hit McIntyre with a Claymore while he was draped over the top rope.

WWE is clearly setting up a Rhodes vs. McIntyre rematch at WrestleMania, and there is also a looming possibility that Fatu could make it a Triple Threat since he is central to the storyline.

Whatever the case, all signs point toward The American Nightmare prevailing at Elimination Chamber in Chicago later this month to punch his ticket to WrestleMania.

Chelsea Green Reveals Injury Suffered on SmackDown

Chelsea Green confirmed Saturday that she suffered an injury during Friday night's episode of SmackDown.

In a post on X, Green showed off photos of her bruised ankle and her right foot in a walking boot:

On SmackDown, Green competed in a Triple Threat match against Tiffany Stratton and Lash Legend. Stratton was victorious, earning entry into the women's Elimination Chamber match at the Elimination Chamber premium live event.

Green was supposed to defend the AAA Mixed Tag Team Championships with Ethan Page against Mr. Iguana and Lola Vice on Saturday's episode of AAA on Fox, but Green revealed in a FaceTime call to Page that she could not compete due to injury:

La Hiedra stepped up as Page's replacement partner, but Mr. Iguana and Vice were victorious, meaning Green lost her championship without even competing:

No further information was given regarding the nature or severity of Green's injury, but it was bad enough to keep her out of a significant match.

The injury comes at a less-than-ideal time since WrestleMania 42 is just two months away.

Green doesn't have a clear spot on the WrestleMania card currently, and the injury could potentially make it even more difficult for her to carve out a role for herself at the Showcase of the Immortals.