With the victory, Brie will now be forced to act as Nikki's personal assistant or else she must quit the company, per the match's stipulation. It was a dominant showing, too, as Nikki used her powerful finisher a second time to end the match, as Diva Dirt illustrates:
Daniel Bryan added his thoughts on the match after his wife's defeat:The Bella Twins were once inseparable, but that all changed at SummerSlam. Brie was involved in the biggest match of her life as she took on WWE minority owner Stephanie McMahon. Just when it seemed as though Brie was on the brink of a win, her sister laid her out, which allowed Steph to come out on top.Nikki blamed Brie for her own hardships, as The Authority made life miserable for her when Brie quit at Payback. Nikki was constantly put in handicap matches, so she returned the favor after siding with The Authority.As pointed out by WWE announcer Tom Phillips, Nikki even went so far as to force Brie to wrestle with one arm tied behind her back:Despite the odds being stacked against Brie, she managed to win the bulk of her matches, and that only served to infuriate Nikki even more:
Sunday's result puts Nikki back in the driver's seat, however, as her sister must now adhere to whatever Nikki's heart desires.This type of stipulation isn't particularly uncommon over the course of wrestling history, and WWE's booking of the angle was fairly predictable. The face is usually put in a precarious position because it makes more sense for the heel to be oppressive. With Brie serving as Nikki's assistant, that will be the case.
As campy as it may be, there is some potential for a high level of entertainment value. Brie and Nikki are quite different, as evidenced by their real-life personalities on Total Divas, so Nikki forcing Brie to act more like her could make for decent television.
The main challenge standing in the way of this storyline becoming something of interest, though, is the creative team's commitment. The Bella Twins' breakup was among the top angles in WWE after SummerSlam, but much of the build has been relegated to the WWE app in recent weeks.
There has been absolutely no middle ground, which is probably a big reason why there wasn't much excitement surrounding the bout leading up to Hell in a Cell.
Storyline notwithstanding, both Brie and Nikki deserve some credit for the strides they have made as in-ring workers over the years. They will never be confused with AJ Lee, Paige or Natalya, but they are both more than competent, and they proved that on Sunday.
Even if the writers are unable to keep the feud relevant moving forward, Brie and Nikki did well to settle things in the ring in a pay-per-view setting.
