Philadelphia Eagles cornerback Cooper DeJean has sparked a fresh wave of speculation after appearing to address rumours of a romance with WWE star Nikki Bella in a brutal, yet indirect, fashion. The 22-year-old NFL player seemingly referenced Bella's famous ex-fiancé, John Cena, during a game, throwing cold water on the dating gossip.
The Viral Celebration That Started It All
The rumours began after Bella, 42, was spotted at the Eagles' victory over the Las Vegas Raiders. A video later showed the avid Eagles fan sitting inside DeJean's locker room, leading to widespread conjecture about a potential relationship. However, DeJean offered a stark rebuttal during the Eagles' win over the Washington Commanders on Saturday night. After making a key interception, the rookie performed a celebration inspired by WWE legend John Cena—Bella's former partner—directly on teammate Quinyon Mitchell.
The move, Cena's iconic 'five knuckle shuffle', quickly went viral. In a postgame media scrum, DeJean explicitly stated the celebration was a tribute to Cena, who recently bowed out of the WWE. "The celebration? Tribute to John Cena, guy I watched growing up. Big WWE guy when I was a kid," DeJean told reporters. "So yeah, we had that one planned for a while, I just didn't get picked."
A Complicated History and Current Denials
John Cena and Nikki Bella, whose relationship was chronicled in the Total Divas/Bellas reality series, became a WWE super-couple. Cena famously proposed in the ring at WrestleMania in 2017. However, the engagement was called off the following year after six years together, citing differences over marriage and children. Shortly after the split, Cena publicly professed his love for Bella on the Today show, a surprising turn given his previous stance on fatherhood.
Bella herself has recently downplayed the possibility of any new romance. On her SiriusXM podcast this week, she suggested love is not currently on her agenda, revealing she has not had intimacy "in a really long time." She joked about the rumours, saying, "It’s funny when people call me a whore when I actually haven’t had intimacy in a really long time... I haven’t even kissed someone in so long."
Fuel to the Fire and Lingering Questions
Despite the denials, several incidents continue to fuel fan speculation. DeJean was recently seen in the front row at a WWE show in Philadelphia. Wrestler Grayson Waller claimed on a podcast that DeJean was only there "because he wanted to see Bella." Furthermore, fans have resurfaced an old photo of Bella and DeJean together during the Eagles' off-season training camp last summer.
Bella also recently recounted reuniting with Cena for the first time since their split at the 2025 Royal Rumble, describing the encounter as "very quick" and done out of respect, as Cena is now a married man. While DeJean's on-field tribute appears to be a clear nod to Cena rather than Bella, the intertwined sightings and comments ensure the rumour mill continues to turn, leaving the true nature of their connection an open question for now.
