WWE News: Natalya sets a record at WrestleMania 33
What’s the story?
Natalya Neidhart has a reputation for being one of the best in-ring talents in the WWE, and as of April 2nd, it’s easier for The Queen of Harts to back that up.
Natalya now holds the record for the most in-ring appearances at WWE pay per views by a woman (40).
In case you didn’t know...
Ever since Natalya joined the main roster in 2008, she has been well received for her technical prowess in the ring. Coming from the Hart Dynasty, one of the most important wrestling families in the business, a lot was expected of her.
She was pushed pretty quickly as soon as she hit the scene, making her first PPV appearance a mere two months after her SmackDown debut on April 11th, 2008.
On June 20th, she lost to Michelle McCool to determine the inaugural WWE Divas Champion. Over the next nine years, she would go on to impress the WWE Universe with her in-ring ability, whether it was with her teaming up with the Hart Dynasty 2.0 or fighting other women for the Divas or Women’s titles.
The heart of the matter
WrestleMania 33 marked the 40th PPV appearance of Natalya, surpassing Trish Stratus, who had 39 appearances.
To put this in perspective, Nikki Bella, the only remaining woman who has been around for as long as Natalya, has had 29 PPV matches, leaving her 5th in the list of most PPV appearances by women.
Also read: The rise of WWE’s Women’s Revolution
A recently returned Mickie James is 4th on that list, with 33 PPV appearances, and the latest woman to enter the Hall of Fame, Beth Phoenix, comes in at 3rd with 38.
It’s fair to say that Nikki or Mickie could have surpassed the record before Natalya if they hadn’t left the company for the extended periods of time that they did. However, it’s the Hart Dungeon Diva who sits atop this rather impressive list.
What’s next?
Natalya surmounting a record held by Trish Stratus could be seen as quite symbolic. It’s another one in a long list of broken ceilings by women that we’ve seen since August 2015.
We’ve had women competing in the matches of the night, appearing in Hell in a Cell matches and main eventing PPVs, so this is truly a progressive time. While 40 might seem like a big number for female wrestlers a decade or so ago, it now seems like a goal that could easily be achieved, should the talent stay healthy.
With the recent women’s revolution coming into full swing, it’s hard to see Natalya holding that record for too long.
While the closest person to debut within the last few years only has 22 PPVs under her belt (Charlotte Flair), the booking could elevate her or any other current performer past Natalya’s number in a matter of years.
The Four Horsewomen, along with a lot of other young up and coming talents, could easily reach a higher number of PPV appearances.
Author’s take
This is a great milestone for Nattie to pass. Being the resident veteran of the company, it’s great to see her achieve something like this.
She hasn’t had quite the career that many of us expected, only being a 1-time Divas champion, but to pass Trish Stratus on the all-time PPV matches list shows how much the company, and the WWE Universe, truly care about her.
Should this record be broken by Charlotte, Sasha, Naomi or anyone else, Natalya should still be proud. She has helped lead a movement and a group of women to the forefront of the industry.
Four or five years ago, most WWE fans considered the women’s matches to be the least important, dubbing them “bathroom breaks” due to their poor quality and the low amount of time assigned to them.
However, it’s clear that without talents who paved the way over the years prior to the 2015 call-ups such as Natalya, Paige, AJ Lee and Nikki Bella etc, the division could very well have still been stuck in a dark point.
To see someone as respected as Natalya break this record is truly a heartwarming moment that shows that the sky is the limit for the now-unbound women of the ring.
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