"I greatly wanted to succeed" – Natalya opens up about her father being fired from WWE
Natalya recently opened up about her father, Jim Neidhart, being fired from WWE. The former SmackDown Women's Champion said she had to become a "company girl" to keep Vince McMahon happy.
Speaking on Corey Graves' After The Bell podcast, Natalya discussed her father's struggles and her vision while getting into the wrestling industry. The Canadian star said she wanted to succeed in the industry her father struggled in:
"My dad was fired by WWE, like, five times and it's not a sob story at all, it was the truth growing up. My dad couldn't hold down his job in WWE, while my uncles Bret, Owen, and Davey, they were kind of able to sustain a longer, more successful career, my dad really, really struggled to keep his job because he battled a lot of demons. And I grew with that, my whole life I grew up with that instability of my dad doing great, my dad losing his job. So, for me as an adult and getting into the industry, I had this different perspective than every other girl or guy. I greatly wanted to succeed in the industry that my parent struggled in." (from 25:12 to 25:59)
Natalya opened up about her perspective before getting into WWE
During the same conversation, Natalya opened up about her perspective on succeeding in the pro wrestling industry.
The former WWE Women's Tag Team Champion claimed she had to be good at everything to keep Vince McMahon happy:
"I love the connection me and my dad had in the ring, we shared that bond. But I know my dad struggled to have success in this industry, so it gave me this different perspective that I had to succeed, that I had to be perfect, that I had to be there for everyone, that I had to be good at everything, that I had to leave no stone unturned, that I had to make Vince McMahon happy at every single corner of my career. I kind of became a company girl." (from 26:00 to 26:29)
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