Natalya is part of the Women’s WrestleMania Showcase Fatal Four-Way Tag Team match at WrestleMania 39 (Night Two), and she recently spoke with PWInsider about a myriad of topics including her marquee match at The Showcase Of Immortals.
You can check out some highlights from the interview below:
On if it’s easier or harder to get acknowledged by fans and WWE after so many years: “The work never stops. You can never rest on what you did yesterday or the day before that or what you did a year ago. To me, I always feel like I have to earn everything. I have to earn my spot every time I walk through that curtain. Every time I walk out to the ring, every WrestleMania that I’ve been in. This is a world record year for me. My 13th WrestleMania appearance. And I am the woman with the most WrestleMania appearances, or matches, of any woman in WWE history. 11 WrestleMania matches. Not one single one of those matches I’ve taken for granted how hard it was to get there, how hard it is to work your ass off throughout the entire year to be a part of that, from doing live events to all the premium live events to every single SmackDown, to me, I’ve been so grateful to have had the longevity that I’ve had in WWE, because I’ve had pretty much 16 uninterrupted years.
“I love what I do, I love the women that I work with, and I think it’s just about: You don’t get ready; you stay ready. And that takes work all year long. And that’s why when people say, “Oh, Natalya’s got a new partner,” or, “She’s in WrestleMania again,” to be brutally honest, I think that every time I’ve been in WrestleMania, I’ve really earned my spot. And I don’t just do that by thinking about myself. I think this whole thing would fall apart if you only think about yourself. I really take pride in making sure that every woman that I work with feels represented, they feel seen, they feel heard, and that we tell great stories.”
On Total Divas’ impact on her career: “I don’t think I would’ve had the career that I have today without Total Divas. It was an opportunity that brought in so many different eyes into women’s wrestling from a world… The people that watched Total Divas, they weren’t wrestling fans. So we brought so many different women and viewers over to watch our product, and it gave me opportunities that I never would’ve had. It allowed me to really build my name so that when I would walk into a grocery store, somebody would hear my voice, and they’re like, ‘You’re Natty. You’re Natty from Total Divas.’ It gave me a notoriety that I could bring back to the women’s division and then pay it forward in the women’s division.”
On being in the Fatal Four-Way at WrestleMania: “I’m excited to win and to get a chance at getting an opportunity for the Women’s Tag Team championships. But I’m also so excited to be a part of Shotzi’s first WrestleMania. She cried when she found out she was going to be in WrestleMania. Her dad died last year. Her stepdad died last year. Her sister was diagnosed with cancer. It’s been such a hard year for her, and to see her cry tears of joy being part of WrestleMania just made me so happy, because I get to have that childlike experience with her.”
