Bella and Cena were engaged from April 2017 until April 2018, when they called off their wedding Becky Lynch made a reference to Nikki Bella's former engagement to John Cena during a WWE Monday Night Raw segment The segment was designed to set up an upcoming match between Lynch and Bella for the WWE Women's Intercontinental Championship Bella and Cena called off their engagement in April 2018,

Things turned south when Ziggler leaned forward to kiss Nikki Bella. She immediately slapped him in rejection, as she felt it was disrespectful to Cena. Later, in the same episode, during their dinner date, the 41-year-old told the legend about the incident, who initially looked surprised and was visibly upset.

On August 4, Becky Lynch shocked fans by bringing up Nikki Bella's previous connection with John Cena during a recent WWE RAW segment. This caused a furious outcry from the audience.