Exclusive interview with Natalya: "There should not be a divide between NXT girls and Main Roster girls"
WWE Roadblock felt like a show that the WWE designed to appreciate the hard work and talent of Natalya. The spotlight she got for her match against Charlotte was something special and it certainly made everyone remember that she is indeed one of the best wrestlers in the roster.
Though Roadblock was a huge success for her, there was big concern among the WWE fans about Natalya possibly missing out WrestleMania. However, WWE solved the problem by booking a huge five-on-five divas match at the pay-per-view.
Although the card placement of Natalya is not something that most fans would be happy about, she is going to be on the pay-per-view after all and it is another chance for the girl from the dungeon to shine.
I recently had a chance to be part of a conference call with Natalya as part of the WWE’s WrestleMania promotion and she talked about her thoughts on Lana and about the changes she would bring into WWE.
Thoughts about Lana
As a performer, she is definitely polarising. She demands the attention of the audience. Lana has been doing so much with Rusev and guys and she is very unique we haven’t seen much of her in this universe.
This is the very first time for Lana. Lana should know when to pick her battles and recently she came out saying that I was not relevant and she doesn’t even know me and I cannot wait to make her into my personal delicious pretzel.
Changes that she would bring if she was in charge of WWE
First of all, I’m super happy that Shane McMahon is back. He is an awesome person. He is just super positive and he treats talent super nicely. I’m just happy that he is around.
As far as the changes are concerned, I would like to continue to see equality among the females and the males. It is really encouraging to see that the WWE is making the change with two divas matches at WrestleMania. It’s huge. There have been WrestleManias where Divas were not even part of and sitting on the sidelines, and pretending that you are happy for everyone when not you are not included is not easy.
So the fact that WWE is allowing two divas matches is awesome. Also giving all the girls an equal chance. You know the girls from NXT and the girls from Main roster. I don’t feel like there should be a divide between the main roster girls and the NXT girls.
We all have a passion. Every girl I work with has a passion for WWE and a passion for wrestling. Some may have had that passion longer. I have not seen a girl or at least, there is not a girl in the locker room without a desire to get better.
Whether it’s Charlotte, Sasha Banks, Becky Lynch, Alicia Fox, Bella Twins, Paige and the list goes on and on. Even the other girls like Renee Young, Eden and Jojo, all these girls have a passion for the WWE and wanting to be the best.
I don’t like the comparison between you know these girls are better than these girls and those girls are changing. We are all trying to change it together. Now, Sasha, Becky and Charlotte are in the main roster. Yes, they came from NXT just like Paige, Summer and Lana but we are all part of the WWE Umbrella and we have an amazing Locker room right now and it is only going to get better. We cannot wait for you guys to come along in that journey with us.
Natalya also answered a string of questions from other journalists as well and here are some highlights from the conference.
Stipulation she would love to see
I would love to see a Divas Ladder match. You know it would be huge, the first ever Divas Ladder match on the main roster. Our divas are more than capable of pulling that off. TLC would also be awesome.
About “women’s wrestling” and bringing back the Women’s Championship
I don’t like the whole term of “women’s wrestling”. It is not about women’s wrestling, it’s about wrestling, and it’s about passion. Moving forward, I know that the Divas title projects a certain vibe in the WWE.
For me when I hear about bringing back the Women’s championship, I feel that it would be cool. It would simply be changing with time and evolving. The Divas championship means so much to me as it represents a certain time of my life. Also, I look back to the women like Mae Young and everything that the Women’s title embodied.
My best friend is Beth Phoenix and being so close to her, I knew what the Women’s championship meant. For me, I want the Divas in WWE to represent strong women in sports and represent what we could do in wrestling. One day hopefully we will see it.
Thoughts on bikini contests and fashion shows
I was never into the bikini contest stuff that WWE used to have. We used to have Divas matches once in a while and the next time we have Divas bikini dance off and all. They were times when I would internally cringe even though I acted professionally and did what I was being told. But inside me it was always wrestling. Women, men, I would even wrestle a grizzly bear.
Also, Natalya said that Shane McMahon had all the Divas on their feet in the locker room due to his confidence and the respect he projected to everyone. She mentioned about hating phony people who behave one way when the cameras are on and in another way when it's off.
You can watch WrestleMania live in the WWE Network on 3 April.