On the latest episode of The Bellas Podcast, Brie Bella caught up with her former Total Divas castmates Natalya, JoJo, and Ariane.
WWE Total Divas ran from 2013 to 2019 on E!, and spawned a successful spin-off, Total Bellas. Brie discussed the backstage tension and drama that went with filming the reality series.
You can check out some highlights from the podcast below:
How filming the series impacted other WWE talent: “I’m so grateful for the first season cast because it was really scary. I’ll never forget when we were almost done filming the first season, and Russ [executive producer Russell Jay] was like, ‘I really wish this pilot goes through.’ I was like, ‘Pilot? What do you mean?’ He told me the show was not sure to be picked up, and I was like, ‘Wait, I’m so confused. Please don’t tell me we got all this heat backstage for no reason.'”
Being grateful for her castmates: “The heat was for real. I’ll never forget when it aired, and we were pretty much neck-to-neck with the Kardashians, we became this instant hit, and I was so grateful for all of you [original cast members] for putting your lives out there, for dealing with the backstage drama of everyone hating on all of us for filming. Also, when it aired, we knew we were going to be everyone’s punching bag — with people either loving or hating it. Through the whole drama, we all had smiles on our faces, and kept filming, making amazing television — breaking barriers for women’s wrestling, globally, and opening doors for women in wrestling.”
How she viewed the final product: “And all that for not a lot of money. I always tell everyone that I’m so grateful for all the women of Total Divas because we put up with so much, and still made amazing TV.”