Natalya appeared yesterday on The Rack to discuss the upcoming season of Total
Divas and more. Check out the highlights:
On the show’s
popularity and what to expect in season two: “First of all, the show
kind of caught fire in Season 1; it became extremely popular and people just got
hooked on it because it’s such a fascinating show. It’s our lived behind the
scenes in the WWE and it’s really entertaining because fans have never really
gotten to see us in this light. But, in Season 2, you’ve kind of gotten to know
us from Season 1 and it’s even like people have become more connected to us;
they feel that relationship or that bond with us from Season 1. But Season 2 is
even more dramatic than before; we have a new cast member, her name is Summer
(Rae) and she definitely stirs things up a little bit. I’m not going to reveal
too much but we definitely have some issues that we certainly need to get sorted
out, hoping to get them sorted out in a professional manner otherwise she’s
going to get bodyslammed by me.”
On the slap in the Season 2
teaser by Summer Rae: “Yeah, I never really, like I said, I never
wanted it to get that far but of course she kind of brought it on herself and
now we’re going full circle with it, so definitely people were excited to see
it. She’s really, really someone I want to put the Sharpshooter onto every day.
But the show is great because it gives people a chance to see we’re not perfect
and that’s one of my favorite parts about doing ‘Total Divas’, is that I’m a
perfectionist at heart. I’m a Type-A personality; I like to do everything, I
like to have my ducks in a row but this show has really shown me and taught me
that no one is perfect, and women especially, it’s ok to show people we make
mistakes, that we’re human. And that being human is part of what makes people
feel connected to us. It’s part of our likeability and when I started to let go
of those, let those walls down, it shows people that I make mistakes and I’m
human. I have fears, I have insecurities, I laugh, I cry; all that and
everything in-between. I think that is what is the really great think about this
show; is that you see these larger-than-life entities and on ‘Total Divas’ you
can see we’re really just like you.”
On if she’s become more
comfortable with the cameras: “Well, I think that’s where the danger
is, is that we get so comfortable in front of the cameras where I forget that
cameras are around us and so it makes for great TV but certainly there’s time,
like I said, where I forget the cameras were around us and I’ll watch a
commercial on TV for Total Divas and say ‘I don’t even remember saying that! I
can’t believe I did that.’ You’re like ‘Did I really say that’ and you watching
it back, going ‘Gosh, I should have been more careful’. But, again, it’s part of
being human, it’s part of being real and it’s like, like me or hate me this is
who I am so just accept me for that. The group we are working with, with E!,
they’re so good; they’re pretty much the best in the world at what they do as
far as reality TV goes and are so professional, you don’t really know they’re
there. I ended up making friends with the camera guys and all of a sudden, my
cat loves them and they’re over there sipping tea with me after the show. So,
it’s fun but at the same time, we’re still entertainers and we’re still on TV.
My regular job with WWE has been life-changing and I’m always on TV with them
too, so I get terrible stage fright but at the same time I understand too that
my job is in front of the cameras, so I’ve really embraced
it.”
On if it difficult for Tyson Kidd to have the cameras
around: “He is actually more shy than me. We’re actually kind of the
opposite; TJ is very focused on his in-ring ability and I’m more of the
outgoing, chatty-cathy and I find myself having autograph sessions where I have
20-minute conversations with each person that is in line. TJ is very
introverted; he’s like a cat and I’ve always compared it to being like a cat
because you always have to earn it with him. I’m like one of those dogs that
runs up to the door and is jumping around. But TJ is like a cat, and is like
‘Beat it. You’ll get attention from me when I’m ready to give you attention’.
So, he’s definitely adjusted to it, but he’s having a lot fun on the show
too.”
On what kind of surprises await her in Season 2:
“I hate to say it, but I think things are heating up. I didn’t plan for it to
heat up so much, but Summer certainly has pushed my buttons in a lot of ways I
didn’t expect. I thought I was past that and yeah, she is defiantly going to be
a new source of conflict for me but I like to think that show is like ‘The
Golden Girls’; we usually end up working it out. I have yet to work it out with
Summer, so I’m hoping that at some point Summer and I can go to Starbucks
together and have a Caramel Macchiato and talk things out because right now,
we’re not there yet.”
On the strangest thing a fan has given
her: “Good question. Gosh. I’d have to say I get a lot of random gifts
from them. Someone once wanted me to sign a baby carriage and that was really
odd; I mean I don’t mind signing a baby carriage. Signing body parts is always
another thing; somebody wants me to sign their forearm and I’m thinking “Are you
going to get my name tattooed on your forearms?’ and somebody did actually get
my name tattooed on their forearm and another one of my fans got a picture of me
tattooed on her back; of me, all over her entire back So, those are things that
always surprise me. But I have yet to get anything like a dead animal in the
mail or anything like that.”
