Add as a preferred source on Google Brie Bella admitted that she was frustrated with the amount of time given to her first singles match since returning to WWE. On the July 3 episode of SmackDown, WWE booked Brie against Fatal Influence member Lainey Reid.
Reid won the match, which lasted just over three minutes. It was Bella’s first singles match since returning to a WWE ring, as well as her first singles match since 2018.
Speaking on The Nikki & Brie Show, during the “Matcha, Cookie Meltdowns, & Chivalry” episode, Brie explained that she had been asking for a singles opportunity for some time, but was upset by the lack of time.
“I’ve been pitching a while to have a singles match, I’ve been wanting it forever. So when I was like, finally I got a singles match, I was super excited.
“When I heard the times I was bummed, but also I understand SmackDown is back to two hours, it’ll be two hours until January, so all of a sudden you have all these storylines and it’s a three hour show and then you get cut down to two hours, your back to fighting for TV time and they’re gonna condense some stuff.”
“So a part of me understood it. I won’t lie, I was bummed. This is how I look at it; they try and get a bunch of stuff in, and obviously I’m grateful to be on the card. Did I make jokes when I went back, Paige and I were like ‘how did I lose my time’?”
“Obviously I’m gonna make jokes, ‘if there’s anyone we can give three minutes to, it’s Brie Bella, because she’s from the Diva era!’ And I did. And I did a lot with the three minutes.”
“Paige was honest like ‘are you bummed?’ I’m not gonna lie, I’m not here to stroke anyone and make anyone feel good about themselves, I was bummed, but I think I left the fans wanting more. I’ll admit, even when I heard my time before I got to the building I was pissed, then I was like ‘you know what Brie, look at what I get to do for a living'”
Paige and Bella are set to defend the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship against Lainey Reid and Fallon Henley at Saturday Night’s Main Event on July 18.
Fatal Influence entered the champions’ path shortly after WrestleMania 42, when Jacy Jayne, Fallon Henley and Lainey Reid attacked Paige, Brie Bella, Charlotte Flair and Alexa Bliss on SmackDown.