Nikki Garcia to pay monthly child support to ex-husband, gains control of business trusts

Former (and possibly future) WWE wrestler Nikki Garcia will have to pay her ex-husband child support as part of their final divorce settlement that includes her gaining trusts in her business ventures.

Reported by TMZ on Friday, an November 2024 agreement recently signed off on by a judge has the former Nikki Bella and ex-husband Artem Chigvintsev coming to an agreement that will see her pay him $3500 a month in addition to $200,000 in total before the end of the year.

She is also financially responsible for their son’s speech therapy sessions, but they will split any other extracurricular activities and alternate major holidays.

Their son, Matteo, is four years old.

The ex-couple were in the news in August 2024 when Chigvintsev was arrested on domestic violence charges when led to their divorce later that year. The charges were eventually dropped to a lack of evidence and two had dueling restraining orders filed against each other.

Chigvintsev was a member of the Dancing with the Stars cast until the domestic violence allegations came out. It was reported there was a possibility he could return at some point.

For the last four months, Garcia and sister, Brie, talked about an in-ring WWE return, something Nikki said there were “significant discussions” about. Nikki made her return in this year’s Royal Rumble and continues to say she is going back to WWE to “do something.”

Nikki Garcia & Artem Chigvintsev agree to divorce settlement

After a tumultuous 2024 and two weeks before it was set to go to trial, Nikki Garcia (seen above) and Artem Chigvintsev settled their divorce via mediation earlier this month.

The news was first reported by TMZ with no terms disclosed. At one point, Chigvintsev was seeking spousal support with the former Nikki Bella requesting to block the court’s ability to award it. It’s unknown if that was settled.

The restraining orders each had filed against each other have also been dropped. They agreed to shared custody of their four-year-old son earlier this year.

Bella filed for divorce in September of this year after Chigvintsev was arrested in late-August at their home on domestic violence charges. Charges were dropped in late-September after the Napa County (California) District Attorney stated among other things “…we have an ethical obligation to only file charges when supported by the evidence.”

Chigvintsev was not asked back to his role on Dancing with the Stars after the arrest with his attorney saying they are hopeful he can return for the next season. He was invited by an executive producer to be part of the studio audience for last week’s 500th episode.

Artem Chigvintsev granted restraining order against Nikki Garcia

The conflict between former WWE star Nikki Garcia (Bella) and estranged husband Artem Chigvintsev continues to escalate.

A day after news broke that Bella gained a restraining order against Chigvintsev earlier in the week, the former “Dancing With The Stars” dancer gained a restraining order against her as well, filed Thursday in Napa Valley, California.

The dueling orders come after an alleged domestic violence incident between the couple on August 29th where Chigvintesv was arrested with the charges eventually dropped by the district attorney on September 24th due to a lack of evidence.

Garcia filed for divorce on September 11th. The couple share a four-year-old son and will be due in court on October 21st.

Chigvintesv’s statement was contract to Garcia’s that painted him as the aggressor. His statement included an alleged comment by Garcia that his 911 call that day ruined her career. While she said he blamed her for making their son into a picky eater, he claims she was questioning how he was packing their son’s lunchbox and not being an equal partner in parental responsibilities. He claims he tried to de-escalate the situation, but his “calm responses” drove Garcia to “completely” lose it and start screaming at him.

He denies tackling her, but said there was a mutual struggle in which both parents ended up on the ground. He shared pictures with his statement showing various cuts and marks.

Nikki Garcia gets restraining order against husband Artem Chigvintsev

Former WWE star Nikki Garcia has secured a restraining order against her husband, Artem Chigvintsev, following an alleged domestic violence incident at their home this past August.

TMZ reported that the request was put in this past Monday and was approved by a judge following a sworn statement by Garcia giving detail about how her husband allegedly assaulted her.

He will not face charges from the arrest as the Napa Valley (CA) district attorney stated, among other things, “we have an ethical obligation to only file charges when supported by the evidence.”

He is prohibited from coming within 100 yards of she, their son or their home unless it’s during visitation or exchange of child-ordered court visits. The judge did deny a request for her to leave the country with her son to work on a project. A full hearing is set for October 21st.

The two were married in 2022. Garcia filed for divorce in mid-September.

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TMZ included several details from the aforementioned statement including how Garcia (the former Nikki Bella) alleges Chigvintsev tackled her multiple times and pinned her to the ground while their child was present. She is also claiming he got increasingly angry and snapped at her, allegedly due to her not toasting an English muffin for their four-year-old son and blaming her for making him a picky eater.

After throwing her son’s shoes at her husband, she alleges he grabbed and ran with their son upstairs. When she tried to get into a room where they were in, she said he tackled her and held her there briefly. Another physical altercation allegedly took later place where he had his hands on her chest and she said she felt like she was suffocating.

She also claimed he has been both physically violent and verbally abusive in the past, providing details.

Chigvintsev was not invited to return on “Dancing With The Stars” shortly after his August arrest.

Nikki Garcia’s husband Artem Chigvintsev won’t face charges over domestic violence arrest

Nikki Garcia’s husband will not face charges over his domestic violence arrest.

The Napa County District Attorney’s Office issued a press release on Tuesday that Artem Chigvintsev will not face charges relating to his arrest for domestic violence on August 29.

The statement reads:

Napa County District Attorney Allison Haley announced today that her office has declined to

file criminal charges against Artem Chigvintsev, age 42, in connection with his arrest on suspicion of felony domestic violence. The decision to not file charges against Mr. Chigvintsev was made after a thorough review of the criminal investigation and careful evaluation of the evidence presented to the DA’s Office.

While we take every arrest seriously and stand firmly against domestic violence, we have an ethical obligation to only file charges when supported by the evidence. We are required to prove any and every criminal charge ‘beyond a reasonable doubt’ which is the highest standard in the American criminal justice system. If the available evidence doesn’t rise to this level of proof, then we cannot ethically file charges.

Domestic violence can either be filed as a felony or a misdemeanor and has a statute of limitations of three years or one year, respectively. At any time within the statute of limitations, the Napa County District Attorney’s Office may revisit the case if it learns of other incidents, or otherwise learns of facts or evidence not previously known.

Chigvintsev was originally arrested on charges of felony corporal injury to a spouse or cohabitant. Two weeks after Chigvintesev was arrested, Nikki Garcia filed for divorce. It had been previously reported that Garcia had already been contacting attorneys and was looking to start divorce proceedings following Chigvintsev’s arrest.

The two had been together since 2018, were married in 2022, and have a four-year-old son together.

Daily Update: Titan Towers, AEW lawsuit, Artem Chigvintsev

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This Week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter

  • A look at the wrestling career of Sid Eudy, his death, his career highlights, the injury that basically ended his career, other major inopportune injuries, his going from place to place and more.
  • When he first started which is earlier than most have noted.
  • The Lord Humongous gimmick
  • The Skyscrapers and why it ended
  • The Four Horsemen period
  • His first PPV main event
  • A number of stories related to Brian Pillman including the squeegee story
  • His leaving WCW for WWF and his first WrestleMania main event and how that finish didn’t happen as planned
  • The failed drug test before WrestleMania
  • The Hoosier Dome match
  • Quitting WWF
  • Return to WCW and the plan for him to win the world title and how it fell through
  • Situation with Arn Anderson
  • How he ended up getting his WWF title run in 1996-97
  • The injury that ended his WWF career
  • The ridiculous win streak gimmick in WCW
  • All In coverage from London
  • The update on contract negotiations
  • Why the MAX deal didn’t happen last year
  • The upcoming stadium shows
  • Business notes on how All In did
  • All Out update
  • Notes on new contracts
  • Future of Bryan Danielson
  • WWE weekend preview
  • RevPro anniversary show
  • Look at the ratings over the past two weeks
  • International TV ratings
  • The longest match ever held at Arena Mexico
  • Japanese tournament updates
  • Oldest male wrestler ever to participate in a major match
  • Deaths of Villano V and Fritz Von Goering
  • Tony Khan talks creative process
  • Bryan Danielson talks his discussion with Vince McMahon about doing G1
  • MMA star Benji Radach passes away
  • Mark Shapiro talks new WWE ideas
  • Netflix doc notes
  • Shapiro talks Netflix deal

This Week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter Back Issue

Wednesday Update

WWE

  • Titan Towers, the former home of WWE, is now listed for sale. WWE is looking to sell the property after moving into its new Stamford, Connecticut corporate headquarters in 2023. The price is listed as “subject to offer.”
  • WWE filed a trademark for “Giulia” on September 3 following her arrival at NXT No Mercy.
  • On NXT last night, Giulia laid out Chelsea Green and challenged NXT Women’s Champion Roxanne Perez for NXT’s premiere episode on The CW next month. The full segment can be watched here.
  • Forbes asked Amanda Saccomanno (former WWE wrestler Mandy Rose) if she plans on watching Netflix’s “Mr. McMahon” docuseries:
    • I do plan on watching that. Yes, for sure. I know a few of my friends actually have messaged me it thinking that I know things and all these, you know what I mean? I’m like, oh, I know. I’m excited to see it. But I am excited to see that because, excited and a little nervous, not going to lie. They’re saying that they really are putting everything out there, so it’s going to be interesting and it’s kind of wild. I don’t know, especially with everything the past few years.
  • Saccomanno was also asked if she has any thoughts on everything that’s gone on with Vince McMahon:
    • I really don’t because I just don’t know. I don’t like to speak on things that I don’t know the truth. And I know there’s a lot of things going on, on social media. Whatever I can say myself though, however like, I never had a bad experience with Vince. Vince was a great boss for me when I worked for him. And I think what he did for WWE alone is amazing, right? I mean, you can’t forget about that. But obviously the allegations and all these things are really terrible. So it’s hard to say, but for me, yeah, that documentary should be really interesting.
  • Xavier Woods turns 38 years old today.

AEW/Other Wrestling

  • Jamie Hayter vs. Robyn Renegade has been added to the card for tonight’s AEW Dynamite.
  • AEW PR issued the following statement to The Takedown on the lawsuit that’s been filed against the company by Kevin Kelly and The Tate Twins: “AEW does not comment on pending litigation.”
  • Attorney Stephen P. New said:
    • I am proud to represent Kevin Kelly and the Tate Twins in this lawsuit. I am looking forward to them having their day in Court and the truth coming out about their situations. Finally, I hope this lawsuit is the genesis of a change in the pro wrestling industry wherein we can make pro wrestlers the employees they are instead of ‘independent contractors’ which they are not and never have been.
  • Maria Kanellis-Bennett shared a health update regarding the mass that was found on her adrenal gland:
    • They think it’s a pheochromocytoma which means I have to take medication before I can have surgery so I don’t have a heart attack during surgery. As of right now the surgery is scheduled for October 24th.
    • I also have to go to an endocrinologist and a geneticist. And so will my children. The biopsy will be after the surgery to check for cancer. I’m pissed. I want to be done with the waiting. I know I should be grateful. I’m just not there yet.
  • As Bryan Alvarez first reported on Wrestling Observer Live, Swerve Strickland and Hangman Page’s steel cage match is scheduled to main event AEW All Out this Saturday.
  • In an interview with Inside The Ropes Magazine, Will Ospreay discussed the respect he has for Kenny Omega:
    • I think he represents the identity of what AEW initially was. He didn’t need the machine to make himself a big superstar, he made himself a star along with The Bucks, along with Hangman, and everyone else that helped to set up the company. There was an identity about AEW that was different to what American TV was accustomed to.
    • Those guys really set the bar for what wrestling could look like. It could have a different image and it could have a different identity. Especially when it comes to TV-style wrestling. Those guys completely shifted what it looked like to be TV wrestlers. He’s one of the best and I give him all the flowers in the world, but that doesn’t mean I like him [laughs]. Other than that, he’s a prick.
  • An appearance by Chris Jericho will air on CMLL’s Informa talk show tonight.
  • Barstool’s Rasslin’ podcast interviewed Mariah May.
  • Artem Chigvintsev’s domestic violence case has been turned over to the Napa County district attorney’s office, with a spokesperson telling TMZ that the case is being reviewed and a decision has not yet been made on whether Chigvintsev (the husband of WWE Hall of Famer Nikki Bella/Garcia) will face charges.
  • The following matches and segments have been announced for this Thursday’s TNA Impact episode:
    • The System (Moose, Brian Myers, Eddie Edwards, Alisha Edwards & Johnny Dango Curtis) kick off the show
    • Jordynne Grace issues a Knockouts Championship open challenge
    • We’ll hear from new X-Division Champion Zachary Wentz
    • KUSHIDA vs. Laredo Kid
    • Eric Young vs. Jake Something
    • Moose & Johnny Dango Curtis vs. Mike Santana & Joe Hendry
  • Mistico will face off against Bad Dude Tito in an Opera Cup semifinal match at MLW Fightland in Atlanta on Saturday, February 14. Also added to the show is an Opera Cup semifinal bout between KENTA and TJP.
  • Foundation Radio spoke with Arn Anderson.