WWE News: Natalya reveals she was bullied as a kid
What’s the story?
In a recent interview with People Now, WWE Superstar Natalya has revealed that she was bullied as a child.
In case you didn’t know...
Natalya Neidhart is a 17-year veteran of the pro-wrestling industry and has been a main roster staple since 2008. She is currently part of SmackDown and is a 1-time Divas Champion.
She isn’t the first star who has had a rough childhood as these popular names have also had to deal with some unruly bullies while growing up.
The heart of the matter:
Nattie claimed that she was bullied during her childhood days due to her ‘raspy voice’. The 3rd generation pro-wrestler asserted that the very characteristics she was bullied for, have now turned out to be her biggest strengths
Here are a few excerpts from her statements-
“Even when I was a little kid, I always had this raspy voice. I remember being in elementary school and people would always make fun of my voice and just be like, ‘What’s wrong with your voice?’”
“ It’s funny, nowadays I’ll be going through customs at an airport and people are like, ‘You’re Nattie! I recognize your voice. I love your voice!’ People all the time recognize my voice. I’m like, ‘I love my voice!’ It’s very symbolic of all those things that maybe I was teased about, they’re what make me great today. And I love being different, I love being strong. I really learned to embrace myself in so many good ways.”
The former WWE Divas champion also highlighted the combination of hot yoga, running and powerlifting as an essential part of her routine, besides crediting ‘consistency’ as an essential prerequisite for success.
What’s next?
The 34-year old Natalya presently wrestles for the SmackDown brand and also stars on Total Divas. While she is without a substantial feud, the recent superstar shake-up could give her a fresh direction going forward.
Author’s take
In wake of all the recent bullying allegations against the WWE higher-ups in general, and John Bradshaw Layfield in particular, stories like that of Natalya serve to inspire hope amongst bullying victims the world over.
Now, I know that most of you may brush the issue of ‘bullying’ apart, labelling it as pure PC-culture rubbish, but the mental torment that bullying victims go through must be acknowledged, understood and healed. Don’t be a bully, Be A Star!
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