Reality

Nikki Bella Wants to Change Name of ‘Total Divas’

E!’s Total Divas has been on the air since 2013, with the reality show following the lives of the […]

E!’s Total Divas has been on the air since 2013, with the reality show following the lives of the female athletes of the WWE. After the athletes’ titles were officially changed in the organization in 2016, series star Nikki Bella thinks it’s time for a rebrand.

“Being an executive producer of Total Divas we’ve had so many discussions about changing the name of the show,” Bella said at ACE Comic Con. “Unfortunately, it’s on network TV and you can’t just change the name one day.”

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“They have felt that people will still be connected with it even though it’s called ‘Total Divas,’” she explained. “I feel the opposite. I feel like there’s a huge disconnect because we’ve made that name so bad.”

The women of the WWE were originally referred to as Divas and competed for the Divas Championship, which awarded the winner a belt adorned with a butterfly. Bella is the longest-reigning Divas Champion, but noted that she knew at the time that the women of the division wanted more.

“Even us girls in the past…when they brought out the Butterfly Championship, we were like, ‘Oh.’ We weren’t expecting it,” Bella explained. “It’s totally cute, but it wasn’t like…that’s what the women were craving. They were craving what it is now.”

Bella will now have a chance to earn the RAW Women’s Championship when she faces Ronda Rousey during WWE Evolution on Oct. 28.

“I need to have a reign that outbeats the Divas championships so I’m not always called a Diva and then one day I can actually be called a Raw Women’s champion, so I got red in my eyes and I’m looking for that championship at Evolution,” Bella said of her upcoming match.

Evolution is WWE’s first-ever all woman Pay Per View event, the preparation for which will likely be featured on Total Divas or its spinoff, Total Bellas.

The current cast of Total Divas features Bella, her twin sister Brie Bella, Natalya, Naomi, Lana, Nia Jax and Paige, and rumors are suggesting that WWE is considering approaching Rousey for a spot on the program as well.

A report from The Wrestling Observer Newsletter claims that WWE is discussing approaching Rousey to star on the show, though no official conversations have yet been had with the former UFC Champion.

The report comes after it was revealed that Total Divas has reached a new ratings low, with its Oct. 17 episode drawing 340,000 viewers, down from the Season 6 average of 613,000 viewers per episode and the Season 7 average of 582,583 viewers.

Total Divas airs Wednesdays at 9 p.m. ET on E!

Photo Credit: Getty / Steve Granitz