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On today’s episode of SiriusXM’s The Nikki and Brie Show, Nikki Garcia gives the inside scoop on her return to WWE Monday Night RAW.
Nikki Garcia details how she felt when she found out she had a promo with Liv Morgan, reveals why the time was right to return to WWE and shares who gave her the best advice before walking out.
The Nikki & Brie Show hosted by Nikki & Brie Garcia is available anytime on the SiriusXM app. New episodes every Monday and Thursday. Listen to the full episode HERE.
Nikki Garcia shares how she felt when she found out she had a promo with Liv Morgan & addresses mispronouncing Stephanie Vaquer’s name (5:55-8:00)
Brie Garcia: Okay, so when you found out that you were doing a promo segment with Liv, were you really nervous?
Nikki Garcia: I mean, of course. You know, this is my thing is, I haven’t been on that kind of stage in so long, but I think what was helping me feel like relaxed the nerves a little bit is like the fact that we’ve done, you know, quite a few live podcast shows, as well as hosting shows that that helps, so that relaxed the nerves a bit, but of course, it’s because I really wanted to deliver. I wanted to be great. I wanted, you know, the crowd to really feel it. I wanted everyone in TV land to really feel it and it went off great and I mean, you know me. I was shocked when Liv came out like a fireball. It was like incredible. I was like, “Oh shoot. Whoa.” You felt that. I mean, she came to the ring so fast. It was insane.
Brie Garcia: So, Buddy goes, cause we were watching and Buddy’s like, “Rude, she just interrupted Dodo.” He wanted to hear what you want, like he wanted you to finish your thought, and so it was like really funny.
Nikki Garcia: Oh my gosh, and then even though it’s only a few people that have said stuff, but I can’t tell you how many times I went over Stephanie Vaquer. I feel like I’m still saying it wrong. Her last name. I even was asking her, but she says that of course in a beautiful Latina accent.
Brie Garcia: Girl, you’re half Mexican.
Nikki Garcia: Well, when I would repeat it after her, she’s like, “Perfect.” I was saying it amazing, but then you get in your head and then I’m like, “Wait, I can’t let myself be hooked on just one last name or then I’m going to mess everything up,” because you know, I wanted to say a bunch of people’s names, and so I didn’t want to get too hooked on hers. But then I was asking people like, they’re like, “No, you just say it like Vaquer,” like think care at the end. You know, and then I’m like, “Okay,” but then I wanted to say it with some spice, so I got to work on that. I’m so bad, like pronouncing, you and I with our pronunciation at times.
Nikki Garcia discusses why it was the right time to return to WWE (23:54-26:33)
Nikki Garcia: I’ve been getting asked this question a lot. Like, why? Like, why now? Why are you back? What’s the why and how is it different? And, you know, I said this when I was talking to Us Weekly earlier, because before this, I was talking to Us Weekly and People, and after this, I’m going to talk to Sports Illustrated and with Us Weekly, I just, you know, I said back in the day, because we had approved so much and we were fighting for women’s wrestling and we wanted the world to have eyes on it and have the respect and appreciation, and so back in the day, I was trying to prove stuff to everyone. It was proving everything to everyone of what we can do, what I can do, you know, being the champ, being a tag team, whatever it was. It was all about proving everything to everyone else and I told everyone, I go, “This time around, it’s about proving something to myself,” and that is truly what this comeback and this run is for me and this new era is like proving things to myself, and also, because I was thinking about this, because people are like, especially since I got my hair.
Brie Garcia: Oh, girl, and the hair looks good.
Nikki Garcia: Told you. You were doubting me, and I kept feeling and having dreams like, “But no, I know this is just who I am.”
Brie Garcia: But I will say why I doubt is because sometimes we look at pictures of us from 10 years ago and I was nervous you were expecting it to come out like that and I didn’t know if it was going to, so I didn’t want it to be like-
Nikki Garcia: And just, you know, people have been doing side by sides of me from 10 years ago and they’re like, “It’s like you’re in the same era.” I’m like, “Yeah, with a few wrinkles,” but you know. But you weren’t the only one. After I did my hair, even everyone at the salon goes, “Oh my, I didn’t know it was going to look this good. This your hair. This is your good look.”
Brie Garcia: It’s, I mean, not that I want to say even better.
Nikki Garcia: They all said that to me.
Brie Garcia: But you did go to the best.
Nikki Garcia: The best. Seriously. It came out the best. What it made me feel too is like, what this run is for all the women when they’re like, “Oh, when you were in your prime, when you were,” no, no, no. We can be in our prime at any age. We can be in a prime in our 20s and our 30s and in our 40s and 50s and so on, and so this is also for the women to show you that we can dream whatever we want to dream. We can go do whatever we want to do, and we get to decide when our prime is and this is my new prime.
Nikki Garcia reveals the best advice she received before walking out (30:29-31:30)
Brie Garcia: Who gave you the best advice before walking out?
Nikki Garcia: Nattie.
Brie Garcia: Oh, what’d she say?
Nikki Garcia: Well, she’s told me a lot, but Nattie was the one who like, because she saw me looking at my script and she goes, “No, speak from the heart,” and she went in on this whole thing about speaking from the heart. She’s like, “You know what you’re here to say. You don’t need that. You know what you’re here to say and you get to that.” Nattie’s always the best in that way. She knows us so well.
Brie Garcia: She does.
Nikki Garcia: She’s our day one girl.
Brie Garcia: She is our day one girl. What pep talk did you give yourself right before your music hit?
Nikki Garcia: So, it was what Kairi said to me. I literally prayed to everyone, and I just said, and this is the first time I’ve ever done it in this way, but I just said, “God, I’m your best soul and just please let the words come and let me do it in a way where I can connect authentically.”
