Artem Chigvintsev fires back at Nikki Bella as the divorce turns ugly

Artem Chigvintsev shoot back up Nikki Garcia (Bella) in their ugly divorce, claiming she completely fabricated the domestic violence allegations that landed him behind bars — allegations she detailed in a restraining order she got it on monday.

In new legal documents obtained by TMZ, Artem portrayed the retired WWE star as the aggressor with anger issues that led to his arrest in late August, ultimately destroying their two-year marriage.

Artem also submitted photos to the court, showing injuries to his hand, elbow, and the back of his head… and claimed Nikki was responsible for it all.

On August 29, Artem says he was cooking breakfast for the now estranged couple’s 4-year-old son. Matteoat their home in Napa County, California. He says Nikki was also there and worried about what to wear to an upcoming Netflix event.

The former “Dancing with the Stars” cast member says Nikki began arguing with him about his inability, in her opinion, to adequately toast the bread.

Artem says their dispute escalated after Nikki reprimanded him for putting two food options (a quesadilla and chicken tenders) in Matteo’s lunchbox.

Artem says he left the kitchen and went to the living room, where he helped Matteo get ready for school.

Nikki reportedly entered the room and yelled at Artem, saying he couldn’t even put Matteo’s shoes on properly.

Artem says he was defending himself, which only made Nikki angrier and prompted her to do so throw the sneakers at him and hit him in the chest.

As Nikki screamed about a divorce, Artem says Matteo just stood there scared and confused.

Artem says he begged Nikki to calm down and brought Matteo to his room to protect him from the escalating situation.

Artem says Nikki followed them into the bedroom and tried to force the door open, holding it closed as Matteo cried next to him.

During their fight, Artem says, he squeezed through a gap in the door to force his way out of the room so Matteo wouldn’t be exposed to their fight.

According to Artem, that’s when Nikki forced her way into the room and physically attacked him.

Artem says he tried to fight Nikki off as the two wrestled on the ground.

Artem says he broke free and called 911 from his cell phonetelling the dispatcher what happened while Nikki shouted threats in the background.

In Artem’s account of the incident, Nikki said at one point, “Do you understand that this is going to happen now, Artem. You just ruined my career and you know it.”

However, in Nikki’s version of events in her restraining order against Artem – after the disagreement over breakfast and the shoe throwing incident, she claims she tried to get into Matteo’s room, and Artem opened the door and tackled her to the ground outside Matteo’s room.

She says Artem then went back to Matteo’s room and closed the door – and she says she tried to push the door open again, and that he then opened it and pushed her down the hall to the couple’s bedroom, leaving her on the ground was forced into their bedroom. bathroom. She says he had his hands on her chest, near her sternum, pressing down – she says she felt like she was choking – and she says she grabbed his neck to try to get him off.

After the police arrived, Artem says he told his story and Nikki provided her story, which he says was a pack of lies to get him. arrested for domestic violence. Artem was then taken to jail to pose for a mugshot.

What’s curious…if the police had noticed any injuries on Artem when they arrived at the house, standard procedure would have been to arrest Nikki for domestic violence, but that didn’t happen.

The Napa County District Attorney decided not to sue Artem due to insufficient evidence.

In his lawsuit, Artem requested a temporary restraining order against Nikki, and the judge signed off on it.