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It looks like Nikki Garcia has been showing NFL star Cooper DeJean how to lay the smack down.
The Philadelphia Eagles cornerback, 22, performed a WWE-style celebration dance and even used Garcia’s ex-fiancé John Cena’s signature move, the Five-Knuckle Shuffle, on teammate Quinyon Mitchell in the run-up to their 29-18 victory over the Washington Commanders at Northwest Stadium in Landover, Maryland, on Saturday, December 20.
Cena’s iconic wrestling maneuver was enough for DeJean to put Mitchell, 24, down for the count in the end zone as their teammates counted to three.
Garcia, 42, dropped hints that she might be dating the NFL star earlier this week when she posed in front of his locker in a video montage of her recent trip to Philadelphia.
“So blessed for the people around me, new friends and old, who make life so special and fun 🤍✨🙏🏼,” Nikki wrote via Instagram on Tuesday, December 16. “Thank you Big Dom @daveophilly @nickyryan @philadelphiaflyers & @livecasinophl for spoiling me and my crew this weekend!”
She added, “Fly Eagles Fly! Truly THE city of brotherly love! 💚🦅.”
Two days later, Nikki opened up about her love life on SiriusXM’s The Nikki & Brie Show following her divorce from ex-husband Artem Chigvintsev in 2024. (Garcia and Chigvintsev share a son, Matteo, 5.)
“It’s crazy because I actually haven’t been touched or done anything in so long,” Nikki told sister Brie Garcia and their listeners on Thursday, December 18. “It’s funny when people call me a whore when I actually haven’t had intimacy in a really long time, even think of kissing.”
The WWE star went on, “I haven’t even kissed someone in so long. It’s, like, kind of crazy. I was thinking of this last night: ‘Do I know how to kiss?’ You know when it’s been so long? I mean, I hope [I still do]. I’m about to make out with my pillow to make sure I still got it.”
Nikki Garcia in October 2025. Presley Ann/Getty Images
DeJean’s nod to Garcia’s ex-boyfriend Cena comes just one week after the 17-time WWE Champion retired at the Capital One Arena in Washington D.C. at Saturday Night’s Main Event on December 13. Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, Jimmy Fallon and Jelly Roll were among the stars to celebrate Cena’s career prior to his submission loss to WWE star Gunther in his retirement match.
Cena and Garcia were together for six years and even got engaged when he popped the question in the middle of the wrestling ring after their mixed tag team match at WrestleMania 33 in April 2017. Garcia broke the news to Us Weekly in July 2018 that she and Cena were going their separate ways.
“After I called off the engagement, we tried to work on our relationship to get back to where it was in order to move forward with our wedding,” she told Us at the time. “After much time and soul-searching alone, and together, we have decided to officially part ways. I had a beautiful and loving six-year relationship with a wonderful man. I have the utmost respect for John, but I know this is what’s best for me.”
From their first date to their drawn-out split in 2018, Us Weekly is revisiting John Cena and Nikki Bella’s love story. After years of friendship, the two wrestlers first sparked a romantic connection in 2012. The pair’s relationship continued to heat up as Cena popped the question in April 2017. However, less than one year later, […]
Garcia recently opened up about what it was like to see Cena for the first time in “seven, eight years” backstage at a WWE event as part of her former beau’s retirement tour.
“It was very quick,” she revealed on “Honestly Cavallari: The Podcast Tour” in June.
The WWE Hall of Fame inductee told sister Brie and Kristin Cavallari that she was “in a circle talking to people” backstage when Cena walked up to “[shake] everyone’s hand,” though there was “no hug.”
“We just said, ‘Hello, good to see you. I think last time we were engaged. I don’t know. It’s been a while,’” Nikki revealed with a chuckle.
Meanwhile, DeJean was most recently linked to Steph Wilfawn when she joined him on the field after the Eagles’ Super Bowl win over the Kansas City Chiefs in February.
“She’s been a trooper,” DeJean told “The Pivot” podcast about Wilfawn in February. “She’s been handling a lot, going through a lot, but she’s been there every step of the way.”
DeJean has yet to address speculation that he is dating Garcia.
