Written by Brie and Nikki Bella | Published by Gallery Books | Format: Hardback, 256pp
I was 15 years into my love of pro-wrestling when Nikki and Brie, The Bella Twins, debuted in WWE using their Twin-Magic gimmick, with one of them hiding beneath the ring and switching with the other twin, mid-match, allowing them to often pick up the mischievous victory. It was an intriguing and unique thing to behold in wrestling, something that we hadn’t ever seen before (or since). As time went on, Nikki and Brie became part of the fabric of WWE programming, especially as their careers developed and their talents and abilities expanded. I have become a fan of the two women over the years, seeing the hard work they’ve put into everything they’ve done, from their wrestling careers to their businesses and television products, and I have respect for them even more-so now that I’ve read their book, which was released very recently.
Incomparable is a tell-all memoir that goes deep and personal for 230+ pages. It doesn’t shy away from revealing the darker moments of life, and the terribly sad or harrowing things that the twins have experienced in their lives. It is hard to read, at times, in the sense that it’s truly horrifying to find out what two people have had to deal with, especially in their youth. There are personal stories and accounts here that made me tear-up, that made me angry, that made me have to take a quick breather. Among those times of hardship and darkness though was a passion to fight on, and fight on they did. Becoming mega-stars in professional wrestling, being a big part of the evolution in women’s wrestling that has led to women being given a much bigger chance to shine on WWE shows. There are naysayers aplenty when it comes to the Bella Twins and their work in WWE. Say what you may, but their improvement over their years as performers was evident, their fanbase was passionate and vocal, and they had some extremely memorable and entertaining moments in arenas all over the world. Not to mention that they did this after experiencing such hard times. It’s a damn inspirational tale to read, and then to see where they’ve gone since.
We read about their lives growing up in a broken home environment, their early relationships, their lack of focus in their youth when things came crashing down. We read of their signing and eventual run in WWE which was hugely successful. We read of them bringing Total Divas and Total Bellas to the E Network and helping to shine another light on the women of WWE and thus create a larger emphasis and importance on women in wrestling. I don’t believe they get enough credit for that. Believe what you will, and I’m not a reality-television fan really, but these shows are a big reason why WWE gave a serious look at the women and finally gave them the push they’d worked for and deserved for a long time. We read of their relationships with family and lovers, the break-ups and first-kisses. We read about Brie’s pregnancy with Birdie, and about their businesses that they built as their wrestling careers began to twinkle out. It’s a really well-written and motivational tale of two women with their own dreams and passions who went through some real ordeals only to fight and claw until they got to the top, and were able to raise their arms in victory.
It’s a short read, really, and it zoomed by. It’s one of those memoirs that never stops being intriguing or riveting, and for anyone, whether you’re a fan of the Bella’s, a fan of wrestling, or neither, I think it’s a worthwhile read. It’s not surprising that it’s already cracked the New York Times Bestsellers list, top ten.
Incomparable is out now.
