WWE star Natalya has provided more insight into her more serious persona that has been seen at her independent appearances.
2025 has seen the former Women’s Champion compete outside of the company under the name Nattie Neidhart, with appearances in promotions such as NWA, AAA, Reality of Wrestling, and at Josh Barnett’s Bloodsport, where the character first made its debut back in April.
With a new look, new music and a more serious presentation, fans have spoken highly of the badass character, and want to see it featured on WWE TV soon.
While speaking with Chris Van Vliet, Natalya stated that the new persona was liberating and that writing the book served as major motivation in wanting the change:
“It’s been the most liberating feeling working on that character, and it all just happened so organically, it really stemmed from the book. After I finished writing the book, I was like, Oh my God, I know what I need to do now. I had signed this new contract with WWE, and I think with Triple H, I think he really wanted to find the right thing. I think he didn’t want to just throw me in stuff that didn’t matter. I think he really wanted to find the right thing. The thing with him is that I believe he’s a forward thinker. So he was like, we just can’t rush into it. We just have to find the right thing for you. And because I had expressed when I was signing my new deal, I was like, I got to grow. This isn’t just about money for me. This is about growing. I have to grow. I have to evolve. I feel like I’m in the best shape of my life. I love wrestling and I need something to dive into. But when I was doing my contract, I didn’t quite know what that was. It wasn’t until I finished the book, so I was in a little bit of a creative rut. It was early this year.”
Continuing, Nattie recalled not being a part of WrestleMania 41 back in April, but wanting to be in action over the weekend one way or another, which led to a conversation with Josh Barnett about making her debut at the Bloodsport event:
“It was like February of this year, and I was like, man, WrestleMania is right around the corner, and I don’t know where I fit in. I just know I’m not going to be on the card. I’m not in a storyline. No one’s talking about where I fit in, because you can read the room, you can measure the pulse. I would talk to the writers, I would try to pick people’s brains and go where do I fit in? And this, by the way, is after being in a company for over 18 years. I’m still climbing and scratching and clawing for my spot, which is half the battle and half the beauty. So Josh Barnett and I got to talking, and he was like, ‘Let’s do Bloodsport.’ I was like, I’d love to do Bloodsport. We got to talking about me doing Bloodsport, and I said, I’m going to ask for permission. I walked up to Triple H. He was at the ringside. He was doing a rehearsal for Monday Night Raw. Walked up to him. I told him, ‘Listen, I’ve spoken to Josh Barnett. I would love to do Bloodsport.’ And Hunter was like, Sure. I was so afraid that he was going to say no, because I was like, I really, really, really want to do something Mania weekend. I need to do something, my creative juices are just feeling so stifled. He said yes right away. And he’s like, yeah, absolutely, absolutely, no problem at all. And I know that the company really respects Josh, and they’ve let talent work and do stuff at Bloodsport before. He said yes, so supportively that I was like, I remember that day. I was so excited. I ran up to TJ, and I was like, Hunter loved it. He was like, Yeah, go for it. So I took that as a this is my mission to build something that I’ve never built before.”
Having competed at 2 Bloodsport matches, Natalya has remained undefeated at the events with victories over Miyu Yamashita and Masha Slamovich. Nattie is also the number one contender for the AAA Reina de Reinas Title following a victory at Worlds Collide.
Natalya Talks New Music Used For Non-WWE Appearance
While WWE fans are very familiar with the former Women’s Champion’s music, Nattie made her entrance at Bloodsport to the iconic Rage Against the Machine anthem Killing in the Name. When asked about the decision, Neidhart stated that she wanted things to be different, but also having the option to have the character transition into WWE:
“It’s just different. I just wanted different, and I wanted the energy to be different, and it’s just a gritty thing, but the thing is I can do it. I can easily parlay it into WWE. And so that’s the hope, is that while it’s taken me a long time for my ship to really come in, I really want to go on a powerful run in WWE. That’s my goal. That’s my dream. I think when people read the book, I think it’s going to move them. It’s going to move them in a way that like I want people to cry. I want them to laugh their asses off. I want tears streaming down their face when they’re getting to those powerful chapters and they’re like, holy sh*t, I can’t wait to get to the next page, because I’m telling you, people are going to read this book very fast. It’s like binging a book.”
Buy Nattie’s book “Last Hart Beating” here: https://a.co/d/aH2e47n
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