Insight with Chris Van Vliet - Natalya Is The BOAT! Her WWE Legacy, Canadian Mount Rushmore, Bret Hart vs. Owen Hart

Episode Date: April 11, 2023

Natalya Neidhart (@natbynature) is a professional wrestler who has been signed to WWE since 2007. She chats with Chris Van Vliet at WrestleMania 39 in Los Angeles about her record-breaking 13th WrestleMania appearance, her favorite WrestleMania moments, what makes her the BOAT (Best Of All Time), her thoughts on Owen Hart's WWE career, who is on her Canadian Mount Rushmore of wrestler and more! For more information about Chris and INSIGHT go to: https://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 going. Ladies and gentlemen, Chris Van Blin. It is so nice to see you here, my friends. Welcome back to another audio adventure on Insight. I'm CVV, Chris Van Fleet, and thank you for making Insight, one of the top sports podcasts in the world over the last week. Apple has their top 200 list, and it's a compilation of all the podcasts from ESPN, Fox Sports,

all of Conrad shows, Barstool, you name it. And this morning, we were at number 169 on that list. So just a huge thank you for all of your support on the show,

on the YouTube channels, all of it, as we approach 500 episodes of Insight Man. So whether you've been with us for just a few weeks or a few months, or whether you've been with us

for all of them, all the way back to 2019, on the podcast at least, 2011 on the YouTube channel. Just I appreciate your support. And remember how on the last episode I said we did 14 interviews during WrestleMania weekend?

Well, this is one of them. It was such a pleasure to catch up with a fellow Canadian, so good to talk to Natalia, and, man, she is the boat. That's why I titled this episode, that she is the best of all time, and she talks a little bit about it

during this interview, but man, what an incredible career. She has had. If you enjoy this, please take a screenshot, share it, tag us so we can share it out as well. Natalia is really good at this, by the way. So I'm thinking if you make a screenshot and you tag her pretty good chance that she will comment on this or reshare it or like it or something. So tag her. She's at Nat by nature. I'm at Chris Van Fleet and here we go. It's me and the boat, Natalia on Insight. We're finally making this happen. Can we get a shot of these boots? Look at these. Wow.

Unbelievable. I brought seven pairs of shoes and I always go back to the same outfit. Do you have like an entire suitcase just full of the shoes? I came with multiple suitcases. The thing is I always tell like my husband this. I need options. I need options. I know I always just wear the same outfit, but I want to have like 18 outfits to look at.

I want like seven pairs of shoes. I need a whole bunch of different like workout things. My bag was filled with the brim. I started shoving things in TJ's suitcase. He's like, I don't need this. What is the Sequin bra? Like, it's something I might be wearing. What if TSA goes through this?

He has a seat pack light? He packs, he has an Uso shirt that he wears, a Ray Mysterio and Brett Hart Rootsafite sweatshirt that he wears, and then the rest is all my stuff shoved in his bag. Man. How many Rustlemanias have you been to? So this is actually a world record. This is, I have a new world record.

I have the most matches of any woman in WrestleMania history. This is my 13th appearance and my 11th match. Unbelievable. And it's something, you know, honestly, Chris, I never take it for granted. Because my dad was a part of the second WrestleMania with Brett and with Andre the Giant. They were in that battle royal. And my dad, up until his last, you know, year on this earth, he was talking about that match, that moment, that it was WrestleMania, that it was special, that it meant something to him.

And I always just feel like it's so important. I know that it's a crazy, crazy time in the world and everything's so fast-paced. We're scrolling through social media and we're turning on the news and we're racing to get to, you know, from one place to the next. But I never take it for granted how hard it was to get here, how hard it is to stay here, how hard it is to have competed, you know, across so many different, like, generations of these, you know, I went through the divas era. I went through the women's evolution. We're here right now. And like, and you're still here. And I don't take it for granted.

And to be a part of this WrestleMania in particular, it's the biggest WrestleMania in WWE history. It's the highest grossing gate. Every year we smash records. We're about to smash a new record with this one. And to be a part of it and to be doing what I love, my 16th year in WWE is just a massive honor. What do you attribute your longevity to?

To be perfectly honest, I take care of myself like it's a religion. Like, and it's so crazy to say that. but like I think it's important for people to know. When you look at Tom Brady, for example, I don't watch football, or I try to, but I don't understand it. Tom Brady, it's not a secret. Tom Brady, LeBron James, these are guys that they take care of themselves. They're on a table several times a week.

I'm on a table four times a week. I work with an active release therapist. I work with an adrenal specialist. I work with a massage therapist. I work with a professional stretcher who stretches people in the NFL. I am religious about my vitamins. I'm religious about my diet, my workouts. I take it very seriously because not everybody should do this.

And there's only a handful of men and women in the world that can do this at this level. And for me to have had thousands of matches in WWE, thousands of bumps and bruises and broken bones and broken ligaments, you can't stay doing this unless you take care of yourself. So my health is key. And also staying safe. Staying safe in the ring. Like I take a lot of pride in, like, safety with each other.

You know, having fun, taking risks. But above all else, we got to protect each other. Yeah. Look, it's always great talking to a fellow Canadian. Yeah. What part of Canada are you? I'm from Toronto. Okay, so Calgary, Toronto. Yeah.

My sister lives in Calgary. Yeah. She lives in Erdry. Oh, my, that's like an hour from where I, like, the heart house. Amazing. Wow. Sending love to Erdry. This is always such a difficult one.

But give me your Mount Rushmore of Canadian wrestlers? First and foremost, Brett Hart. Brett is, to this day, he inspires the new generation to inspire, you know, your favorites, that Brett was their favorite. And it's funny hearing Roman Rain say it was, you know, because Roman grew up in a, you know, a dynasty of wrestlers as well, with the Samoan dynasty. And I've heard so many times Roman say it was Brett Hart that made me want to do this. And so I think, you think Brett Hart, I would say, Dew Hart, because my grandfather was amateur wrestling champion of Canada. God, this is going to get really good.

Is everyone going to be named Hart? Red Hart, Sue Hart, Owen Hart, and if I was to pick one more on that Mount Rushmore, I'm not going to be arrogant because I'm humble Natty. Humble Natty, I won't put myself in that list, even though I am the best of all time. I will throw in Edge. Very nice to take it outside the family. One-time champion in WWE. His longevity, he's in his late 40s.

He looks phenomenal. He makes you forget about his age because age really is, age is just the number. But, like, I think Edge is every time he performs, you always go, wow, he still got it. Yeah. He's still got it after everything that he's been through. So yes, Brett Hart, Stu Hart, Owen Hart, and Edge. Do you have a favorite Brett Hart match? Yeah.

Oh, I have so many. It's funny because, like, my husband and I have a dungeon. We have a dungeon, we call it the dungeon, but it's like where we model it after, where we train. And by the way, if you're not a wrestling fan, that could be a completely different thing. Yes, well, it's not, we're not, it's not only cats. But it's, you know, my grandfather had a place where he would train the greatest pro wrestlers in the world. It was called the dungeon. Of course.

And so, it's funny, I'm so used to doing television at TV, so I'm thinking of you as the hard cam. But really, it's you. I've talked to you. It's the same thing. We're talking to everybody out there. the people of the masses. Yes. But we have a dungeon that we train in and...

You have a ring set up there. So many people have talked about how much they love training with you and T.J. We love our training. It's very, very special to us. And like we just stay ready. I always say to people, don't get ready, stay ready. And that's, I feel like I'm so blessed to be able to have that ring. And it's a W.W.E. ring.

My husband, you know, was, was, basically, he asked for it. And T. T.J. has such a great relationship with, you know, talent. it's so nice to be able to have people that go, hey, I need help. And so we can, you know, he especially works with them and helps them. The massive amount of people have come to him for help. So you've completely avoided my question of your favorite Brethart match. Oh, my gosh.

I forgot what the question was. Yeah, we started, I got off on a tangent. I would say my favorite Brett Hart match. Oh, I know what's so, I'm so biased. I'm so, so biased. I would say Brett Hart versus Owen Hart WrestleMania 10

Madison Square Garden it was the greatest WrestleMania opener of all time I always tell people if you want to be a wrestler if you want to do this if you want to get into this watch that match

because it was about simple you know a lot of people would say Brett versus Steve Austin or Brett versus Sean Michaels you know because only Brett could make a 61 minute Iron Man match you know Brett and Sean

could make that match exciting everybody else would like oh my God how are we going to get through an hour of wrestling and then they did an extra minute. That was a phenomenal match. But I just think from a storytelling standpoint,

the simplicity and the beauty of Owen and Owen versus Owen versus Brett, and then Owen getting that like, I'm always for the underdog. And Brett, a lot of people don't know this, but Brett was a huge catalyst for Owen getting a big push in WWE. Vince McMahon, there was a different direction they were going to go with Brett that year. And it wasn't with Owen. And Brett stood up and said, no, I want Owen to have. this moment. I want him to be a part of this match. I want him in this. And it was Brett that, like, I love that he stood up and, like, fought for his brother.

But, like, the storyline was that they were fighting against each other when really Brett was creating this magical moment that now has lived on forever. When you think about, like, great humans, you know, Owen, like, Owen, like, played the role of this bad guy, but he was such an amazing person. And, like, he and Brett manifested that magic. So that's my favorite, Brett Hart. I feel like the answer to what's your favorite Brett Hart match? The answer is yes. like him versus everybody's. And he just had a way of elevating everybody that he worked with. And that's true leadership.

That's like you look at his work and it just stands the test of time today where you see it and it's like it's so real, it's so believable. And like I know people think sometimes too that Brett, he's very, Brett is very serious about his career. Like he doesn't take every single match he just took so seriously. And I think that's so important to have that like pride. The United States Soccer Federation present the U.S. Soccer Podcast. My name is David God.

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 stake their claim, 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 Henco. Follow and listen on your favorite platform. Do you think if Owen was still with us, he would have eventually won the WWE championship? Yes. I do. I think Owen was on part.

You know, it's funny because Brett had a little bit, like, Brett, I always thought like Brett was the most serious, and Owen wanted to have fun. Yeah. But Owen had this character that we, like, you know, you're looking at it, like, I look at Dominic's character in WWE, and it's like, I see little shades of like Owen, that little, like, that little mischievous side in Dom.

But I think Owen would have definitely won a World Heavyweight Championship. And Owen just, you know, he won it. He won in so many other ways. that so he did so many other things that people just never even got to see. When he would have two days at home, he would go home and go to like a children's hospital and visit sick kids on his days off

with no cameras around. Wow. No Twitter, no media attention, something he would do privately. And he helped so many people in our family that was very unsung that people just don't know about the things that he did. So he was an unbelievable person.

Wow. What a family legacy. This is unbelievable. Thank you. I'm very proud of my family. As you should be. Look, keep shattering those records. Keep inspiring everybody.

And I'm so glad we were finally able to catch up. Yeah, and I'm speaking of shattering people. I'm excited, though, at WrestleMania to break Rhonda's other arm. Because, you know, Rhonda said, she said that she tweeted, or she posted on Instagram, her illustriest Instagram posts, about having a broken radius. Well, this year at WrestleMania, it'll be so cool. I envisioned myself putting her and Shana in the sharpshooter at the same time,

And I think it's just time to break your other arm, Rhonda. So I think that sounds good. I feel like that's probably going to happen. I feel like it feels right. Just feels right. And Rhonda's whole family can watch. Thank you so much. You're so welcome.

All right. Big thank you to Natalia for spending some time with us. Looking forward to a longer interview with her at some point. And of course, thank you for being with us, whether you're listening on Apple, on Spotify, wherever you're listening. I appreciate you being here and I appreciate you following the show. and also for all of those ratings and reviews that you've left. If you haven't left one yet, it'd be awesome. If you could take a few seconds out of your day to do that.

Now, I'm curious, who is on your Canadian Mount Rushmore? I know it's so tough to narrow it down to just four. But I've had a lot of time to think about this since asking this question of Natalia. So here we go. I think everybody has Brett Hart at number one on their list. So Brett Hart, right? easy Chris Jericho Roddy Piper

and then Edge I think that's four solid picks right there I think there's some other names you could put in but really hard to argue with those four right there so I'd love to hear what yours are tweet us let us know better yet take a screenshot of this episode then tweet us and let us know tag her

Natalia is at Nat by Nature I'm at Chris Van Fleet and I'll leave you with this quote speaking of Twitter I tweeted this out just yesterday, don't make the outcome the goal. Make the process the goal. Be great, be grateful. We will see you on the next one for some more insight. The Hammer Alley podcast, an 80s flashback mockumentary.

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