Insight with Chris Van Vliet - Natalya On 18 Years In WWE, Hart Family Legacy, Training Nikki Bella, The Dungeon 2.0

Episode Date: April 15, 2025

https://cvvtix.com - Get your tickets for INSIGHT LIVE in NYC & Las Vegas with VIP Meet & Greet!Natalya (@NatbyNature) is a professional wrestler currently signed to WWE. She sits down with Chris Van Vliet at Insight Live in Toronto to discuss her journey from being a waitress to a WWE Superstar, having to fight for spots on the card, helping Nikki Bella train for her Royal Rumble return, getting her teeth knocked out a live event, memories of her father WWE Hall Of Famer Jim "The Anvil" Neidhart, her time on Total Divas, her Canadian Mount Rushmore (with no Hart members) and more!Quote I'm thinking about: "The successful warrior is the average man, with laser-like focus" - Bruce LeePlease support our sponsors!   PURE PLANK: The future of core fitness! Use the code CVV to save 10% on Pure Plank designed by Adam Copeland & Christian: https://gopureplank.com/?ref=tibcloux  SEAT GEEK: Get 10% off your next SeatGeek order*: https://seatgeek.onelink.me/RrnK/CVV Sponsored by SeatGeek. *Restrictions apply. Max $20 discount   TIMELINE: Go to https://timeline.com/insightto get 10% off your order of Mitopure!  STASH: Go to https://get.stash.com/INSIGHTto see how you can receive $25 towards your first stock purchase and to view important disclosures   MAGIC SPOON: Get $5 off your next order at https://magicspoon.com/cvv   VUORI: Get 20% off your first purchase! Get yourself some of the most comfortable and versatile clothing on the planet at https://vuori.com/cvv  FABRIC: Join the thousands of parents who trust Fabric to help protect their family. Apply today in just minutes at https://meetfabric.com/CVV   ROCKET MONEY: Join Rocket Money today and experience financial freedom: https://rocketmoney.com/cvv  HUEL: Get 15% off plus a FREE Gift for NEW customers with the code INSIGHT at https://huel.comMIRACLE MADE: Upgrade your sleep with Miracle Made! Go to https://trymiracle.com/CVV and use the code CVV to claim your FREE 3 PIECE TOWEL SET and SAVE over 40% OFF   ZOCDOC: Instantly book a top-rated doctor today at https://zocdoc.com/insight   BONCHARGE: Use the code CVV to save 15% off your infrared sauna blanket at https://boncharge.com/cvv   BLUECHEW: Get your first month of BlueChew for free with the code CVV at https://bluechew.com   PLUNGE: Get $150 off your Plunge with the coupon code CVV150 at https://plunge.com   For more information about Chris and INSIGHT go to: https://podcast.chrisvanvliet.com If you have ever enjoyed any of these episodes, could I ask you to please consider leaving a short review on Apple Podcast or Spotify? 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

Ladies and gentlemen, Chris Van Fleet. How are you, my friends? Happy WrestleMania Week. Welcome back to another one here on Insight. I'm CVV. Chris Van Fleet, thank you for being here on this episode. And thank you for making Insight the number one wrestling podcast on the planet. Slap a sharpshooter on that follow button on Spotify or Apple or wherever you're listening right now.

And if it's not too much to ask, if you are listening on Spotify, could you leave a rating? That would be so, so helpful. Also, a massive thank you to all of you because over the weekend, the CVV clips channel on YouTube just hit one million subscribers. That is a crazy sentence to say out loud. I can't even believe it's real. One million subscribers. So I just appreciate you for being on this whole journey with me.

It's been an amazing ride. And part of that was this live show back home in my hometown in Toronto. So great to have Natty back on the show, my fellow Canadian. And what a great spot for us to be able to do this back in our home country. And thank you guys for packing the house there for Insight Live. What a blast. And we're going to do it again this Thursday in Las Vegas with special guest, Our Truth. I hope to see you there.

Grab your tickets at CVVTix.com. that's CVVTIX.com. It's 8 p.m. this Thursday. Natty's awesome. And in the ring, she is so technically sound. I just don't understand

for whatever reason why she doesn't get the respect that she deserves. She's been with WWE for over 18 years, kind of like Ms. in a way where she just does whatever she's asked

and she always makes the best of it. We actually talk about that during this interview. We talk about the detractors that she has. and how she feels about that and what her response is to it. So you're going to hear our interview here, followed by the Q&A afterwards

with some great questions from the audience. And at some point during this, Natty slapped a sharpshooter on me. I should have figured out the reversal for this. And like she locked it in. Like if you watch this on YouTube and you should, at least if you watch just that one part, I wasn't just selling.

Like she, she put it in on me. So you'll see that. She also talks about some of the things she's doing outside of WWE. She's going to be wrestling. Well, it wasn't announced when we did this interview, but it's now been announced. She's going to be doing Crockett Cup with NWA and she's going to be doing blood sport this weekend, actually, in WrestleMania weekend. So it's so cool that she's getting these opportunities to really showcase what she can do outside of WWE as well. And what a career. She's had what a legacy. Her and her family have. And she's put it all in her new book. It's called The Last Heartbeating. It's available for pre-order now. Comes out on October 28th. I just ordered it on

Amazon. You should do the same because she has one heck of a story to tell. Snap a screenshot and let us know that you're with us on this one. Even if you weren't in the audience, you're with us on this one. And tag us. She's at Nat by Nature on social media. I'm at Chris Van Fleet. And here we go. Welcome to the stage, the one and only, Natalia. Welcome everybody to Insight Live here in my hometown, Toronto, baby. I can't tell you how excited I am to be here. Thank you for coming out on a snowy, cold night. I appreciate you guys being here.

How many of you guys are making it to Smackdown right after this? Okay, I like it. We will definitely get you out of here with plenty of time to go to SmackDown. Who's going to Elimination Chamber? Come on. Who do we think's going to win? Do we think maybe... John Sina!

Do we think maybe Drew McIntyre wins Elimination Chamber? Does Damien Priest win Elimination Chamber? Oh, wait for this one. Does Logan Paul win Elimination Chamber? Does C.M. Punk win elimination chamber? Does John Sina win it? Okay. What about for...

I feel like it could go anyway with... women's match. It's going to be, maybe Natty runs into the women's match. Who knows? That'd be great to see. Does Bianca Bell Air win the women's match? Yeah. Ooh. Does Alexa Bliss win? Live Morgan? Wow, no love for Liv Morgan. Well, it's going to be very interesting. Thank you guys for being here. So many of you bought tickets before you even knew who the guest was, and I just want to say thank you for being a real, real, real one and coming to a live, show, please give it up for yourselves. Also, shout out to some very special guests here. My parents are

in the house, so yeah. They're so embarrassed that I pointed them out, but if it wasn't for them, none of this would be possible. So, all right, let's dive into this show here. I am so, so excited for our guest, and I love that you guys are going to be part of this conversation that we're going to have. Please, ladies and gentlemen, put your hands together for Natty! Oh my gosh, this is amazing. I feel like I have to beat someone up now. Canada loves you. I am so excited.

I am so excited to be here. I literally, we were like in crazy traffic getting here. I got out of the car and started running on the street in high heels because I was like, I've got to do this. I've got to go meet Chris. You made it. Yes, got my cardio in. I'm here. Well, not just me.

You had to meet everybody in this room, too. Thank you guys so much for being here. This is amazing. And when you asked me to do this, of course, I was so excited. And any chance to talk to you is amazing, but also to connect with all of you, is just incredible. So thank you guys so much. And it doesn't get any better than doing it back home in Canada for both of us. What does it mean for you to be back home in Canada?

So people ask me that. When I come back to Canada, I don't just say, you know, I was born in Calgary. But if you're part of the Hart family, Canada is just home. It's just, it's, it's always going to be our home. It's, it's where, truly where our heart is, pardon the pun. And we just always feel so loved, so embraced. And it's like, you know, this is where my grandfather started everything for our family. From Stampede Wrestling to what he built with my uncles, Brett Owen, Davy, Dynamite, my dad.

So our, you know, just for me, there's always so much gratitude coming back to Canada. And, of course, you know, I love my ketchup chips. Is that the thing you miss the most? Is it ketchup chips? Tim Hortons and ketchup chips. It's funny because I love Tim Hortons and I get so excited. T.J. does too. When I land, even if I've had a bunch of coffee, I'm like, I've got to get Tim Hortons.

I got to get my double, double. Like, you're going right to that one in Pearson Airport? Like, you don't even leave the airport? I, usually I go get my rental car and I find it Tim Hortons and I go through the drive-thru. I have a whole process. I take a selfie. I post it. Oh, stop, Tim Hortons.

That's how I feel about Swiss chalet. Oh, yeah. Love my... Yeah, I love Swiss chalet. Swiss chelets. But, I mean, I used to work when I was... Before I got to WWE and I was a waitress. And so I worked at a restaurant called Montana's.

Of course. And before I worked at Montana's, I worked at a restaurant called Humpties. And I, to this day, humptees is my favorite. Like, people will say, where do you want to go to eat? When I come up to... I said, Brett. I was like, let's go to Humpties. And I was like, I've got to get my eggs, Benedict.

Like, it's just a Canadian thing. I don't know if you guys have Humpties. Do you guys have Humpties in Toronto? No, okay. Humpties is in, so it must be like a Calgary, yeah, West Coast thing. But, yeah, I worked at a place called Montana's. I worked there as a waitress. You know Montana's.

Yes. I worked there as a hostess, a bus person, and a waitress for like 10 years until I finally got hired by WWE. And I remember telling my manager, and I loved, I will never forget this moment. I told my manager at Montana's, I was like, I'm so sorry, but I'm just giving it my two weeks notice. I just got hired by WWE. I did not say I wish you the best of love in your future endeavor.

But I was so excited because I was like I had worked that waitressing job, and I was, like I said, a hostess, I cleaned bathrooms, I bused tables, and I did, you know, I did my wrestling when I wasn't working at that job, and I just fought so hard to get here. And I always, like, I always remembered how much I actually. actually enjoyed waitressing and enjoyed, I think everybody that does public service or works in the service industry, like I give them a round of applause because you guys, whoever works in restaurants or retail or has to serve people, it is not easy.

It is not easy. What was the best tip you ever got? And what was the worst tip you ever got? Well, the worst tip I ever got was no tip. What'd you do wrong? Or they just sucked? It was funny because I was waitressing and I was doing the closing shift. had come in, a group of like,

they were coming from like a clown convention. They were like, there was like 20 clowns. They walk in, we closed at 10 o'clock at night. They walked in at like 9.57. I was all by myself and I was like. Sounds like a horror movie. Trust me, it was. There was one cook in the back.

There was the bartender, myself and the manager on. And I was like, we have 20 clowns at the front door. It's like three minutes to close. The manager's like, we got, you know, like, no actual clowns. They let them in and we had the one cook making it. Anyway, I didn't get tipped. and I was so upset and I never wanted to serve a clown again.

But I mean, I've gotten great tips before too, and that's why, like, even now, because I remember what it was like being a waitress. I remember I started at, like, $4.50 an hour at Humpties, and then when I got hired at Montana's, my starting wage was $7 an hour. So, yeah, I know it's, like, crazy, because I just remember working so hard for, like, scraps.

And so now when I, I like to tip people well, I like to take care of them. I know that a good tip can make a huge difference, can make somebody's day. So, you know, I'd just like to spread the love. Now that you are in WW and you have been for a long time, what was the moment? Was there a moment where you were like, I have made it? Obviously, getting that call and being able to quit your waitressing job was one of them.

But what was the moment when you were in WWE when you went, man, this just clicked? There's been so many moments. I mean, just getting the phone call. I remember getting the phone call that I was getting hired. I was so excited because. I was like, I didn't even, it's funny now because, you know, there's always, like, you hear about contract negotiations and this and that. I remember when I got called, I was told, like, hey, we're going to hire you at this amount. And then they called back and said, actually, we changed our minds.

It's going to be a little lower. And I was like, no worries. Don't even worry about it. It's fine. It's all, like, I just remember being so excited, even though they called back and said, like, actually, no, you know, it's not going to be that much. I was like, it's fine. It's fine. Like, I was just so excited when I first, when I got my first WWE check in the mail.

And I still have, so this is funny. I actually have never shared this before, but I have saved every single paycheck I've ever gotten from WWE. I've saved the stub. Like the check stub. I've saved all of them. Every single one of them I have saved. Because I just remembered, like, you know, how big of a deal it was for me to get that. And so even when they were small and I was only making my first year in WWE, I was making five.

$100 a week. So of course, that's, you know, it's not terrible by any means when you're just getting started, but when you have to pay for, you know, ring gear and your hair and your makeup and you have to pay taxes on that, it really, in some ways, it was less than, it was less money than I was making as a waitress. But for me, it was about getting my foot in the door. Like, I just had to get my foot in the door. And, and that's, you know, 18 years later, I'm still here. I'm still standing. Yeah. Yeah. But yeah, that, just, Just getting to be a part of the company, and I never have ever taken it for granted,

and I always try to approach going to work. Like, even though we all are human, we all have our highs and lows and ups and downs, I'm just so grateful that I get to do such a fun job and do what I love and do something that just, like, it just fulfills me. It makes me so happy. You've been in WWE for 18 years.

You're the boat, and it's not just a nickname. You're the boat. But I feel like there's a certain section of the audience that doesn't give you the respect that you deserve. What do you say to those people? Well, here's the thing is that like even right now in WWB, we look at the women's division. It's never ever been this competitive ever. We've never had across NXT Raw Smackdown. It's never ever been like the girls that we have across the board are incredible. I look at the NXT women's roster and I'm like, they're amazing. There's so many

women there that I want to work with. And I look at the raw women's roster. There's just everybody is so good. I look at the Smackdown Women's Roster. It's just everybody is like everybody is very, very talented and so you have all this stuff to choose for all these different styles and different, as we say, flavors of ice cream to choose

from with every girl bringing something unique to the table. So for me, because I have been here for so long, I understand that like, even for me, I don't like everybody, not everybody has to like everybody, not everybody has to like me. And when I I signed my new deal with WWE, I signed it last June. And I thought to myself, you know, I, as long as I continue to stay in WWE, I have to always remember to keep proving myself.

I can't just rest on the fact that I have, you know, a world record for the most matches or the most wins or the most this or the most that or that I had a really great match with Charlotte at takeover to me. When you continue to work in WWE, you always have to keep proving yourself. No matter what it is that you're doing, even if you're not working at WWW. So I kind of made that vow to myself that if I want to continue working here, I have to not only prove myself and not only fight to be in this division, but also fight to prove my detractors wrong. And so that's why I thought about myself wrestling elsewhere.

I thought, hmm, I wonder what it would be like. I wonder what it would look like for me to wrestle elsewhere. And I want to wrestle everywhere. That's the thing is I want to wrestle everywhere. I want to, that's what I love about my ring. My ring is really kind of like a forbidden door, my dungeon, the dungeon that TJ and I have. I love all these different people coming in

and just bringing passion, whether it's Joe Hendry, whether it's Kevin Knight, whether it's DiRice, whether it's Reho, whether it's, you know, BFAB comes in, Dawkins, Apollo, all these different people come to our ring,

whether they're on the independence, they come from all these different places, and that's what I want to do. I want to wrestle everywhere. And I love that WWE is starting to do that, and actually in the coming weeks because of how I feel about this, and the need to continue to prove myself in the division

and fight to be in the division and fight to have my spot in the division because honestly, just because I've done a bunch of stuff here doesn't mean I'm wrestling owes nobody anything. WWE doesn't owe me anything. So for me, it's always about proving myself with everything that I do, every practice that I run at the dungeon,

every match that I have in WWE, it's all about proving myself. And so in the coming weeks, there's going to be some announcements made. Yes, and so we're going to be addressing this. Yes. We're going to be WWE and myself. We're going to be addressing some very, very exciting things coming up because, yeah, I want to wrestle.

I really want to wrestle everywhere. Where is Natty going to show up? Okay. All right. When you talk about the Dungeon 2.0, you've had so many people come through there. One of them recently was Nikki Bella. You helped Nikki Bella get ready for her return at the Royal Rumble. Yes.

Nikki actually has been coming and training with me privately. So she flies in every week, and she's been coming and working with me. I will tell you that she hasn't lost it. Like, she has so much passion for this. And it's funny because I saw her last week. She came to Tampa, and she, I said to her, I'm like, this is so funny because, like, we started our careers together in the very same week, Nikki and I and Bree.

And so we started together in the same week in developmental in WWE. And I remember when all three of us had nothing. All three of us were hired, you know, at the very base amount of pay. And it was never, ever about the money. It was always about the work. a passion. And so we were just laughing and sharing old stories about like, like, I didn't have enough money to buy wrestling gear. So the Bella Twins, they were giving me their clothes. You know, because when you just get started, you're just kind of like, literally just getting started.

I went to Florida with this one suitcase because I was like, I got to get down to Florida, I'll just leave everything behind. I'll get back to Calgary. I never went back to live. Because my whole life with WWE has been kind of state side as far as like living. But I didn't have money for a lot of the things that we need to live. look like superstars. So the Bella Twins, they were giving me their clothes. They were giving me stuff to look nice. And I was taking certain things that they had and I was cutting them up and like gluing my own like sequins on them and trying to make it. I look back on that now. I'm like, Natty, you look like, pardon my language, but I was like, I wouldn't have hired you looking

like that because you look horrible. But you do what you have to do. And I just remember those early years with the twins. And so being able to help Nikki prepare for Royal Rumble. And of course, I would love to see Nikki back. I'm looking for a tag team partner. Of course, you know, I'd love to have Nikki as my partner. But I just love her and I love Bree so much and they just have so much passion. And so seeing what Nikki's doing in the ring and doing in our dungeon, I mean, our dungeon is really like a dungeon. Like it's, we try to make it as much like the original, the original dungeon that my grandfather started in Calgary. There's no air conditioning. It's in Florida. It's just a small room with a, it's a room big enough to put a ring in. And there's one

bathroom and there's some fans and there's a lot of stray cats that my husband and I feed. They haven't made their way to your house yet? They haven't made their way to my house but T.J. like there's outside of our dungeon there's all these like little stray kitties so we I don't know there's a whole bunch that we're feeding I mean we have eight cats guys I have eight cats living at my house. What are all their names? So there's boo. There's you better get them all. So there's Boo, there's Harley, named after Harley Race. My little kitty, the newest baby we have is named after Harley Race. He's a total heel, this kitten.

He's such a heel. There is Weezy named after Little Wayne. And there is, uh, there's Cooney named after Hakuna Matata. So he looked kind of like a little warthog when he was a kitten. So we named him. Okay, so those are the, that's the first four, right? Okay, yeah. So those are the first four.

Those are on my side of the house. My mom actually lives with me, and we love her to death. She has four cats. So that's why I have eight cats. So my mom has, my mom has Georgie, Archie, Mitzie, and Henry. Okay, good. You remember them all. Yes.

And they were named after the royal family. My mom named it. Yeah. So it's easy to remember. But yeah, our house is just full of cats. I mean, nobody wants to burglarize us because the cats scare them. So. Since you were talking about Nikki Bella, what's the story of her knocking your teeth out at a house show?

Ooh, you really did want the tea today. So, yeah, my front teeth aren't real, amongst other things. Listen, we're at a comedy club. But when you're a lady wrestler, listen, a lot of things get kind of crazy. I feel like at night when I come home after a match I'm like pulling out hair extensions I'm pulling off eyelashes I'm taking off my tanner and it's like Tjj's like where who is that

I'm like this is me okay I'm putting him on my pajamas but Nikki had we have been on a live event it was in Las Vegas and it was like a six woman tag it was like me me Carmela and Alexa were a team and it was against Nikki and two other girls and Nikki tackled me she gave me a crazy shoulder tackle that turned into a headbut

and I lost my two front teeth. So there was a picture that kind of went viral of my teeth that were missing. And I was with Renee Young because when I got my teeth knocked out, I was like, I saw, I knew what happened. I gave them to the referee who gave them to the security guard that I didn't know the security guard. He just had my teeth in his hand.

And then I remember Alexa Bliss saying, do you want me to finish the match? And I was like, I've got this. I'm already in there. I'm good. Anyway, finish the match like a pro. And afterwards, I remember Renee driving me to an emergency dentist at like midnight in Las Vegas. And I got my front, I got two fake front teeth put back.

Like, you know, they made me a little bridge. And it was like a, it got me through the weekend. But yeah, there's a lot of teeth that I have that aren't real. And to, I will give Nikki all the credit for that, Nicole. Nicole, I blame for that. What was the conversation with her after? Was she like, oh, my gosh? Well, we just have a mutual, like, thing when it comes to, like, she and Bree are,

I would not want to get into a fight with either one of them. Because they are just, they're tough. They are so tough. I mean, yes, Nikki is beautiful, but like, when we're in the ring, it's all, there's no hold of art. Like, things happen, and there's wardrobe malfunctions.

I mean, I'm telling you, the craziest stuff happens when you're wrestling. Before I go into a match, I am like taped down, locked down. I've got like two bras on, three pairs of underwear. I mean, it gets crazy because the second that you let your guard down

in a match, whether it's somebody hitting you a little hard or like, you know, I felt bad for one of the girls at Rumble because, you know, I think it was Lyra. Her, like, top, her little, something came, like, undone, but, like, anything can happen. When you're out there in front of a live audience and everybody's kind of, you know, hitting each other

and going after it and, you know, suplexes and body slams and crazy stuff happens. So, teeth get knocked out, hair extensions get pulled out. I remember I was in a match with Alicia Fox and, like, I had quite a few hair extensions in that day. Yes, none of this is real, by the way. And she had put her knee on, like,

I think she was doing a leg drop or something, and she got up. Anyway, half of my hair came out on live TV on raw, and I was like, screw it, let's make it part of the match. So I told her to grab the hair and wave it around, and I had a hissy fit, and it was like, I remember Jennifer Hudson was sitting front row, and she was like, that was just great improv. That was just like, and I was like,

you got to do what you got to do? We planned that, actually, backstage. We walked through all that with, We were just trying to make it more girly and entertaining. And I was like, oh my gosh, like the things that happen, you've got to think fast. This year actually achieve your New Year's resolutions. This is your year to feel your best, regain your energy, and conquer your goals. No matter what your goals are for 2025, this supplement can help because it supports your

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after you play your first $5 lineup. Prize picks, run your game. Your name was one of the ones that was being thrown around when they were talking about the inaugural WWE women's intercontinental champion. And I was making a strong case for like, it should be Natty. What did it mean to you to have that backing from the fans? I mean, I, here's the thing, it goes back to what I was saying earlier about, like, wrestling owes me nothing. And so while my family has done incredible things in WWE, especially holding that championship, but the IC title, I feel like it's the workhorse title.

So people, you know, everybody that had supported me and said, we want Natty to have that. Like, I was so grateful for that. But, like, it's also something that I want to earn. And I think that's the cool thing about Triple H in this new era is that as much as I would have loved. to have been the first I see women's champion. I do think everything we do, especially in WWE and why this era is so cool and so different, is it's all about the story.

And I think it's all about the chase. It's all about the story. And that's what I love about Kofi's a heel right now, but when it was Kofi Mania. We don't like Kofi. We don't like Kofi right now, but I remember, ooh, I remember Kofi when it was Kofi mania.

And it was like, you know, years ago. And it was... We liked him then. We liked him then. But like, he had this cool story. And so you look at Jay Uso. It's just something very, very organic. I remember starting with the Uso's.

And like, the Uso's, they just work so hard. Like Jay, I've seen Jay, Jay had his... Jay and Jimmy had their very first match against the Heart Dynasty in WWE. And I just remember, like, they've always been humble. They've always been so hardworking. They've just always been like... So when there's a really, really great story there,

that's what makes winning it special. And that's what I love truly about this new era. It's about the story. I really want, and I do believe in my heart, I will win that championship one day because my destiny is always chasing and it's like that for all of us. If you just keep fighting and pushing and don't give up,

I believe it will happen. But I really want the story to be there, and that's what I feel like Triple H has been very good at with not just the women's division, but with the company as a whole, is that it's like when you read a great book and you turn the page, you know, when you want to get to the next chapter, you're wanting to see what the next chapter is.

So, like, when Ra goes off the air, when Netflix, or when NextC goes off the air, when Smackdown goes off the air, we want to see what the next chapter is. That's why we tune in the following week. It's, the matches aren't exciting, and the championships aren't exciting unless the story is there. So that's what is so special about this air, and it goes back to, like, mid-south.

It goes back to that old school, you know, it's almost very linear to where WWE and this net. Netflix era is now because it's just, it's got to be about the story. And I think about Brett Hart versus Owen Hart, WrestleMania 10. I mean, to me, I'm biased, but I think it's one of the greatest opening WrestleMania matches ever. But they had a great story. And it's, you know, and I've spoken about this before, but Owen would have never had that

match had Brett not fought to get him that match. That match was actually supposed to be for someone else. And Brett said, no, I want Owen to have that match. I want Owen to I want to have this story with Owen And so they made this beautiful You know, created this beautiful brother versus brother's story in it

It was one of the most I feel like one of the most special matches In Owen's career But like it wouldn't have been that special Had they not had the story Yeah One of the greatest WrestleMania matches Of all time too.

It's so good You've known TJ forever What was your reaction When you saw him do that Do the hair Whatever we call this First of my first of my I couldn't stand TJ's hair like that.

I thought it looked hideous. But, so, TJ was just trying to do something to stand out. You know, like, we, as wrestlers experiment, I've had many different experiments with clothing, hairdos, this, that, and everything else. Did he tell you he was going to do it? So. Or did he just come out of the bathroom one day and was like, look at this. So, yeah, he was going to Japan.

It was his very, oh, I think it was his second trip maybe to Japan, to New Japan. He was working for New Japan. And so before he went to Japan, he's like, I just want to do something different, you know, stand out a little bit. So he basically cut all of his hair off and just left these little like bangs. And Jushin Thunder Liger, he, who of course is a huge international star,

but a very, very big star in Japan, Jushen Liger loved it and told T.J. that he loved his hair. And so T.J.'s like, Juschen Liger loves my hair. I can't cut my hair. I got to keep my hair like this. So, yeah, it's just, you know,

it was a hideous haircut. I'm so happy that we're over that. but I mean I made DJ I thought it would be funny if TJ had like grown his hair out for our wedding because total you know we did our wedding on total divas and so I told TJ to grow his hair out and I remember like now that I look back

at our old wedding pictures and stuff I'm like I wish she hadn't grown his hair out but you wanted him to have the the bangs for your wedding photo let's find a happy medium guys but yeah TJ was trying to take risks and so I mean TJ also I mean that hairdo was a heelish hairdo he had heat

with that hair too But TJ is a heel. He's very much a gangster. Like a real life heel? Oh, a real life heel. The thing with TJ is that he's not afraid to speak his mind. But sometimes, like, I'm always, like, you know, tiptoeing around. You know, when you're part of the women's locker room,

you got to make sure that nobody has hurt feelings. And you got to, like, you know, make sure that you handle everything very carefully because all the girls are sensitive. But TJ's very, like, he's just very, he's very much a heel in a good way. He's honest, he's going to tell you the truth And he hasn't even like, he's going to tell you the truth Even if he hasn't had a glass of red wine He's going to tell you the truth

Well, so that's his drink, red water. No. I always say that, I always joke around with the girls that like, Give me a glass of red wine And I'll start telling the truth. And then Natty turns heel. But, no, T.J's, he's the best. He really is, he's the definition of loyalty, I think.

He's so loyal. We got to see so much of what your relationship is like on Total Diva And what else was really cool about that show is we got to see your relationship with your father. And I think people know Jim the Anvil Ninehart as a wrestler, but we got to like learn about him as like a dad. And like that guy's hilarious. My dad, honestly, like I remember when my dad came to my kindergarten PTA meeting and he showed up on a ninja motorcycle with no shirt on. He was wearing a fanny pack. He was, remember that little pink hat?

My dad used to wear. It was just like this little pink hat. He showed up with that hat on and a pair of Rayban sunglasses. He showed up like the envelope, but he had no shirt on. He had three different types of spandex on that were layered because he loved spandex. And he had these knee pads that were on, like he was wearing Reeboks pumps, but then the knee pads were down by his like shoes. So they were like, he looked like a pony. And he just, he showed up to the PTA meeting like that. I remember it was like kindergarten. All the other kids, it was like bring your parent to work day. And all the other kids. parents were like, you know, I'm a dentist and I'm a librarian and I'm a banker. And, you know, my dad came in and I was so excited. I mean, sweat was dripping off of his chest. He had no shirt on.

And he was wearing spandex and a Rolex watch and he just looked like a maniac. And, of course, I was so excited, you know, think about it. This guy's 300 pounds. He's got no shirt on. He looks like, I mean, he just, he's just barrel chested. He's got that goatee. I would say he was just resembling Otis at some points. So he comes in and so then it's my dad's turn to talk.

And so I'm thinking, I'm so excited. I'm like in kindergarten here. My dad tells everybody in the kindergarten class that don't worry about going to school, worry about doing well in sports. He's like, and I was like, even as a six-year-old and the teacher was trying to pull my dad off stage, like a referee trying to interfere in a match, she was like, get him off stage. My dad's like, no, no, no, it's fine. Don't worry about doing well in school.

What you need to do is do well in sports because I got everything from sports. I never even went to class. I had people, like, my mom, and we were like, oh my God, my dad was literally telling these kindergartners not to worry about school. And so I will never forget that. They never invited them back.

And I was like, I'm so traumatized. My parents are crazy, but my dad especially. You know, when your dad's the anvil, he's the anvil. He's the anvil on television. He's the anvil. He's the anvil at home. That's why a lot of guys didn't ask me out when I was, like, in high school.

People didn't want to knock on the door and get my dad pulling a beard going, like, hi, you know, can I help you? People, like, guys did not ask me out. So when, so going back to your question, when my dad was on Total Divas, he was a trip on that show. I mean, you know, he definitely just, he just let loose. And I think he loved doing that show because once his career was over in wrestling, it gave him a chance to feel like he was still a part of something, you know, because it's hard sometimes when you're an athlete and, like, you know, back when my dad was alive and he, you know, we were

doing Total Divas, like he wasn't, you know, gosh, it's kind of hard to even saying this, but he didn't always feel like he was wanted. You know, like, WWE does so much more now to honor legends and to bring back people and to go, you know, to do, like, but back then they weren't doing all of that. Like, it was hard unless you were getting put in the Hall of Fame, which my dad was like, when he was alive, he was pissed off that he wasn't in the Hall of Fame. He was like, why the hell is Hillbilly Jim in before me? But, I mean, I'm just being honest,

like, those wrestlers have all those. My dad loved Hillbilly Gym, but he's like... Or Hillbilly Jim. My dad loved Hillbilly Gym, but he's like, damn it, I should be in there before Hillbilly Gym. But my dad was so funny on Total Divas because he really felt like he was like, he felt like, now I'm going to have Hillbilly Gym

calling me. It's going to be the one headline from this interview. But my dad just felt like he got to be a part of something and he loved like the limelight. He loved the cameras on him and he loved all the attention and he loved feeling like he was a part of something. So that's one of the things I loved about Total Divas is I loved having my dad included on that show

even if gummies were involved. The other thing that Total Divas gave us was perhaps the loudest and crazy craziest slap we've ever seen. Was that me slapping Lana? Summer. Oh my God. I forgot about slapping Summer. Yes. Yes. That bitch. Was that just one take and that was it?

So here's the thing about Summer. Summer drove me crazy. I do like her. She's a very sweet girl. I start a lot of my shade off with that. She's very sweet. No, but Summer, you know, the thing about the women's division, too, It's like, it's very competitive. So she knocks on my door.

And so I guess the producers were like, listen, you know, Natty always just, Natty will do anything. Natty's just great. She played ball sort of thing. It's like, yeah, first of all, Summer and I had real conflict at that point. And secondly, Summer hauled off and I opened my door. She slapped me across the face. My neighbors, they didn't talk to me again after that.

They were like watching and they were like, what's going on in that house? There's cameras. There's women slapping each other. Summer ran in my, like, she ran through my lawn, like, tripped in the bushes. It was, it was crazy. I was like, what is going on? But Summer was like, she just was very, you know, during that time, I think she was very dramatic. She settled down a lot.

That was crazy. But listen, there was a solid receipt for summer. So I tied her up quite a few times in the sharpshooter, and she had perfect legs for it. Perfect. I'm going to ask you a really tough one. Can you give me your Canadian Mount Rushmore? Ooh, okay, drum roll. But...

I already know who I'm gonna bet. But you can't pick any hearts. Oh, come on. Oh, my God. You are begging to be put in the Sharp Tudor. You are begging me. Oh, my gosh. Because otherwise, you would just...

You'd list all the hearts. And I get it. I need a sip of water, right? Okay. I mean, I think I asked you years ago and you were like, Brett Hart, Owen Hart, Stu Hart, and like, I don't know, British Bulldog or something. No, this is tough. I mean, damn, that's a tough question.

Holy moly. I need a glass of red wine. No heart adjacent. Okay. Okay. No hearts. Can I just start this off by saying I think Brett Hart is really the greatest of all time? Who's going to disagree? No, I mean, okay, I will get to that. Let me simmer. Let me simmer on that.

I think though, like, when I think of the greatest professional wrestlers ever, I feel like Brett is, he's so much more appreciated now than ever before because people are able to really like understand what his body of work is. His matches, his, they're still so relevant. They're still so talked about. People, like, I think about his match with Steve Austin, WrestleMania 13. I think it was one of the, if not the greatest WrestleMania match ever. Think about Brett versus Sean Michaels, you know, their Ironman match. That was insane. Brett Hart versus Mr. Perfect.

Brett Hart versus the British Bulldog, SummerSlam. Like Brett's body of work, it's like he is just, I think as far as the greatest professional wrestler ever, and I know I'm biased, but I just don't know if anybody else was ever going to like be able to top that. So I think, you know, The Rock and Steve Austin, they're entertainers. Rich Clare's, I feel like, but Brett, as far as like wrestling, wrestling, wrestling. Okay, back to the question. I'm dripping sweat, by the way.

I'm like, sweat dripping down my back. I'm trying to answer, who are my Canadian Mount Rushmore? Okay. He's a very close personal friend, and I think the world of him, Edge. Okay. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

Yes. And a great little thing about Edge is that, And Edge, you know, he's obviously one of the most decorated superstars ever. But Edge was somebody that, like, when I would have problems with promos or when I needed to work on promos or that I wanted to, like, get better at promos, I would text them and say, hey, can I get on a call with you? And, like, can you help me with a promo? He would drop everything that he was doing to get on a call with me and talk to me for, like, an hour and a half and walk me through a promo. Wow. And so, like, not only, I mean, he's incredible and his body of work is incredible, but he's just, like, great.

Like, he's helped me so much as a friend. And so I think sometimes Adam doesn't get, like, people don't know about that kind of stuff. Like, he's really, he's just very genuine. And I always remember him, like, helping me and saying, like, say it like this, Natty. And, like, then he would watch the promo. He'd call me back. He'd analyze it with me. And it was nice to have somebody like that really care and help.

So that's my little edge thing. Yeah. We can't say edge without Christians. Yeah. Because it's funny because, like, I watched a match, I think it was on Smackdown. I can't quite remember, but I watched a match between Christian and Randy Orton.

And I thought, like, wow, they have magical chemistry. And I, like, you know, I always knew I liked Christian, but I remember watching Christian in there with Randy. And I was like, you just see that even though he's in there with Randy, who's obviously a huge leader in the ring, Christian is a leader. I mean, he's a bad guy. He's a heel.

But, like, and he spent a lot of his career being healed. But Christian is just, he is, he's very, very good. And he's one of my favorites. Okay, that's two. This is where it starts to get tough because you're like, oh, now I'm leaving people out. I know. Okay, I am going to say somebody that's a little bit left field.

Because people would obviously think, you know, Natty's going to say, like, Tristratus. And of course, I do think Trish is amazing. I think she's incredible. I think she's done so much as a pioneer for women's wrestling. But for me, I'm always, always, always, always going to have a spot in my heart for the underdog. And Gail Kim. Yeah.

And so it's nothing to take away from Trish by any means because I think Trish is awesome. But knowing Gail Kim the way that I do and knowing, like, how talented she is and the way, like, she's had some really great matches. And I know some of her best work has been in TNA against, like, I know Tiffany or Taryn, Terrell. Sorry, she used to be Tiffany in WWE. Gail and Taryn Torell, Gail and Kong. Just Gail, the thing about Gail is that not only, so once her career was done, she wasn't done giving back. And that's what I love about Gail is that behind the scenes, if people actually knew the stuff that Gail does behind the scenes, it's just, incredible. She really helps

give women opportunities that might not have gotten opportunities before. Just a few weeks ago, she had reached out to me about something and we were able to help someone and she was just like, I want to make sure that more women get opportunities that wouldn't have had a chance to get opportunities. And so she's always

fighting for the underdog. She loves wrestling. She's so talented. And she to me deserves her flowers. So as far as... Yes. Yeah. Yeah. As far as Canadian... So now there's just one spot left. Okay. Oh my gosh. Oh my goodness. Oh, my goodness. Well, here's the thing. I think, I know I've said a lot of people that may not necessarily be in WWE, but we can't say the greatest Canadian wrestlers without bringing up Chris Jericho. So, Jericho, actually it's funny because Jericho interviewed, Jericho interviewed my dad. He was, that was the last interview my dad ever had. And so Jericho had asked me, hey, like, I'd love to interview your dad for my podcast. And I remember saying to Chris, like, I've just been really careful about not letting my dad do a lot of that kind of stuff because he's not been feeling himself lately.

And Chris, the way he treated my dad and the way that he just handled the interview with so much respect because my dad was at that time struggling a little bit with his memory and stuff. Chris was so amazing to my dad. But when you think about Chris, Chris is a friend of mine. But when I think about Chris's body of work, it's hard to go, it's hard to leave him. You cannot leave Chris Jericho out of the conversation. Yeah. And the way that he reinvented himself. every handful of years.

It's just, it's incredible. Yeah, he's just, like, and it's just so hard because I'm good friends with Kevin Owens, and I love Sammy Zane, and I love, but when I think about, we got to think about body of work. You know, when you think about, like, it's just Chris has been a part of very pivotal times in the industry.

You think about, like, his Y2J stuff, and you think about, like... It's one of the greatest WWE debuts of all time. And you think about the stuff that he did, even when he was in Japan. A lot of, like, he's, Also, and then again, I don't mean to go off on a tangent, but I like every time there's ever a go fund meet for anyone, you see like Chris Jericho's name at the top of the list is the highest donor, like the highest person donating to like people that he doesn't know. You know, people like he's helped people in my family like with with stuff like that. And so I think Chris is awesome. I think Edge is awesome. I think Christian is awesome. And so to me like I just that's hard. I'm blown up. I am blown up. That's a pretty great Mel Rushmore, not including any hearts.

It's just tough because, like I said, I have so many Canadian friends. Like, I should have thought about Chelsea Green because she's amazing. But, you know, we got to give Gail her flowers. But I love Chelsea Green. How funny is Chelsea? I love her. Hilarious. Talk to me about this match where you were working with Brett Hart.

It was, again, it was you and Brett against Charlotte and Rick Flair. And at the end of that, it's a double sharpshooter. What did that match mean to you? Well, that match actually was really, like that day was really emotional because Brett had just, like, beaten cancer. So that was his first appearance that he had done after beating cancer. And so I remember, like, I remember asking Brett, like, hey, they want to bring you in for this show. It was like payback, I think was the pay-per-view. And it was in Chicago.

And Brett was like, you know, he had just gone through so much. and so it was such a special time because it was his first appearance back from beating cancer and listen, there's no better feeling than locking Rick Flair into a sharpshooter but it was just I love collaborating and working with Brett and he's been part of such special moments for me

in my career where like you know it's never lost on me when you like when I've asked him to be there for me and for him to help me he's helped me and so to be able to do double sharpshooters with you know with Brett it's always so special. I appreciate him so much because, you know,

even for my dad's career, like, and I say this to Brett all the time, I don't, that's why I wanted my dad and Brett to go into the Hall of Fame together because I was asked by Vince, you know, Vince said to me, he's like, well, do you want your dad to go in alone or do you want him to go in?

And I, I, my dad would never have had the things that he had in WWE. He never would have had that career had Brett not looked out for him the way that he did. And so sometimes Brett, like, I always hear Brett talk. talking about my dad and he's like, I never would have, you know, found myself, like found that

personality without the Anvil. But Brett really took care of my dad. He looked out for my dad. Brett's done some great things for our family that aren't always talked about, you know, and it's funny even just sharing with you guys, but like, and I've actually never said this in interviews before, but like, if Brett hadn't fought for Owen to get that WrestleMania 10 match, Owen never would have gotten that. Brett fought very, very hard for my dad and him to win the tag team championships. And when they won them, I don't think they were supposed to win them. And Brett fought really hard, and he fought really hard for them to have great matches

and fought really hard for my dad to like, whenever the Hart Foundation was losing, Brett would always be the one that would take the fall. And then he's like, the anvil can't get pinned. You know, Brett's the porch. My dad was the tank. He's like, the tank gets pinned. We're dead in the water. He did so much to protect my dad.

You know, it's, I just think about the work that, you know, even with Davey and SummerSlam, like, that. That match was so special and I'm so happy that Brett and Davey got to have that incredible match. And it was because they came together and I think Brett and Davey really had a vision for that match. But Brett really doesn't always get the credit for like helping so many people, especially like within our family, but like so many people in general. He was somebody that Steve Austin says, listen, I never would have turned that corner without Brett doing that for me at WrestleMania. And actually Brett has a bar that he, a bar, a bar, a restaurant bar called Hitman's. in Calgary. And his daughter reached out to me and said, listen, I want to surprise my dad for his

birthday. Can you help me? And she's like, I want to get this picture. If we can get this picture, if we can get Steve Austin to sign this picture, I want to frame it and give it to my dad. So I reached out to Steve Austin. I showed him the picture. I said, you know, we'll send it to you and if you could just sign it to Brett, we want to surprise it. Give him, give him the picture as a surprise. Steve was so excited to do that. He wrote this like little, like, kind of like a little love letter to Brett on the picture and just said I never would have had. I never would have been what I like became without you.

And Brett has it at his at his bar with the razor blade. Like yeah, with the razor blade from that match. But, but like Brett has done, you know, he's, I just want to get Brett as flowers. I know he's the hitman everybody, you know, he has, but like sometimes people don't know about that stuff behind the scenes

that he's done that really has helped a lot of people. It's like the industry, what I love about wrestling is like I love being able to help others. I love when other people help others. I love when you see people,

like that's what I love about my ring. Is when people are in there and they just get it. Like somebody, it's just clicks for them. Like I see BFAB in our ring and she's been coming for three years. She flies herself in. She, you know, she gets there and she gets it. I just love, like I said to TJ,

even like, you know, it just makes me, it makes my heart so full to see when the light bulb goes off for someone or like helping someone get a tryout or giving someone a great match or all my favorite matches are the matches that I've lost but I like saw something go off like in my opponent's eyes that felt like Charlotte for us you know that takeover match that we have those are the things I love about wrestling I just love like everybody giving back and making this like beautiful story with each other that's what I love about this I love that we're gonna open it up to Q&A in just a minute here but I have just one final question for you you know

it's a question that I end every interview with because gratitude, such a big part of my life. Nadie, what are three things you're grateful for right now? I am grateful for my health. Knock on wood. I'm so grateful. Yeah, I'm so, so grateful for my health. If you don't, if you're not healthy, it's,

you know, it's, you have, my, your health is everything. I'm just grateful that I get to do what I love because it's, it's just, Some people never get the chance to touch their dreams. You know, not everybody gets the chance to do that. And so for me, I'm just so grateful. And that's, like, I think that's a big part of what keeps me motivated is just, like, gratitude that I get to do this. Um, the other thing that I'm grateful for, Louis Vuitton.

I'm just kidding. I'm just kidding. I'm, actually I'm not. Um, I, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I am grateful for my family. My family means everything to me. I'm so grateful for them. I would have had none of this

without my grandfather, my family paving the way for me and taking a ton of body slams so that I can go into Louis Vuitton and buy the cute shoes that I like. These aren't Louis Vuitton. These are Loubaton. These are Loubitties.

But, you know, I mean, I don't discriminate. Loobies, louis. I'm grateful that we somehow made it through this whole interview without being put in the sharpshooter. Oh, my gosh. Speaking of a sharpshooter, okay, you're not going to get out of this interview

without being put in the sharpshooter and I'm going to take my heels off. Clear the stage here. Assume the position. Oh, my goodness. You guys laughing at all my jokes, I love it so much. Okay, so it's not, I mean, listen, it might hurt a little bit, but you got to go on your back.

We got to save a little space. I think we've got to take the jacket off here. Yeah, but take the jacket off. I took my shoes, I took my shoes off. And I also wanna, I wanna make sure you have a good chiropractor. Like, you got a good chiropractor, right? Sure. Good, I've got some, I've got some on speed dial that I can refer you to. So I'm gonna step my leg through.

Relax, yeah, yeah, yeah, of course. Okay? You guys are so amazing. That was like, I am, this is like, this is like my WrestleMania right now. Thank you. If it wasn't for you guys, I wouldn't have done that. 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 Clevenberg.

And now we're giving people an inside look at the World Cup. Times 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 Henco. Follow and listen on your favorite platform.

If you've got a question now, we'll open it up. And your question can't be, can you put me in the sharpshooter? Oh my gosh, I'm having so much fun. Bring your chair back up to where we were. I really don't want this to end. Are you okay? I know. Yeah, yeah.

Okay. You're lucky that I didn't. I'm selling. He's lucky that I didn't really lock it in. I didn't really lock it in. Have you seen me put the sharpshooter on Molina? That's true. Okay, Harris.

I let you off pretty easy. We'll start over here. What's your name? Colby. So Natalia, you're the goat. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Recently a report came out that the women found Triple H's booking they're unhappy with it. And I view you as somebody that's very unutilized. What's your stance on that? Here's my thing.

And it kind of goes back to what I was saying earlier is that I was actually saying this I was talking to my mom. I talked to my mom about everything and I was saying like sometimes it's so easy especially with like nowadays we all have access we all have a platform. If you're on Twitter you're on Instagram you're on TikTok you're on social

media you have a platform. By the way I'm breathing heavy from that sharp future. Yeah me too. But we all have a platform and that's the cool thing about like this day and age is that everybody has a voice. It is so easy It would be so easy for me to like go on social media and be like, I'm mad about this and I'm mad about that and I'm not, you know, I should have this and I should have that. Like I would have loved to have been the first ever women's IC champion.

I would have loved that. I just, for me and that this is the big thing is that there just has to be the right story. And so, so that's, I think, everybody wants everything now. We're living in a world of instant gratification where we want, you know, we want everything right now. And so there's always going to be times where people feel like we should have this and the women's division should do that and there should be this. And it's like I do think that booking a weekly TV show, it's not easy. Like, it's actually, especially because there's lots of things that happen behind the scenes that people just don't know about. Somebody gets hurt or somebody can't make it or, you know, this isn't where we're going for the big picture.

Like, of course, of course, of course I would love to do more in WWE. But I also want there to be the right story. and I also would never, I think there's a big, especially being somebody that is, you know, has been in WWE for 18 years. Like, I would love to do more, but I also understand that timing is everything. So I have faith that the right story will come.

And actually, I feel like we're right around the corner from some big announcements being made, especially with my, like with what I'm doing, that those stories will come to, I'm leaving you guys on such a cliffhanger. Those stories will come to fruition. So, yeah, I mean, it's easy to critique, but at the same time, I try to be patient, I try to empathize, and also the one

thing I do is I make suggestions, rather than be like, I should have this, I should have that, I go, hey, I have an idea, we don't like that, hey, I got an idea, we don't like that, hey, I got an idea, something is going to stick. And so I have faith that things, I think that things are going to get exciting. It's just not easy because also right now we just have so many women. And I think that it's a good thing, but it's also challenging because you want to make sure that everybody has a special place. And I think that's the thing is that back when, back a few years ago, sometimes I'd be on TV every single week,

but I wasn't always doing the most meaningful things. I mean, at one point I was passing gas. And so it's like, you know, I'm joking about that, but it's like I think what I do like about this new era is that we're just trying to find the right stories. And I think, you know, we all want more. It's your only human to want more, but I also think that, like, let's just see what happens. All right.

Where's a... Thank you. Thank you. I have faith. I have faith. Hello. Yes, sir. What's your name?

Sylvan. All right. So besides the Heart Foundation, what faction of any faction would you be a part of? Ooh. Judgment Day. Why? Listen, I love Liv. And Liv.

actually an original dungeon. She's a dungeon OG. Of course, Raquel is a dungeon OG. If you saw J.D. McDonough's performance, his last match, I mean, you guys saw that. I was,

I'm still blown away by the amount of grit that he wrestled that match after breaking a rib and puncturing a lung. Like, that's passion to me. And I think about, like, Carlito. I mean, If I want apples, I know where to go.

I just think Judge of Day is so cool, and I think that would be a cool team to be a part of, you know, Natty kind of exploring her inner goth side, so does me. What if we go old school? Would you rather be in DX or the NWO? Damn. I, oh, man, that's a hard. Well, I don't know if we can picture you in either of them.

Yeah, I would say NWO Natty. For a life. Poor light, right? You're right. How about we go right in the middle here, Harris? I can actually see you, so. Hi, Nanny, Larry speaking. You've been there since the Divas Division Star.

What did you say is your favorite match? Since the Diva. So it's so hard to think about my favorite matches. I mean, I think there's a few that are so, so special to me. I think about, like, it's funny, I don't talk about this match enough, but the match that I had in 2019 in Toronto against Becky Lynch at SummerSlam, it's one of my favorite matches of my career

and I don't talk about it enough. But Becky actually fought really hard for me to have that story. And a lot of people don't know that, but Becky pitched for me to have that match with her at SummerSlam in 2019. And, you know, that's what I love about. Becky is actually that she fights for women in our division that are in rooms that they're not, like,

I wasn't in the room when she fought for me that I want to work with Natty. And we only had five weeks to kind of tell the story, but I love that match. I opened up SummerSlam in 2019 in Toronto against Becky Lynch, and it was so much fun. I loved our chemistry.

She always wants to tell what's, like, do what's best for the story. She was so giving. She let me hit her really hard. She hit me really hard. No, but we just had such a great story. I love, love, love that match. And I think a match that I just,

you know, a match that I just, that means the world to me is my match against Charlotte Flair at Takeover. 2014, that match will always be like, it will always be like my WrestleMania moment. It was only in front of 200 people. And I just loved, it's like when I was saying earlier about giving back and you see the, like, somebody's eyes light up when, like, they get, they get it. And that was her after that match. And she was so gracious. She was so excited.

She just was like, she was just such a dream opponent. And it's like the second I locked up with her, I just knew that we were just going to have a magical match. But it was just such a special match. And again, I've wrestled more matches than any other woman in WWE history. And some of my most special matches have been me losing and me only in front of 200 people. And so it's just like, it's just, you know,

you never know what's going to be meaningful for you. It's really all about the story and all about the connection. that makes matches special. He's wearing a Natty cat shirt. Okay. So right, right down here. I want to answer, I want to, I want to get kicked out of here. So like, basically I want, like, 10 more minutes.

Okay, but I want them to be like, get off the stage, Natty. So, right down here. You're in the pink shirt? Yeah. Yeah. Okay. Hey, Natty. It's Eddie.

Eddie. How you doing? Good to see you. Good to see you, too. I know you were talking earlier about each roster, Ross, McDonnell, and, there's no there's no denying that the NXT roster is stacked right now

Right Is there are there any individuals that you're Sort of like chomping at the bit to get into the ring with I know you've already been in the ring with like Roxanne But like maybe somebody like a Julia or a Stephanie Vacura or Yeah I mean it's there's just there's so many women at NXT right now that are just like To me

I would absolutely love to tango with with Jordan Grace. Yeah. Yeah. I would love to work with her because she loves this. She's a student of the game. I look at these pictures of her transformation

from when she first started to where she is now. And she is a student of the game. I would absolutely love to kick her ass. Yes. Okay, let's go over to this side of the room here, Harris. These are great questions, by this. Yeah, you guys are amazing. Hi, my name is Leah.

Hi, Natty. Hi, Leah. This works for me. I was a big fan of you on Total Divas. You were like the Lisa Barlow, the Kyle Richards, you know, the Nini Leaks. You were the star. Would you want to do something like that today? And if you did, what women would you want to start with you?

Oh, well, I love Total Diva because, I mean, I know I cried a lot on the show. I was always a part of a lot of drama. I was like, I mean, it didn't matter who was on. I was always in every single season of that show, and I was always a part of so much. drama and I loved every second of it. But I would love to do something like that again and I think like now that WWE is you know we're on Netflix I think there's lots of room for that kind of content. I would love to see like a revamped show a whole brand new modern

version of total divas and if I were to pick like let's just say a cast of six I would pick Lib Morgan I'd pick Tiffany Stratton I would pick Maxine Dupree Gosh, I'm picking a lot of blondes. You know I can't not have an OG Total Diva in there. I would have Trinity, Naomi. I'd have Nikki Bella. You got to bring Nikki back.

I mean, Nikki's... Of course, yeah. She's going to bring the wine. She's going to bring a little drama, but you know she's going to kick a little ass. Oh, gosh. You know who's not afraid of drama is Naya Jacks. I would...

I would, I know I probably went over the cast, like, it's like six, seven, but yeah, those are like some of the people that I'd have, did I say Chelsea Green? So Chelsea would be, you could just keep naming. Chelsea, oh my God, Chelsea would be so fun on that show. But yeah, those are, like, it's hard to pick because it's like, but those are people like, I got to pick some OG Total Divas, but like I do think, like, I think just that would be a fun, like, combination of girls. But yes, I'm always down for that. Would you guys watch that show? Yeah. I lost no shit.

Okay, throw your hand up there. Yeah, right over there. Hello, my name's Thomas. I will concur with the previous that you on Total Divas, especially with your mom, your dad, and your sister. My dad enjoyed watching that with us. But my question for you is, a lot of people know things about Brett and Owen and Stu,

but do you have any good memories of your grandma, Helen? Ooh, my grandmother, Helen, like, she, Helen Hart, We always, you know, she's the queen of hearts. She's the original queen of hearts. My grandmother, she was actually the real woman. Like, she was a real person behind Stampede Wrestling, like the real boss. She was the boss behind Stampede Wrestling. So my grandfather essentially was the promoter for Stampede Wrestling.

My grandmother was in charge. So when Andre the Giant got his paychecks, he had to go through Helen. And, you know, she was just the one that she could charm the pants off anyone. And actually, this is a really cool story, and I've never shared this. You know, that song, Pompin Circumstance? So it's Randy Savage's song, and it was Gorgeous George's ring music. And the reason why it was Gorgeous George's ring music is because he worked for my grandfather in the 40s, and he never had ring music before.

And my grandmother came up with the idea for Gorgeous George to come out. She went to the Calgary Public Library and got the song. and she suggested to Gorgeous George that he should come out to pomp in circumstance and he loved the song and he came from that moment on working for my grandfather, he always came out to that song.

And he's one of the very first professional wrestlers ever to come out with me, like to do his ring entrance with music. Wow. So it was my grandmother, Helen Hart, that actually was the reason behind that. It's a really cool story that I've never shared,

but it's just, my grandmother was just brilliant. She was like a genius. I think we've got time for maybe two more. Two more. You guys are asking the best questions, by the way. Right over here. Hey, Natty, Matt.

Hi. So you've had an amazing career, but I'm sure there were trials along the way. So I was wondering if you could maybe share something that got you heat backstage, either with another wrestler or the brass. Did I, like, do backstage or sorry? Yeah, yeah, just something, either unintentional or just something that happened. Like a bump in the road here. Yeah.

Something like... Like something that happened that didn't go your way. You know, you've had so much success. What's something that... I have bumps in the road like every single day, including getting here. I was running on the street trying to get into the front...

Did you guys notice we were slightly late? Toronto traffic. I was like, wait. I mean, that's the thing is that like we have... We're all human. And so I always say this to the girls because I've been in the locker room now for 18 years. We're all human.

We all want more. We're all very competitive. Of course we have bumps in the road. We have disagreements. We have conflict. I think it's part of being human, but it's also, like for me, I think it's important to go through those, like it's important to go through like those rough patches because if life was easy, what do we learn?

You know what I mean? The biggest lessons, the best lessons I've learned are usually coming from things that are hard. You know, like when T.J. got hurt in WWE when he got injured, that was a really big hardship for me. That was very challenging for both myself and TJ, but I look at where TJ's at now, and I think that was like the biggest bump in the road for me in my whole professional career. I am so grateful in a lot of ways that

TJ is where he's at right now because he's bringing so much to WWE in ways that he never would have done before. He's really able to make a massive impact in the women's division. A lot of the matches that you see and love, TJ has a big part, and helping the girls come alive in those matches. And so had that injury, that major bump in the road,

had that never happened, we may not have T.J. Doing what he does, helping produce a television show weekly in WWE. And so he's been such a massive asset. And I don't know, and this isn't saying that TJ's wrestling career wasn't great, but I don't know if his wrestling career could have done that alone. He wouldn't have had the kind of impact that he has now if he was just a wrestler in WWE. So it's like funny because that was like the hardest thing that I ever went through. It really rocked me.

And TJ, like rocked us to our core. But it also was, we were able to help so many people from it. And it really helped kind of change our lives in a way that we never expected in like the best possible way. Great question. Okay. We have time for just one more. I'm going to let you choose Natty. Oh, wow, that was quick.

Yes. We'll bring the mic down. Because the reason why is because that you've been, you've been, yes. You talked about the women's division being the best it's ever been and obviously the new Intercontinental and Women's United States. What is the women's division need to get to the next level? What's the next thing on the horizon for the women's division? For me, I think these questions are amazing. I feel like I'm on Dateline, NBC.

I'm getting all the tough questions. It's like, you're Katie Kirk and I'm... I mean, listen, we can't... The thing about this division is that nobody can do. get comfortable. So that's why I say, like, and I use myself as an example, is like, I've been in WWE for 18 years, but I, like, when I signed my new contract last June, I asked myself, I'm like, am I good enough to be in this division? And what do I need to keep doing to prove myself? And what do I need to do to push myself every day and not rest on just my last performance

or that I did this or that I did that? Or that, like, what do I, every single girl needs to stay hungry and everybody needs to fight and not rest on oh we had a great week last week you know i think that everybody needs to bring ideas to the table and also utilize every resource that we have which is like what i love about chelsea green is that you know she might only get 20 seconds on smackdown but she she maximizes every resource because we all have the ability to take our platform and and do more with it you know and and so that's like i think every single person not just the women's division but everybody needs to continue to stay hungry and fight. And, like, you know, I ask myself, like, okay, so where would I put me?

If I was the book, the show right now, where would I, where could I see me fitting in? And how can I suggest that? And how can we get more girls included? And how can we bring out the best stories? The matches are only matches unless there are stories. So you need to have the story behind the matches. And so it's not just about the moves. Because a lot of the girls and guys can do crazy, crazy things.

but they don't like mean anything unless there's stories behind it. So when the girls like, you know, help kind of bring out the stories and they help they help accentuate that on social media and they're working on like promos and they're cutting promos on their phone or they're posting them on Instagram doing things to help move along the stories. I think that everybody needs to stay hungry, myself included. You know, that's why it's, that's why I go to my ring and train. Not everybody has their own ring, but like I could be like,

well, I've had so many reps. I don't need to train anymore. It's like, no, if I don't train in my ring for a week, I'm rusty. I want to stay ready because you just never know when that opportunity is going to come. You never know when you're going to get that phone call that they're like, listen, we need you on Smackdown tomorrow night. You guys are going to have this much time to give a championship match. You have to stay ready.

You have to stay positive. You have to stay focused. You have to stay driven. You have to stay hungry. And you have to do whatever. Like you, there's only a handful of women in the world that get to do this at this level. when I think sometimes when I'm feeling sorry for myself or when I'm complaining inside and I'm like,

oh, I want this or I should have that. Everybody wants more. There's an independent wrestler all the way across the world that's wishing that she could have what I have. And there's a girl right now that's the women's champion that she wants more. And there's a girl that's in NXT that just can't quite break through and she wants more.

And so everybody just has to stay hungry and work hard and stay ready. And Brett actually used to always. say this and he started at the bottom and he made it to the top but he would he would always say talent cannot be stopped and i truly truly believe that so that was a great question natty you're the best and i think you might be the nicest human on the face of the planet give it up again ladies and gentlemen for the one the only the vote metallia all right there we go thank you to natty for a great conversation and thank you to everyone who is in the house there in toronto

live for this episode, including my parents. Yet Dirk and Helen Van Vleet were there. And it's kind of funny because they aren't wrestling fans at all. I'm sure you've heard me tell the stories about how my dad, I mean, when I was growing up, despised wrestling. He's okay with me watching it now. But it's funny because they were in the house. They were watching and they had no idea what we were talking about

with any of this stuff. But they seem to have a great time. But thank you for being with us on this one. Thank you for all of the. the amazing comments that you guys have been leaving on Spotify. I can't tell you how much. I appreciate that. I just appreciate you guys allowing me to spend an hour with you three times a week. It's awesome. And I look forward to seeing you in Las Vegas this Thursday for Insight Live with special guest, Our Truth. Grab your tickets at CVVTix.com. Snap a screenshot. Let us know

that you enjoyed this episode and tag us. She's at Nat by Nature. I'm at Chris Van Vleet. And so cool seeing Natty doing some very interesting things outside of WWE, like the NWA Crocket Cup next month that's been announced and also Bloodsport, Josh Barnett's Bloodsport this weekend. Very cool to see that different side of Natty. I will wrap this up with a quote from Bruce Lee, the successful warrior is the average man with laser-like focus. Think about that. The successful warrior is the average man with laser-like focus. What's that thing in your life that you should be putting that laser-like focus into? Be great.

Be grateful. Have an amazing day. We will see you on the next one for some more insight. We've got Chelsea Green joining us on Thursday. Another Canadian. It's like Canadian week here. See you back here on Thursday for that. Jim Rome takes on sports.

Why? Because I have a job to do. rapid fire takes. So I don't want to hear from you lava pigs on this notion today. No idea what you're talking about. You're complaining more than you like to breathe air. It's like you get up in the morning only to complain and cry and moan on social media about things that you don't even understand.

He's the spitfire of sports smack. Take advantage of it. Get up in here. The Jim Rome Show podcast. What's your beef? Follow and listen on your favorite platform. You've been warned.