TMZ caught up with Nikki Bella at the airport, following the news about the cyst in her brain and neck issues that forced her to retire from WWE in-ring competition.

She said, “I’m bummed. It’s something that, like I think sometimes people don’t see me competing in the ring and they never understand why, but it’s because I can’t compete and Brie and I really wanted to go back for the tag titles and be a part of the women’s tag team division.”

Nikki added, “It’s such a cool time for women in WWE, but unfortunately because of my neck, and then they found a cyst on my brain, which thank God it’s benign.”

“It’s super scary, of course,” Nikki said about the cyst in her brain. “It’s just something you’re never gonna hear, but I’m so grateful and grateful for my health. I’m grateful that it’s benign. It’s something that you have to watch out for – for the rest of your life because you never know how that can change. I’m definitely grateful because I know people go through it worse. It was definitely really scary. It also sucks at the same time because it just keeps me out of the ring.”

She encouraged everyone to get checked out. “Go to your doctors, get checked up, get your blood taken. It could be scary but you need to know what’s wrong with you. Trust your gut. If you don’t feel right, go get it handled.”

“Hey, I believe in miracles, so you never know. I do believe in miracles,” Nikki said.

Nikki was asked if she could ever be cleared to return to the ring. “I mean, we’ll see what the man upstairs has in store for me,”

Nikki then made it clear that she is retired. “I am retired from the ring,” she said.

Here is video of Nikki and Brie when we caught up with them in New York City this week. Brie says she wants to have another baby and Nikki briefly talked about her retirement. Click on the video below to watch.











