Former Women's Champion says facing Charlotte at NXT TakeOver was her true WWE WrestleMania moment
While being interviewed on Fox's WWE Backstage program, former Women's Champion Natalya reminiced about her NXT Women's Championship match with Charlotte Flair (then just called "Charlotte") back in 2014.
At the very first NXT TakeOver, Natalya faced Charlotte in the finals of a tournament to determine the first NXT Women's Champion.
Natalya, while coming out on the losing end, called the match her "WrestleMania moment."
"You know, for me... I've said it before and I'll say it again... wrestling at NXT in front of 200 people in that match with Charlotte at the very first TakeOver was my WrestleMania moment. Because it was so much about [the] moment and feeling and you always remember the way you feel and it wasn't... As cool as it is to be in front of 80,000 fans... it was really one of the most special moments of my career."
Charlotte back on NXT
Interestingly enough, Charlotte was also involved in the first NXT match at WrestleMania not very long ago at all when she defeated then-NXT Women's Champion Rhea Ripley for her title at WrestleMania 36. The win makes Flair an 11-time Women's champion across all three brands.
It may be the beginning of a trend of performers considering NXT TakeOver shows just as important to their careers as WrestleMania.