Insight with Chris Van Vliet - Natalya Is So Underrated, Hart Family Legacy, WWE Longevity, Bret Hart, The Dungeon, Tyson Kidd

Episode Date: October 17, 2023

Natalya Neidhart (@natbynature) is a professional wrestler with WWE. She sits down with Chris Van Vliet at her home in Tampa, FL to talk about her 16-year WWE career, what keeps her hungry, her favorite matches, training in the Hart family Dungeon in Calgary, her family memory of her father Jim "The Anvil" Neidhart, learning from her Uncle Bret Hart, how she met her husband TJ Wilson (Tyson Kidd), her memories of the night of TJ's spinal cord injury in 2015, their wrestling training center in Florida also called "The Dungeon", being in the best shape of her life and much more! Join Full Time Creator for $1 at http://fulltimecreator.co Sponsors: MYBOOKIE: Get a 50% welcome bonus when you use the code CVV and sign up at http://mybookie.ag ZBIOTICS: Get 15% off with the code CVV and have a better morning after you drink at http://zbiotics.com/cvv GHOSTBED: Get 40% of your purchase with the code CVV at http://ghostbed.com/cvv MIRACLE MADE: Upgrade your sleep with Miracle Made! Go to http://TryMiracle.com/CVV and use the code CVV to claim your FREE 3 PIECE TOWEL SET and SAVE over 40% OFF BLUECHEW: Use the code CVV to get your first month of BlueChew for FREE at http://bluechew.com PLUNGE: Get $150 off your Plunge with the coupon code CVV150 at http://plunge.com BONCHARGE: Go to http://boncharge.com/CVV and use coupon code CVV to save 15% Quote I'm thinking about: "You just can't beat the person who never gives up." - Babe Ruth For more information about Chris and INSIGHT go to: https://podcast.chrisvanvliet.com If you enjoyed this episode, could I ask you to please consider leaving a short review on Apple Podcast/iTunes? It takes less than a minute and makes a huge difference in helping to spread the word about the show and also to convince some hard-to-get guests.  Follow CVV on social media:  Instagram: instagram.com/ChrisVanVliet Twitter: twitter.com/ChrisVanVliet Facebook: facebook.com/ChrisVanVliet YouTube: youtube.com/ChrisVanVliet TikTok: tiktok.com/@Chris.VanVliet Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

All systems are go. Ladies and gentlemen, Chris Van, believe. Doesn't that intro just get you hyped up every time? Welcome back to another one on Insight. I'm CVV, Chris Van Fleet. So good to have you with us. And if you haven't noticed,

we've been on a bit of a role lately. Hulk Hogan, Rick Flair, Cody Rhodes, Becky Lynch, Kurt Engel, and you know that I love sitting down with my fellow Canadians. Today we've got the boat, Natty Nightheart. on the show. And you know, this is the most in-depth Natalia's ever gotten on any interview.

And I am so super grateful for the conversation that we had here. I had the honor of sitting down with her in the beautiful house that she and her husband, T.J. Wilson, aka Tyson Kid, own in Tampa. And yes, before you ask, I did record an episode with T.J. You'll be seeing that in the next few weeks. And look, when I say their house is beautiful, I mean, it is beautiful. And if you have a second today, check out the YouTube video of this interview. We recorded this in this beautiful two-story library that they had.

It is incredible. And there's so much to get into with Natty. You think about her career has been 16 and a half years in the WWE. And she's done pretty much everything. And she's still hungry for more. And I love it. Don't forget to snap a screenshot of this episode and share it on social media. Tag us so we can share it out. She's at Nat by Nature. I'm at Chris Van Fleet. And what do you say we get into this? Please enjoy this conversation with Natalia. Well, thank you for inviting us into your beautiful home here.

Oh, you're so welcome. And I've been wanting to sit down with you for a long interview for the longest time. Glad that we're finally making this happen. I know. Where was it that we had the last interview? WrestleMania. Yeah. Yeah. That was my first time actually like getting to do something with you. Yeah.

And we've followed each other on Instagram for so long. And I'm like, I just feel like we're old friends. You know, we got so much in common with every Canadian. It feels like you're just connected in some sort of way. But it's so good to be here. Like, just thank you for letting us be here. Oh, you're so welcome. It's funny because you feel like you start to know people through social media.

Yes. You see them and you watch them and you're like, they had a baby or they've lost all this weight. look at their fitness journey or like, you know, just seeing interviews and things that you do. It's really cool. Your stuff is great. That's very kind. Your stuff is great. Thank you.

Come on. Canadians. How many cats are there in here? I have eight cats. I have eight cats. So eight cats are wandering around. One might make a cameo in here at some point? One could make a cameo.

They're very, very spoiled. They're very, very spoiled. But they're family. So they run the house. The cats, just like the other day I was looking at my couch and it has a like my couches are scratched to death and my cats just like to scratch the couches. And I said to TJ, I'm like, it's their house.

We're just living in. Like, this is, this is their house. What are we going to do about it? You have one very famous cat. Two paws. Yes. He's on Instagram. He's, he's, he's a, he's very charismatic.

That's why he has that Instagram account. Do you think you'll get more cats? I don't think so right now. We, I just feel like we lost, we lost. lost one of our kitties a little while ago, and it was really hard to lose her. And so T.J. was very like, it was his cat. So he's been taking it. He's still taking it hard. So it's really hard because as much as you love them, you're going to outlive them. Yeah.

You know, so it's just, it'll be a while before we get another one. I just feel like you guys and cats just. It's a heart family thing. My grandfather had like 25 cats at one point living at the heart house. 25. And dogs. He had a bear that was living there. Yeah. Oh, there's a whole story. Did the bear wrestle? Yes. He did. There's a whole story about the bear.

Terrible Ted. Yeah. No, there was a bear that my grandfather loved animals and there was a bear that was rescued and my grandfather was holding onto it for, it's a long story. But the bear had become very close with the kids. So Brett tells the story of this bear named Terrible Ted that lived in the dungeon. So he lived there for a while until he went to the zoo. But it's an interesting story. but, re-breath book. If you haven't already read it, there's a story about terrible Ted in that book. And my grandfather had so many animals. He had dogs. He rescued everything. He rescued people.

You know, people that were, you know, is going through hard times. Like, it would not be unusual to go to the hard house. And you see somebody that, you know, is struggling and, you know, doesn't have anywhere to live. My grandfather would let them live at the house and do work for him. And he'd help people get on their feet. And it wasn't just animals.

It was people, it was everybody. So yes, big, big happy families. I feel like you look like you're in the best shape of your life right now. Thank you. I am, actually. Yeah, you look amazing. Thank you. What's been the change? So last November, I had to have nose surgery. I had a severely deviated septum. My nose was off the joint. There's like a, you have a joint. Apparently, I didn't know about any of this until I had to get it fixed. A nose joint. So my nose was broken and it was off the joint. So I had to get my septum and my

know is fixed. And when I did that, I had to take some time off from WWE, which for me, I've been in WWE for 16 and a half uninterrupted years. So that three months that I had off, I was like, I've got this time off. I really want to get laser focused and dialed in on my diet and my fitness and my health and just being in the best, getting in the best shape of my life before I go back to work. So TJ, he does intermittent fasting. And so I started doing that. and I don't eat anything past a certain time. And then I don't start eating until later in the day the next day. So I have this like 16 hour window of not eating.

So you're 16-8, right? Yeah, 16-8. So then I do my cardio and most of my training. For the most part, I do it in the morning on an empty stomach. And then I'm able to eat after that. For me, for Natty, and everything's different for everyone. Different things work for different people, but for me it really worked. And I would go to bed a little bit hungry and I would see results.

because I wasn't eating a lot at night. And in the past, I would get done with the show, and I would be really hungry, and I would feel like, okay, I want to go to McDonald's. I would just kind of let my hair down. And there's nothing open when Raw gets out. And you just start to kind of pick around at junk and you have some pizza and you have a glass of wine.

And so when you go to sleep right after that, it's just kind of, you know, for me, it didn't work. And so I didn't realize, like, I was, for me, I'm 5 foot 5. I got up to like 172. Again, not a bad weight by any means. But I was like, whoa, I can't believe, like, that was a little high for me. So I was like, I got this time off with my nose surgery.

I want to like come back to work in the best shape of my life. And I just got really dialed in. And I love to work out. It's like a passion for me. I do Olympic training. John Cena's coach, Rob McIntyre, he runs Sina's gym that Sina has in Florida. And it's kind of like invite only. But when I started getting really serious about weightlifting and weight training,

I learned how to do all those Olympic power lifts from from Sena's coach Rob. And Rob trains John. He trains, you know, he's trained Claudio. He's trained Rusef. He's trained Wyndham. He's trained Roman, pretty much everybody in Biggie. He's trained everybody. And he taught me about, taught me a lot about weight training. So as a woman, I can't stress enough how important it is to lift weights as much as it is to do cardio, if not more important. I've seen what the catering looks like backstage. How do you stay on any sort of meal plan? I don't go into catering. I literally, like, go in there for coffee. Like there's all these great desserts in there. It's good.

I mean, it's really good. I just try to be really prepared when I go to TV. I try to like have my meals with me. A lot of us do like meal prep and and stuff like that so that we can just be really ready because like I just catering is so tempting. You walk in there. There's lasagna.

There's burgers. There's fries. And you can do that, but within moderation. Like for me, I do still enjoy the foods that I like. But I just don't, instead of having half a pizza, I'll have a piece of pizza. Yeah.

If I want fries, I'll have a handful. If I want chips, I'll have a handful. But, you know, it's just about being cognizant of that. And also, when I was first starting to lose weight, in total, I've lost a little over 25 pounds. And it wasn't like I, I mean, I didn't have a massive amount of weight to lose. You've got a lot of muscle mass? I had to pull from that. Like, I didn't want to lose muscle, but I wanted to lose that excess fat.

But I, again, didn't want to lose muscle. And I also didn't want to deprive myself. But I found that keeping a food journal really helped. So I could write down everything that I was eating because sometimes I forget. You know, you don't realize the things that you put in your mouth. So all of that helped me out so much. So thank you so much. I have one year in 25 pounds down.

Don't want to lose too much more weight, but, you know, I got to wrestle on TV in spandex. Do you feel you can move in the ring differently now? So different. It's funny because T.J. said the other day we were at the dungeon. And T.J. said, he's like, you're moving so well. You're moving so fast. And I feel so good. Like I wake up, knock on wood, wake up every single day pain free.

And I don't, as a pro wrestler that's been wrestling since I was 18 years old, which for me, like, I just love this so much that I feel like I, I've never taken a break really ever longer than three months. But to wake up from wrestling 20 years, 20 plus years, it's actually like, it's a little over 22 years and wake up pain free. It's because I am in such good shape. and being lighter has helped me move better. I feel like I'm actually like hitting my stride, which is crazy. This deep into my career for a woman, no woman ever in the history of WWE

has ever done that, has ever been there as long as I have. Even Brett, Brett was in WWE for 14 years. Yeah. So it's like, it's funny when I like think about that, I'm like, I'm just so lucky. So lucky, so blessed. And you're still going. Like, and I feel like there's no end in sight.

I just feel so good. That's the crazy thing is that, Like people always say, oh, when, what are you going to wrap it up? When is it going to be done? It's like, listen, this is Hotel California. You can check out anytime you want, but you can never leave. Once you do this, like, I'm a wrestler. I'm a wrestler, I'm a wrestler like through and through.

Like, it'll never, ever, ever, ever, ever leave me. Ever. It's a community. It's a family. It's a lifestyle. It's a way of life. And it doesn't mean that I'll be competing forever. But like, it's like, you know, when I saw, I think Ray Mysterio, I was watching

him. in a match. I was live at a show and I went into the crowd and put a hat on and watched him I was incognito and I watched Ray perform live. It was in Mexico and he was wrestling Roman Raines. And I was just like, Ray is almost

50 and he is doing the best work of his career. He's so inspiring his gear, his look, his energy, his vibe, his ability to move around to make people feel something. And granted he was in there with one of the greatest of all time, Roman, but but Ray is

one of the greatest of all time he just inspires me so much I'm like I'm you know I'm not you know close to being done when I look at like what Ray's doing I'm like Ray inspires me to want to do so much more and to also help people

you know because you look at who Ray's worked with and how much he's helped people even with Santos right now you know he's he's such that's that is who I look up to so much as Ray what he's done well and you so you come from a legacy. You're also building your own legacy. How much do you think about that? Like when, when it is all over, whatever that happens to be, do you think about like the legacy that you will

have left behind? Oh yeah. I think about it all the time. And I think especially with social media, we have these huge responsibilities to be role models. And that comes with building a legacy. But like I always try to keep it, you know, I try to take it one day at a time because I think about my family. And when my family was building a legacy, my grandfather, what he passed on to his kids, Owen, Brett, Davy, my dad, Dynamite, you know, his, though that generation of the hearts, they weren't always thinking about, it wasn't this cognitive thing, like, I'm building a legacy, I've got to do this. It was just a day to day, today, today striving for excellence. And you, and I think my grandfather was striving for excellence back in his day. And he didn't even

always realize that he was doing it. He just lived his life, like, in a way that was really admirable. Same with Brett. Same with Owen. Same with. so many people that were in my family. And for myself, I try to, every match that I have, I try to approach, how can we make this a great match? How can we get over both women? How can we make this a great story? That's my legacy. I feel like, especially having worked with over 55 different women, which is the most, more than any other girl has ever worked with. I've worked with the most different women and I've had, you know, a massive amount of matches. My legacy, I feel like when I really dig deep and think about it is just I love being able to take any

woman from any walk of life, whether they started out as a fitness model, whether they were a pro volleyball player, whether they did this on the independence like Becky Lynch or Bailey or Sasha Banks, whether they were, you know, started out with CrossFit like Bianca, whomever it is, I'm always about how can we make a match great. How can we tell a great? how can we tell a great story? How can we make the audience feel something? And then those moments add up where I start like going, oh my gosh,

I didn't even realize that when we were doing that first ever women's table match, that was a moment. That first ever women's money in the bank ladder match, that was a moment. That match with Charlotte Flair in 2014 at the very first takeover, that was a moment. The first ever women's Royal Rumble or, you know, when I lasted 56 minutes in the rumble,

that was a moment. Like there's so many, so many moments that I, at the time, didn't think were moments. But now I'm like, I'm so happy that like, I'm so happy to have had those magical moments. But it's been so much more about the women that I work with more so than about myself. I mean, you're 16 and a half years into this now. Where does this hunger come from? What are you still hungry for? I think that because, and this is going to sound crazy, but when I really think about it,

because my career wasn't picture perfect and because it didn't work out exactly how I wanted it to in my head, it has driven me so much because when I, like, back in the day, you know, even when I was first starting when I was an FCW, it's like this for everybody. I want to be a champion. I want to have this. I want to have that. I want to win the Royal Rumble. I want to, you know, I want to have all these different titles and I want to do this and I want to do that. And for me, because it didn't always work out perfect, it's left me really, really hungry. it's left me in a place in my life where I don't want to stop. I don't want to take it for granted, but I won't stop reaching for greatness because I feel like the second that you get comfortable and the second that you get complacent and the second that you stop fighting and the second that you

stop trying is when it's over. And for me, I love what I do. I love the women that I work with. I love and thrive on working with new talent. I feel like that's really one of my special niches, my specialties. I love, love, love working with new talent. Like when Charlotte Flair was first getting started, like, I remember being presented with the opportunity by Triple H to work with her. And I was like, I want to do that. That sounds like so much fun. And, you know, it's funny that match we had Charlotte and I at takeover, Triple H said, you know, because I asked him what our time limit was. I was like, how long do we have? He's like, you don't have a time limit. Just do what you want. And it was the first time, like, I think about that match, it was the first time

in my career that somebody told me I didn't have a time limit. And it was like diving in with this new talent that like I had met Charlotte backstage. And she and I had this like heart to heart together. And she, you know, since before she was Charlotte Flair, she was just Ashley. And I knew, I knew, I know what it's like to just be Natty before you become a WWE superstar. You're just like, you're nervous and you're in these big, you have these big shoes to fill like, you know, the heart family, Rick Flair, like you got these larger than life boots to fill. And she just wanted to make her family proud.

and she was dealing with the loss of her brother and she was this super athletic girl but she just needed to kind of rein it in and I was so excited about working with somebody that was new and that just needed a chance because it sparked a fire. You know what I mean?

And I think that I look and strive for that all the time, whether it's me working with Zia Lee on main event, whether it's me working with, again, Charlotte Flair, whether it's me working with, you know, a brand new girl, whether it's me, I mean, I think about my match with Alia. you know, when that was presented to me where she was going to beat me in three minutes or three seconds, I was like, what can we do to make a great story out of this so we can really help get Alia over? Because then if we get Alia over, we have another girl for our division. It's just, it's about making the division strong. You can't have a strong division with just one girl that's strong. So I always saw myself as kind of a person that helped bridge the gap with that. Are you hungry to win the championship again? Yes, of course. And I'm I'm hungry to do it all, but I'm also. grateful that I haven't had it all handed to me because there's a danger in that. And I always feel

like the ones that were deprived or like that didn't get everything. They're the ones that really like in the long run, they really succeeded. When I think about people like that, I use examples like Brett Hart, you know, like Brett was not chosen. He was not somebody that he talks about it in his book. He was not somebody that like Vince, when Vince met my dad and Brett and Davy and Dynamite and you know, Brett wasn't the, Brett may not have stood out initially to him. Brett really. earned it. Ray Mysterio is another one. Eddie Guerrero is another one. People that just had to fight and and scratch and claw and I think about Gable. I think about Gable. I think about Gunther. If you look at his body transformation, it's incredible. He was not somebody that was handed anything. He has fought

tooth and nail and scratched and clawed to get every single thing that he has. And I know that he plays this character on television. He's incredible. But like, that's why I've actually enjoyed recently their work, Gable and Gunther, because I know there's, are two people that are super passionate about the industry, but they both had to fight to get there. And like, I see a lot of myself and Gable in the sense that I'm like, I still want to like win another title. I still want to do this. I still want to prove to everybody that I can. And I feel like what's getting Gable really over with our audience is that he's such an underdog and he's so believable and he's just so relentless. And now I'm really pulling for him. Now I'm like, I want to see Gable win.

And he's so good in the ring. And he's so good. But he's also really such a nice. person. He's so nice. He's so humble and he's just such a, such a, like, he's just a really, really good human. I think people forget how good Brett Hart was. Like, I think that we, we talk about, you know, we haven't seen a Brett Heart match in whatever it is 20-ish years, right? I think people forget, and then you watch an older one, like I just interviewed Xbox. I saw that. And he talked about his match with Brad on Raw when he was one, two, three kid. And I went back and rewashed and I was like, oh my gosh, like one of the best matches on Raw. ever.

Yeah. But then you start to, you know, talk to anybody from that era. And almost everybody talks about if they got to work with Brett, that was their best match ever. And I told Brett, it's funny, I saw Brett when we were in Calgary, WWE did a show at Smackdown in Calgary. And so I usually always go, like my priorities in Calgary are always, I have to see Brett. We have to have dinner. We have to talk. We have to get together.

We have to, you know, because Brett and I are really close. And I told him that I feel like he is more celebrated now than he was when he was an active superstar. in WWE, because when you're there and you're so deep into it, it's so easy to be kind of like, you know, you have a lot of different flavors of ice cream that you can choose from. But when everybody steps back and looks at it, when all the smoke settles and dust clears, you think about Brett's influence, again, it goes back to being able to work with anyone from any walk of life and to be able to make it great. And a lot of my favorite matches of Brett's were matches that he lost. And a lot of my favorite matches of my own were not matches that I won. Actually,

hardly any of them were matches that I won. It was just about a perseverance that you feel from Brett. Like, Brett made you feel something. And whether it was working with The Undertaker, whether it was Mr. Perfect, whether it was the one, two, three kid, whether it was with Davey Boy in Wimbly Stadium, Sean Michaels. I love, like, the intensity that Brett and Sean had unbelievable chemistry together. And so I think that like when I look at their rivalry, almost 30 years later, people are still talking about it.

You know, it's because they both were so good. They were both the best. But Brett is more celebrated now than he's ever been before. And like, and I've said this before in interviews, but like somebody like Roman would say, like, Brett's like, he's so inspiring to me. Like everybody's favorite wrestler is saying that Brett's their favorite wrestler. Yeah. And I think the thing with Brett is you can watch literally any of his matches. It's not like you have to pick five and those five are great.

Right. It's Brett Hart versus anybody. Right. And it's going to be probably that person's best match. And he made my dad. So he helped my dad so much when I look at like, and Brett always says, you know, Jim helped me come out of my shell and Jim help me find my personality. And but when my dad and Brett were going into the Hall of Fame, it's, it's funny because I was very, very, very adamant. At one point it was approached, you know, it was, I was basically presented with the idea of my dad going in by himself.

and I said, you know, I want my dad to go in with, I want my dad and Brett in there together as the Heart Foundation because that was my dad's favorite time in his career. That's when he had the most fun. That's when he was the most alive. That's when he just did his best work. And Brett just looked out for him so much. And they were just so close and such a well-oiled machine.

And so as much as like, at that moment, Vince was like, we can put your dad in by himself. I was like, I want my dad and Brett together. I want them together because my dad would have wanted that. And so that was really cool to be able to do that for my dad. It was something that he really, I know he would have been so excited to be part of the Hall of Fame. Do you have a favorite Anvil match or favorite Heart Foundation match? The Canadian Stampede, the one from Calgary.

It was the very first time that my, like, the whole family was together, like, in one ring. And it was also the very last time the whole family was together in one ring. And so you could actually, if you watched that Canadian Stampede back, you could actually feel the cameras like shaking. Like you could see the lenses shaking. It's crazy to go back and watch it because the whole saddle dome, which is the arena where they were at, it was like, you know, 15,000 people just like shaking and vibrating when Brett's music hit

and the whole family came out with, you know, just the whole family was there for Owen's family and our family and Brett's kids and Davies kids. And it's just so special. So, like, it was so great to have us all there. And then at the end of the match, when the hearts won, Brett signaled for all of us to get in the ring. And it was like, again, the last time we were all together before Owen died.

And so it was just like the last time our family was really whole. And that to me is like one of my favorite, favorite, favorite moments. This episode is brought to you by full-time creator, which is my company. I know a lot of you who listen to the show are fellow podcasters or fellow YouTubers. Or maybe you dream of starting a podcast or a YouTube channel one day, but you don't know. know how to do it. That's why I started the full-time creator mastermind with my buddy Travis Chappell. You can either fumble your way through this and try to figure it out on your own, or you can learn directly from me. Someone who's been there before knows what works and more

importantly knows what doesn't work. So you don't have to waste your time on it. It's $1 to get started at full-time creator.co. Yeah, $1 to get started. If you decide that it's not for you, well then all you're out is $1. And I would hope that the content you're making is worth the investment of at least $1. So if you're a creator who wants to take things to the next level and you want to one day make this your full-time thing, or even better, if you just want to make some money from this

and you're tired of putting out content that nobody sees, it's time to start investing in yourself. So if you're serious about this, sign up and join me today. at full-time creator.co. Your dad is such a special character. If you watched her in that era, like he stands out, right? It's the goatee.

It's just the way that he worked in the ring. Obviously, so much more special to you. Do you have a favorite memory of your father? I would love it when my dad would come home after being on the road. And we wouldn't, my dad, when he was gone, Like I really stopped now as an adult and doing this, like knowing what my dad went through on the road with all the travel and the airports and hotels and rental cars and arenas and just the work that he was doing. When I was a little kid, I didn't understand it because you don't get it until you do it.

But because I do it now, like my dad would be on the road for like 28 days at a time and then he'd be home for like three days. And when we would pick my dad up at the airport when he'd be coming home from a long trip, he would like the time that he was home, he would just, even though he was exhausted, he would dedicate that. time to us. And it was his time. Now that I look at it, I'm like, it was my dad's time to come down from being on the road and just to kind of like regroup and settle. But like he would take us to Bush Gardens and we would go to 7-Eleven and he'd let us pick out anything in 7-11. And, you know, we would always stock up on candy and chips and slurpees. And my dad would just spoil us. We would miss school. We would skip school. My dad would let us skip school the next day. We would stay up till 2 in the morning swimming with my dad in the pool. And my dad had this little

puppet. It was called it was a little turtle. puppet that he got at Bush Gardens and he would tell us these little bedtime stories with this little turtle puppet and like attack us with the turtle and like he was such a good dad when he was able to be a dad to us but he was just gone so much that we in a lot of ways I felt like I was just raised by my mom but the the memories that I do have with him when we were kids like he tried his hardest to be present in a very short amount of time when you're born into that family and that legacy a lot of A lot of the boys. They're going off and they're wrestling fans and they're going to be wrestlers.

You're the first girl to do it. Right. Are they going, Natty, no, we don't want you to get into the family business or are they pushing you into it? They, my dad did not want me a part of wrestling at all. He was very, like, you know, against it because my dad at the time, there was only a few women in it. And my grandfather, Stu, didn't train any girls down in the dungeon. And so my uncles were all brought up with this as just a man's world. But when, you know, because back in the day in the 80s, there wasn't a lot of, you know, there was Wendy Richter.

There was sensational Sherry. There was just a few, you know, Miss Elizabeth. But there wasn't really a like, there wasn't a lot of women wrestling. So I wasn't overly encouraged by anybody in my family, especially the men to do it because it wasn't really seen as something for the women. And so for me, I had to break down that barrier even in my own family. Like, I want to do this. And my dad was really afraid I was going to get hurt. not just hurt physically, but like hurt emotionally because he's like, this is such a hard business.

And then when I started to succeed, I went to Japan and did my very first tour of Japan. That's where I met Becky Lynch, actually, blew out my ACL. That could have been the end of it. Yeah. And that's why my dad was like, he didn't want me doing it. But I really, once I really started to prove myself to my dad, he was like my biggest cheerleader. He, in his office, before he passed away, like his office just had like, he had pictures of us, you know, my sisters and I everywhere. And like, every wrestling thing I ever did was like on the walls, my action figures and his action figures and Brett's action figures.

And he really, like, he celebrated that so much. He became like my biggest fan. Wow. Yeah, he became my biggest, biggest, biggest fan. Do you remember your first day of training? Yes. was with T.J. Wilson, Harry Smith. I've heard of T.J. Wilson.

Yes. Yeah, T.J. was my, like, first actual coach. Um, and my uncles, Bruce and Ross, um, down in the dungeon. And, um, from the very, very first time I started training down in the dungeon, I was just, like, it was like, I was the first girl to do it down there. And it was like with a bunch of guys. And it was like, it was like, I felt such a sense, sense of accomplishment. but it was, it's hard because the dungeon, like, it's just a dirty old mat with one window, you know,

like, and they didn't change those mats since the 50s. So, but it was, trust me, it was dirty. There was a dog that my grandfather had that would always walk into the dungeon and piss on the mat. Pee on that. And, yeah, but regardless, it was so much fun. So how do you learn running the ropes, bumping in a ring?

We had a ring in our backyard. Okay, so the dungeon was for, like, holds. Yep. And then my grandfather actually built and designed his own wrestling ring, a 20 by 20 foot ring. And that was on the lawn of the heart house. Wow. And growing up, my cousins and I, we had our own wrestling promotion called the Kids Wrestling Association, the KWA. So I was a bell ringer.

I was a part of a battle royal. T.J. Every Sunday, we would set up chairs on my grandfather's lawn. And my cousin's Harry and T. Not T.J. But my cousin's Harry and Matt and Ted and one of the neighbors. kids named Andrew Percarnock, they put on these shows. And so the girls, we could sort of be a part of it. But it was, it was we put on shows. Owen would teach the boys how to do backflips in the ring.

And we would like lay out chairs and all the family would come watch and be the audience. It was like our own little wrestling promotion that we had. And we made a, um, T.J. and Ted and Harry and Matt, they made like a wrestling belt out of some styrofoam scraps from my grandfather's basement and made like their own title. And like, you know, it was like a real promotion for us as kids. So, but we had the ring in the yard. And so imagine like my grandfather's house was in this very prominent neighborhood. And so imagine being like a doctor or a lawyer. And then all of a sudden you look down and like the neighbors who have a wrestling with kids streaming and running the ropes. But that was the heart house. You know, it's, and now it's a historical site. Yeah. So people from all over

the world fly in just to drive by that house. That's so cool. Now you guys have your own wrestling ring here. So it's your own, it's your own dungeon here. We call it the dungeon because it's just basically. basically the same ideologies of the things that we were taught by my grandfather and my uncles. So this isn't a wrestling school. And I think that that's, I think people see the videos that you or TJ post. What, what is going on? What is the done? So we're not like a school. And it's funny because people always say like, you know, what's different? What's the difference between you guys and the PC? It's like, oh my gosh, the PC is an animal. The PC is like, there's nothing that could really compare to the PC as far as like they are like state of the art.

They've bought like a fitness facility and like, you know, the state of the art. technology and they've got the best coaches. I mean, Finley, Norman, Norman Smiley, Robbie Brooks. I'm just trying to go down the list of the people that I know that are like Steve Crean. They've got they've got so many incredible coaches. They've just got all the resources for a mass group of training. So we never, ever, ever could compare or be like the Performance Center. And I always say we're not really a school. We're more of a workshop for advanced people. So it's like a drop-in? It's an invite only. And I have to keep it. like that, at least for right now.

And never say never. Maybe one day, one day, T.J. and I will want to, you know, maybe open it up and make it like a school where people can, you know, sign up or, you know, pay us to train. But right now, it's like a workshop. And it's, it's invite only and I don't charge anybody to come train with us. And I, it's funny. I spent, I spent, I spent about $40,000 a year with TJ,

running the dungeon. Just keeping that where we rent the warehouse, where we put the ring in, keeping the lights on and keeping it going, keeping it clean. We spend a lot of money on it. It's like our way of giving back to the business. And it's no money is exchanged. No, like I can't take, I don't, like is I said, not at least not right now. I don't take anything from anyone to train there.

The only thing that I really require is passion. You have to have passion and it's not really, it's, it's like if you don't have passion, I just can't, if you don't love this, I just can't work with you. Because it's like once you start taking somebody's money, you have to deal with them. And that's the thing about a business is that like I always say to TJ, like I'm a little hesitant sometimes to do a school because if I sense that somebody doesn't have passion and doesn't love this, I get a little skeptical and I don't want to pour. When I train someone and like the way TJ and I train, we pour our hearts into our training. Our sessions go from anywhere from three to four hours, if not longer. There's no air conditioning and it's invite only and it's just passion driven.

And it's not really, I don't really work on a lot of like, if you've never stepped foot in a ring, it's not like I do that. We work with more a little bit more advanced. So we work with like, I mean, we've. So who's come by? So like our regulars that work with us, I can't say enough about Angelo Dawkins. He is there every single week, whether he wrestles on WrestleMania, whether he's on a pay-per-view, whether he did the live events, whether he just did NXT, whether he did media, like he's there. He drives in two hours to get there,

drives two hours to get home, and usually stays three to four hours and sweats his ass off and bumps for everyone. And he gives, like nobody, like he gives back. He's all about giving back, and I love that. And you can see it in his performances. He's grown so much. But you look at, we had, you know,

Liv Morgan was training with us. And when she's getting ready to come back to WWE, I'm anxiously awaiting to train with her again. I love working with Liv. Raquel, Shotsi, EO, Bailey. There's a couple of Japanese women that have been in stardom, Utami. There's so many, you know, Rusef, Lana. We had Claudio in, we've had Christian in.

I'll probably be leaving a lot of names out, Bray Wyatt, before he made his return back to WWE last year. He approached TJ about, approached us about training and coming to work. in the dungeon. And so we kept it all extremely private because if somebody doesn't want to be filmed or they don't want to, we don't post about it. So it can, you know, can be very private. But he was so excited to like get in the ring and like he was giving everybody promo advice. And he was in there like just, you could just feel him get excited about it. And it's funny because he said to me when he was in our, at the dungeon, he's like, Natty, I want to do something for

you guys. Like, what can I buy for you? He was so giving, you know, and he's like, I want to do something. buy something for the school. And I said, Windham, you don't have to buy anything. I was like, you can just, just you coming here and you giving advice is just everything. Because he would go around after he would be in the ring, he'd go around every single person that was there. And again, it's usually, you know, between 10 and 15 people. And he embodied what TJ and I want our dungeon to be is just where you give back. It's just all about giving back. It's about helping people. It's about helping people from every walk of life and Wyndham was giving everybody advice

and saying, you know, what if you said it like this? Or what if you did that like this? Or what if you did? He was like so, he was just so giving. That's what the dungeon is. The dungeon is about us giving back. And so T.J. and I take a lot of pride in not accepting money, but more so. And again, it's, if you're a school, like flatbacks,

I know Seth has a, you know, Seth has a school. It's not against anybody that takes money. But for T.J. and I, it's our gift back to pro wrestling. And so like just the amount of people that come in and work with us. And I want to be able to have more people come in. But if I have a group that's too big, not everybody can get in the ring. But we've had so many people, so many great people come in and work on stuff and just contribute and give back. And it's like a workshop, a wrestling ideology, a place where we can pick apart ideas and work on things and get inspired.

And I love like how excited somebody like Dawkins who's, you know, Dawkins is. And I keep bringing him up, but like he's done a lot in WWE, especially recently. But he's, he just gets so excited about the industry and it just makes me excited. You know, and I, and so I say, I always say that energy breeds even more energy. Like that excitement gets me excited. I've been wrestling for over 20 years. And when I get and go into our ring at the warehouse and I start working with, when I'm at the dungeon and I start working with somebody like Raquel or EO,

I got in there and locked up with EO. and EO and I started wrestling around and it was just magic. It's like the magic that made me love this. Like I think about like, man, I've got the experience of a veteran, but I've got the ambition of a beginner. And I never, ever, ever want to lose that.

And that's what I fell with EO. I love that. Yeah. When fans see videos of T.J. in there, I mean, he can still go. It certainly seems like he can still go. Yeah, he can't do anything that would require him to take a bump.

So he can show little techniques. And T.J. is like a rest of, Savant, I think in the same way that like Daniel Bryan is. He, like, he sees the industry and wrestling and everything. Like he, you could ask him about a finish from a Brett Hart match that's very obscure. He would be able to tell you. He could tell you any single girl's moveset. He could, he could, if you, if you said, T.J., when did I have that match?

Who was it against? What arena? What town? He's like that with moves, too. He just knows how to dissect it, pick it apart. he was working with Naya Jax on something and he was just helping her figure out exactly how to do it so that it was just perfect technique.

And I was like, I didn't even know T.J. ever knew about that move. And he's just so gifted and he's so good, but he just can't bump. And that's the thing when you have an injury like what TJ had, where it's a C1 injury. And not everybody's familiar with what a C1 injury is, but it is where T.J. broke his neck was at the base of his brain. So it's where like the brain and the spinal cord meet. So it's a very, it's a very vulnerable area. And the actual medical term for that injury is called a hangman fracture. So when people say, oh, T.J, you know, we want to see you get back in the ring and they see that he is very healthy and he is in very great shape. Because he had a C1 injury with a C1 C2 fusion, he just can't take a bump. And he has to be. very careful. So he can't ever come back to wrestling.

He can't ever get... I mean, he can do stuff, you know? He can do stuff, but he can't take a bump. It would be really dangerous. What do you remember from that day when he got injured? I just... From the day when he got injured, I just...

When we found out from the doctors that T.J.'s career would be over. It was like... I just felt like there was a, it was just, it was, there was a lot of grieving because it was such a hard thing to deal with. Knowing, knowing T.J. since I was young, we, I met T.J. when I was 10 years old. T.J. was 12. And I knew that the only thing that he ever loved was this. And he dedicated and poured his heart and soul into this for over half of his life. And, um, when that happened, it was just like, we had to come to.

to grips with like that door was closed because I, you know, I, we just had to come to grips with it. But the good news is, is that I tell TJ this all the time, with that door being closed of him being a performer, what was wonderful is that it opened up the door for him to help others in a way that he could never have helped them in the ring. So what he does as a producer is he helps make other people's dreams come true. And for him, he said that's actually more gratifying than being in the ring. Wow. Like when he produced Sasha and Bianca at WrestleMania,

he said it was just like this magical moment that even a match had never given him a feeling like that. So with that one door closing with his injury, causing his career to end, this whole other world opened up with him being able to influence the next generation of people in the industry. And, I mean, I struggle to get TJ as my producer because everybody likes to have his health,

especially the girls, because he's very, he, I think his style as a wrestler was he was kind of like a girl when he, like he had a very, he was smaller. How do I say, how do I rephrase this? Sorry, TJ. He, he, he was a smaller guy. He was like 175, 180 pounds.

So for him in a world of men that were big, you know, like Ron Stroman and Big Joe and all these big hulking guys, TJ was smaller. So he kind of understands the girls in the sense that he was smaller and he had to be good in order to get noticed. So he's very, the girls are very, um, attention. The girls are, sorry, the girls are very detail oriented. And so because TJ is so detailed focused, he helps us so much. And like I said earlier, I struggled to get TJ to even be my producer because everybody's like, I want TJ, I want TJ. I'm like, TJ, help me. But we have so many great producers that we work with. We're very lucky. But I always try to take a negative and make

it into a positive. So nobody ever wants to have an injury like what TJ had. And sometimes stuff happens. But the great news is that TJ was able to take that dark time, which I think for me and TJ, that was probably the darkest time in our life. I mean, besides losing a family member, that was probably one of the hardest things we've ever gone through. And then we were able to turn it into a really positive thing. What's it like working with TJ as a producer? Because like, you know, he works with all of your colleagues and your friends and working a lot on the women's matches. Yeah. But it's probably different getting direction from your husband within. the four walls of this house

and then getting direction from your husband at work, you know? Oh my God, it's like, Rhonda Rousey said to me, she's like, Natty, I get what you're going through because my mom was my coach. And she's like, it's hard because she said her mom was like, you know, her mom was an incredible, incredible coach

that basically helped her become who she is. But it's still her mom. So she's like, so when we'd have these intense sessions where my mom literally drove me to be a champion. She was, you know, but she's like, then we'd have to go home together. So, and it's hard because that's the thing with TJ is that he wants me to be the best.

And sometimes, like, if I make a mistake, I feel like, it's like I feel like I let him down and I have to go home with him. And so it's like, the girls, at least in my experience, we all like to analyze what we did and nitpick it and talk about it. And, you know, it's funny because I think Becky's like that too. Like, she's a perfectionist. And I love that about her. Like the other day, something happened. We were on a live event. And she was beating herself up over not being perfect.

And I was like, Becky, nobody even noticed it. And she's like, no, but I could have been better. And I could have done it. And like, that's us girls. So I'll come home and I'll be like, I should have done this. And I should have done this. And I should have done all of that. But you didn't. But let's not talk about it anymore.

I'm like, but I want to talk about it. But he's so good because like he really, I think wrestling is our love language. And I know I drive TJ crazy a lot. But wrestling is what brought us together. Some of the greatest moments in my career have been because, TJ help me. He's always got my back. Even if he's got so much on his plate,

I can turn to him. And if I'm on dire straits, he has my back. And nobody, like, just nobody has that kind of mind like he does. And I'm always going to be his biggest cheerleader, but there is a lineup to get him to be your producer.

So I better damn well be at the front of that lineup. I had Summer Ray on the show not long ago. And she said there'll be people that haven't even watched wrestling before. And they will come up to her and talk to her. about the slap on total divas. Summer is so funny. She and I have like a very, very crazy little history with each other. That slap, I've never been slapped harder in my life by anyone, first of all.

But Summer, what I loved about her was that she was okay to be a little crazy. When we did that show, there was a lot of heightened emotions. Everybody was just like, we were all trying to be the best. And we were just getting total divas off the ground. And so it would start out, everybody would start out really nice. And all of a sudden, storylines and things would get really real. So things that were happening on TV, like we were filming Raw and SmackDown, then once we would keep filming, it's like, hey, that was a storyline in the ring.

All of a sudden it goes offstage and we've had a margarita. And next thing you know, I'm getting slapped by Summer, who slapped me extremely hard. But it's funny, Summer has been down to the dungeon too. and she dove right into our practice and hung with everybody in a way that I was like, you haven't wrestled in like years. How are you doing this? She's so good.

She's stubborn more than anything. But I also think that like she's done a really good job of reinventing herself past wrestling. So I love her. Do you find that there's people that don't watch wrestling but are huge total divas fans? I feel like the two would go hand in hand. But it also seems like there's people

they just watched Total Divas and that's their show. I think that's what was great about Total Divas was that it was, it was like if you didn't ever watch WWE and you watched Bravo or you watched that, you know, you watched E or you watched those shows that, you know, the Real Housewives, it opened you up to watching, like if you were, if you never watched WWE but you watch E

and you watch the Kardashians, then all of a sudden you're watching Total Divas and you're like, what is this thing that they're doing? They're all, they're all lady, you know, they're all, I say lady wrestlers, They're all competing in WWE, and they're all doing what the Rock does and John Cena and, you know, Steve Austin. Like, I want to check it out. I cannot tell you how many times moms would come up to me and go, I never watched wrestling before, but because you girls on Total Divas, I brought all my kids to a Monday Night Raw. And then all of a sudden, these women that never watched wrestling were hooked.

Wow. Maxine Dupree is another one. Wow. That said, it's funny, when I first met her, she's like, I was the biggest total divas fan. And, you know, I loved, I loved Total Divers. divas and I loved watching the show and because of of of of, Maxine said because of the Bella twins, I wanted to,

I wanted to be a female superstar in WWE because of total divas, because of the Bella's, because of you. Like it was, I'm not sure because of me because I don't know if Maxine was inspired by me. I think she was inspired by the Bellas, but she's so sweet and like she loved that show. So it,

it's definitely helped us kind of cross over areas that wouldn't normally be just WWE. And I think that's important because. one thing that we did that was great on Total Divas is we told stories. So, and I think that's what really connects the audience. When you look at WWE and you watch our product, what connects the audience to the matches? What are, when you think about some of your most favorite matches, even for me when I think I'm, I know I'm a superstar in WWE, but I'm also a huge fan.

I'm a fan of like the product. And I think about the most compelling stuff that I've seen this year and it's all storyline driven. Story, stories, stories, stories, stories. What is the story? And I think about Sammy Zane and the blood. line and Roman Reigns and I was there in Montreal. I was sitting next to Becky and T.J. We were watching Sammy versus Roman in Montreal. It was like the screaming, crazy, ravenous,

amazing crowd. And I was like biting my nails to the point where I was like, I didn't even have any nails on. I was like on the edge of my seat. I'm like, Natty, you're, you're in this. You know what, I mean, I thought I kind of knew what was going to happen, but I didn't. Like, I was watching it like, oh my God, I'm so scared for Sammy. And like, his wife was there. and I was like getting emotional because of his wife in the front row. And Roman was playing this, you know, Roman reminds me of like a Disney villain. He's like really like he's, he's just like he's got these facials that it's like he's like

Mustafa or so like like it's you get hooked in, but it's it's not so much about the moves as much as it is about the stories. It's all the stories that reel you win. So that's the thing I learned from Total Divas is it's a lot about the stories. That's what you remember and think about like. the most iconic matches like Davy and Brett Wembley Stadium

Owen and Owen and Brett WrestleMania 10 you think about the stories Brett and Sean we think about Survivor series the stories the stories are what you what make you remember yeah I think the biggest thing in your career is you've just

been in this workhorse and like you can put Natty in the ring with anybody at any part of the card and you're going to make that other person look great I love that I love that. I love that. I love making somebody feel good about themselves even more than I like making myself feel good. And that might actually be, might have actually hindered me from doing more in my career. But I love when a girl comes back from a match and she just feels good about herself. I had a match. I requested to work with Nikki Cross on main event in Quebec. I wasn't, I wasn't working on Raw that night. And I said to one of the writers, I said, can I can I do main event? And he's like, yeah, of course you could do main event.

I said, can I work with Nikki? I said, I would love to do a match with Nikki. And I would love it if you get a little time. And I said, I love Nikki. And I feel like she hasn't had a chance in a while. And I would love to like, I would just love to like have some fun, make some magic here in Quebec City. We had such a fun match. And Nikki came back.

And it was for main event. And like, to me, I never like, I never like look at doing like things just because it's not raw, just because it's not SmackDown. I'm not like, oh, I have to be on main event. I was like, I want to. wrestle. I want to compete in front of this amazing Canadian crowd. And Nikki did such a good job and she felt so good about herself. And she like almost like had tears in her eyes. And she's like, I just like, she didn't say I haven't felt this good in a long time, but her face told me that she

hadn't felt that good about herself. Like she hadn't felt that happy in so long because she got to be in the ring doing what she loved. And that's all that all of us girls want to do, whether it's myself, whether it's Nikki Cross, whether it's Teagan Knox, Zaya, you know, whether it's Sasha Banks or Naomi or, you know, I know we call her Trinity now, but all the girls that I worked with and built my career with Becky Lynch and Bailey and all these girls that are just phenomenal. Tamina, all we want to do is make magic with each other. And so that is what inspires me. That's what moves me. That is what drives me. And it, yes, I am a workhorse. I. I know I don't need the reps because I have a world record for the most matches of any woman in WWE history.

But I love what I do. And more than just winning championships, like, I always think, like, what can I do to help the next generation grow? What can I do to help, you know, what can I do to help Maxine? What can I do to give back to the women at NXT? And, you know, I've had a chance actually recently to train with Lyra. She had been coming to the dungeon for a little bit and training with me. And it was like, I just get so inspired. That's what inspires me.

It's not the wins. It's not the losses. It's not even the championships, although I would love to have all of it. It's just seeing women from every sort of state of the industry, whether they're veterans, whether they're champions, whether they're struggling, whether they're succeeding, whether they're brand new, whether they're on the cusp of greatness or, you know, not sure if they're going to make it. I want to see them all challenged and inspired and thriving, because that's when I thrive. How many world records is it? Six.

Do they have to just keep update? Because they're all like most matches, most PLEs. Do they update it every time you have a match? It's funny because I didn't even know I had a Guinness World Record until one day I was tagged in something with Randy Orton. And it was like the most, I think it was like the most, I can't remember whether it was the most wins or the most pay-per-views or something. And I sent Randy a taxi like, oh, Randy, did you know that we have a Guinness World Record?

And then Ray Mysterio got one too for the most Smackdown matches. I said, Ray, we both have the most smackdown matches. And then all of a sudden, I just kept getting them. And I was like, damn, I'll take it. There's one that there's one that they're looking into because somebody on Twitter, a fan on Twitter pointed out to me that I have the most submission wins of any man or woman in WWE history. Seven world records now.

Yeah. And I was like, I have more wins than Brent Hart. Well, submissions, because T.J. pointed out the wrestling savant that T.J. is, he's like, Brett didn't always win with a sharpshooter. He's like, you've won a lot of matches. with a sharpshooter, but Brett, Brett won a lot of his matches with roll-ups and quick pins and things. So I was like, damn it,

I'll take it. Another world record, I'll take it. But it's fun. I mean, like, I, you know,

it's at the end of the day, like, it's cool. What my world records are really for is just having worked a lot. I worked a lot. I haven't really had a break in almost 17 years. You also haven't been injured. I haven't been injured.

I had a nose injury. You should knock on wood again. Who broke your nose, by the way? Shana Beasler. I was a bitch, but, I'll keep that, bleep that out.

I had an ankle injury. I had an ankle injury where I had surgery and I was out for three weeks. I was out for three, I had surgery and I was out for three weeks. And T.J. goes, Natty, you just had surgery three weeks ago. And I was like, Dr. Andrew's clinic says that I'm like ready to go. I want to get back in the ring. So I took three weeks off after having surgery at an ankle injury. But I've had in January, I'll have been signed by WWE for almost 17 years.

And I've had three months off in 17 years. So when it is all over, when you do finally decide to hang them up, you're going to get inducted in the hall of fame. Have you thought about who you want to induct you? A couple people. But it's funny because I never see myself, like, I never look at myself and go, oh, you're a Hall of Famer. I always just try to be like. Well, everybody else looks at you and goes. I never, I try to, I really, I really try not to look at myself like that.

I feel just like, I'll just take one hour at a time. Because I think Hall of Fame or I think like Red Heart or Sean Michaels or Steve Boston, I think like, you know, but Beth Phoenix. But one day, one day if I ever get into the Hall of Fame, I think I know he's really shy as far as like tooting his horn or my horn. But I would kind of like to have T.J. induct me. Wow. Because there's nobody that's been on this journey with me longer than him. And it's funny, it makes me even emotional talking about it because like, from, I met TJ when I was 10, I couldn't stand him until I was about 15.

He started training me how to wrestle when I was 18. I fell in love with him when I was 19 because I realized, oh my God, this guy's an amazing wrestler. When I wrestle him, like magic happens. And so wrestling has really brought us so close together in every single aspect of my WWE journey, he's been there with me. And through everything, through the good, the bad,

and everything in between, like, I think as much as it would be cool to have Brett Hart induct me, or Billy Corgan actually has said that he wanted to induct me. Wow. He's a really good friend of mine, and he's actually somebody that helped me a lot in my career. There are some runners up. Beth Phoenix, Brett Hart, Billy Corgan, but I think, I think at this... Pretty great list. Yes.

I really think, you know what would be really cool, though, to have induct me is Stephanie McMahon. She'd be on that list. I don't want to put Steph number four on that list because it'll be like, it'll be Brad, it'll be Billy, it'll be Beth, it'll be Stephanie. But I was thinking about Stephanie the other day and I was thinking she's a woman that I want to like be like. I always want to aspire to be like her because she, every single conversation I've ever had with Stephanie, including when she came to my dad's funeral, she talks to you like you're the only person in the room. And she makes you feel so good about yourself.

and she will ask you things about your life and like remember conversations that she had with you from six months ago like how is that going for you? Wow. Or like I think about like always remembering like people really like that to me like especially with knowing how much she has going on in her life and she's got kids. You know, when she was working in WWE,

she was such a busy woman. She always made me feel so, so good about myself. And I'm like, I want to always aspire to be like that. So yeah, that's my little Stephanie compliment because I do miss her and I love her. The United States Soccer Federation present the U.S. Soccer Podcast. My name is David Goss,

and I'm joined by my co-host, Megan Clemenberg. And now we're giving people an inside look at the World Cup. Time's ticking. I think you can feel the intensity. All the guys are wanting to really take their claimant, and they want to be on that World Cup roster. There's no doubt about it. Hosting the World Cup on the home soil comes with its pressures,

but we're just really excited just as the people are. The U.S. Soccer Podcast. Presented by Hencoe, follow and listen on your favorite platform. Keeping it with the McMahon family, you've worked with Vince for so long. Is there a certain lesson that you've learned from Vince McMahon that you take with you in your life? I've learned so much from that family, whether it's Stephanie, whether it's Vince, whether it's Triple H. Like, it's funny, they've all taught me different things. I worked most with Vince because when I was brought up onto the main roster in 2008,

all the way up until last year, I had worked with him. And the one thing about Vince is that every time I, Vince taught me to fight. So when I had an idea, I would go to Vince and say, I'm passionate about this. I really want to do this. I believe in this. I went to him about the Heart Dynasty. I went to him in Nashville. I'll never forget it. It was in Nashville at the Bridgestone Arena. I knocked on his door. I got all my courage up and I had this idea for us to do the Heart Dynasty. And Vince had a few reasons as to why he always would challenge me to think about it.

Where is it going? What are we doing? What's the big finish? What's the big picture? But he taught me how to fight and fight for that idea. And so some of the greatest things that ever happened in my career I had to fight for. And I would go to Vince. He wouldn't always like the idea, but I would fight for them.

And if I believed in it and I felt it in my heart, he would give it a chance. And so when people come to me and they fight for something or they really want to do something in a match or they really believe in it, I think about giving them a chance because Vince gave me chances. And like it's just been, Vince, he's just, yeah, he's taught me how to fight for things.

Everything that I've gotten I was never really supposed to get. I was never supposed to have a lot of the matches that were like career changing, career-defining matches. I wasn't supposed to have them. A lot of the moments that I've had in my, career I wasn't supposed to have. I don't even know if I really was supposed to have the job in WWE. I fought. I was rejected for five years. And that's why when I tell people with every door that closes and doors that are slammed in your face, take every no and turn it into a yes because I

wasn't supposed to have this. Somebody like Brett Hart wasn't supposed to have this. Somebody like Ray Mysterio was told no, no, no, no, no. And for me, like it's so important for people that are the ones that are deprived and denied and have struggled. They're often the ones. They're often the ones that do the best work, whether it's Sean Michaels. You hear these stories from Drew McIntyre is another one where it's like he got there and then he was let go and it's like you got to keep fighting and you got to keep trying and you got to prove everyone wrong. And that's that might that may be the greatest lesson I've learned from Vince is proving everyone wrong and fighting for fighting for your dreams and fighting for what you believe in.

What's your favorite moment, your favorite WWE moment that you've had? My favorite WWE moment that I've had I think it's it would I mean there's two really I think about Charlotte Flair

and NXT takeover when Triple H gave me that chance I was another like he saw me as someone that could help the next generation and I took it as a huge huge honor because he left that in my hands

and Triple H said I'm letting you create I just need you to like help make this magical and help show the world that this girl can be great. And I took such great pride and responsibility in him trusting me

with that, but also being able to show that not only is Ashley Flair or Charlotte Flair, not only is she amazing and she's the future, but I'm also great. And I think about like, he also, Triple H in that moment

gave me a chance to shine. He gave me he gave me that chance. And it's funny because every year on the anniversary of that match, I'll like either if I see him at TV or I'll send him a text and say, hey, this is the anniversary of that match. And thank you so much for letting me like have that match. And it wasn't a,

it was in front of 200 people. And I lost. But it was my WrestleMania moment. It was my moment that was more important to me than a stadium full of people. It was my moment to give to somebody that not everybody, nobody believed in her at that moment. So, and then, and then working with Lacey.

in Saudi Arabia. I asked to be a part of that too. And that was something that I went to Vince McMahon and I said, if women are allowed to wrestle in Saudi Arabia, I want to be the first woman to wrestle in Saudi Arabia. I want to do that. I want to break down that. I want to open up a door that's never been open for women before and I want to be a part of it. And Vince gave me that chance. So, and to be there with Lacey and to see how excited she was after the match, she called her daughter up and she was in tears. And she's like, I'm doing this for you. And just to see how she was so excited for her little daughter to see her making history for women. It wasn't about a wrestling match.

It was about something that transcended past a wrestling match, past a headlock or a drop kick or a storyline. It was giving women around the world hope. So those two moments were like my favorites. It's hard to pick just two moments from a career like yours. Especially when you've had like 2,000 matches. Right. And counting. As we wind this down as a fellow Canadian,

that also lives in the U.S. now. What's the biggest thing you miss about Canada? And you can say Tim Hortons, that's okay. I'd say my family. Listen, Tim Hortons is the frontrunner. I mean, family's the obvious. Tim Hortons, I love. I love, love, love Tim Hortons.

I love ketchup chips. I love the Canadian chocolate. I love my smarties. I love my crunchy. I love my Mr. Big. I do love those Canadian things. But my family, like I am so close to my family. family and like my uncle's Bruce and Ross, they help me so much in my career. Brett and I are

really close. I can text and talk to Brett, call him up. When I, when we're, when I'm in Calgary when I see him, we, we just, we just connect. We just connect so well. He just gets it. He's like a dad to me. You know, he's, he's, especially after my, my dad passed away, Brett's just somebody that I, like, you know, we don't always have to agree or see eye to eye. And my, sometimes I have different, you know, philosophies than he does, but he gets it. He's there for me and he, he's just, he's really great. And we have some, there's a lot of stuff when I'm, you know, when I look into the future of the things that I want to do past this, there's so much that I want to do and that I will need Brett's help with because he has a key that could unlock some of the history of the industry. I love, love, love the history,

the history of, when I look back like with my grandfather, with my grandfather had main event at a match with Gorgeous George in 1959. Wow. My grandmother, you know, she helped, you know, she gave gorgeous George his ring music pomp in circumstance, which, you know, ended up becoming Randy Savage's music. Brett has, like, so much, like, he has a memory that's incredible. He can help unlock these things. Like, there's so many things I want to do to, like, celebrate the heart family,

so many projects that I want to do, not just writing a book, but, like, I really want to showcase my family in such a massive way. And Brett, I think, you know, we've like. some stuff that we're working on together. Okay. But he's he's a person that can unlock that door and really, really help with that. But I will always, always, always be a part of the industry because I love it. But there are like, I do have, I do have dreams and those dreams evolve every, every day. Whether they're fitness dreams, whether they're helping people break into the industry, whether they're documenting the history of our family. There's just so much more

I want to do. I love being an ambassador for this. And you're such a great ambassador for it. The question I end every conversation with, and by the way, this is so great. It was so good to be able to spend some time with you. It's so nice to be able to talk to you and just feel like we're just chatting. That's exactly what we're doing. We're just holding great microphones here. Gratitude's such a big part of my life.

And I end every conversation asking about gratitude because I wake up every day. I say out loud three things I'm grateful for. I do it before I go to bed. What are three things you're grateful for as we sit here? I am so great. I love that, that you're grateful for, that gratitude is important to you because I think that I meet so many people that have gotten, you know, gotten a lot. And it's so disappointing when they can't, like, see the great things that are right in front of them.

And I always think, like, don't forget when you had nothing, how much you wanted this. Don't forget when you were living, you know, I was living at the heart house for a while when my dad had lost his job and we were, like, struggling, we didn't have any money. And we were borrowing my grandfather's car to get to school. And it was just, like, so hard. And I thought, like, back then I was like, I just can't wait to, like, one day have, like, my own money and my own dreams, my own, like. And then I come home and it's like, I love that I can take care of my family. You know, something that, like, before my dad passed away, I was able to help buy my parents a home.

And that was, like, this dream of mine that I wanted to do for them. So the last year of my dad's life, he just lived, you know, he lived comfortably. And I don't, if I didn't have this career in WWE, I might not be able to do that for them. So having security, having an amazing family, and having my health. I wake up every day, 22 years into the industry of wrestling full time and I feel so good. I love that I love that at my brain and my body feel great. And I take immaculate care of myself, but like sometimes that doesn't always matter. So having security and having my family and having my health is everything to me.

Those are the things that I'm grateful for, more so than any world record or any title or, because at the end of the day, you know, I was at Bray's service and nobody was talking about Bra's championships that he won. I mean, yes, we know that he, that was a cool thing for him to do, but you, when I was at Bray's service, it was like, it just was such a wake up call in so many ways to be like, what is real are that hundreds and hundreds of people have traveled from all over the world to celebrate. to celebrate Wyndham, to celebrate Wyndham's life, and to celebrate what a special person he was. There was his artwork. There was his family. You know, there was everything that mattered to him. His kids, his mom, his sister, his brother, Jojo.

Just like, that was what, that, to me in that moment, I was like, Wyndham had really had it all. You know, he really had everything. He was so, so lucky to have all those things, and he was so grateful for it. Like, I never saw it. wind him not be grateful for his family. Like that was what was real to Wyndham.

Even when he, even when we spent time with him, you know, when he was getting back into, coming back to WWE, he was talking about his kids. He was talking about his life. He was talking about his family, his dad. Like it was just, that to me was just a reminder of like, again, gratitude and things like, remember like the little things because the little things are the biggest things. Yeah. I love that.

And he's gone way too soon. Unbelievable. It's just still honestly so hard to wrap your head around. it. So, so hard to wrap your head around. I mean, just a turn 36. It's just, it's gonna, it's an it's an immeasurable loss that like, it's hard to even process it, you know? It's gonna take a long time for everybody to really wrap their heads around. Yeah. Around losing Wyndham. I have thoroughly enjoyed this conversation. Me too. This is great. So good. So good. I feel like this is part one of, I don't even know, an endless amount of interviews that we'll do, but Natty. This is great. Thank you.

Thank you so much, and I can't wait to see. All these things you're talking about here, I feel like we're going to be seeing them in months, years from now, and I can't wait to see that. Thank you so much. No, it's always nice to be able to share the things that matter to me, especially like the women in our division, whether they're here, whether they're not here anymore with us,

and they've moved on to do other things past WWE, the girls. Like, that you allowing me to share those things means like everything to me. I appreciate you. Thank you, Chris. Isn't she just the sweetest? That was such a great conversation. I love how open she was about everything. There's so many things there that she's never talked about ever before in her entire career.

And I'm just super grateful that she felt comfortable enough to share it with us. And again, to invite us into her home to shoot this interview with her and with T.J. Wilson. So keep an eye out for that one soon. Share this interview with someone who you know. would love this. Share it with a fellow Natty fan. And snap a screenshot, share it on social media, let us know you're listening, and tag us. Natty is so active on Twitter and the Instagrams. So I'm guessing if you tag her in this, you might get a retweet or you might get a story share from her. So do it up. She's at Nat by nature. I'm at Chris Van Fleet. And how about this quote from Babe Ruth?

You can't beat the person who never gives up. I love it. Be great, be grateful. We will see you on the next one for some more insight. The Hammer Alley podcast, an 80s flashback mockumentary. Back in the 80s, there were a thousand bands trying to make it in the world of rock, but there was one band that had it all. Hammer Alley.

Whatever happened to Hammer Alley? How did they go from top of the rock? I'm looking for a music video. You're a band from 1987. Hammer Alley. Ever heard of them? To Rock Bottom. Dude, I was born in 1987.

I can't believe he's doing this. Hammer Alley. Follow and listen on your favorite platform.