In a recent interview with Sportskeeda WrestleBinge’s, WWE Superstar Natalya opened up about her upcoming participation in Josh Barnett’s Bloodsport event, scheduled for today, April 17th, 2025, in Las Vegas. Natalya revealed that this opportunity wasn’t a directive from WWE but rather a personal ambition fueled by her admiration for the event’s atmosphere and a desire to showcase a different side of her wrestling prowess.
“Doing Bloodsport is so important for me,” Natalya stated. “It’s not something that they asked me to do. WWE did not come to me and say, Hey, Natty, we want you to do Bloodsport. I watched Shayna Baszler last year at Bloodsport. I watched her against Masha Slamovich, and I couldn’t get over how much I enjoyed the environment. It was just an energy about, like, the fans were just so excited. It was this small, very intimate building. It wasn’t in the stadium full of people. It was like a Fight Club. It kind of reminded me so much of the dungeon, and people were just packed in there to watch these fights.”
Natalya further explained that witnessing Shayna Baszler’s match ignited a sense of familiarity and a longing to compete in that style. “Josh Barnett of course has a deep respect for WWE and for what we do, but he is a fighter at heart. So I watched Shayna last year WrestleMania, and I thought, I really want to do that too. This is what the dungeon is. This is what we do in the dungeon. This embodies the dungeon.”
Driven by this desire, Natalya took the initiative to reach out to Bloodsport promoter Josh Barnett. “I messaged Josh Barnett, and I said, ‘Hey Josh, I want to do Bloodsport.’ He said, ‘Okay, well we have to, of course, get permission from Triple H.’ I gotta run it by WWE since I’m under contract with them.”
Fortunately for Natalya, WWE and Triple H were supportive of her venture. “I went to TV the following week and I saw Triple H. He was so supportive of me doing it I think also because, you know, WWE has a good relationship with Bloodsport. Many talents have gone and worked for Josh before, but we have a good rapport with Josh and with Bloodsport. Triple H was super supportive. I said, ‘I really want to show you what I can do in this space’ because it’s not what we normally do in WWE. It’s a totally different vibe. He was so supportive and he said, ‘Absolutely.’ It was something that I fought to do, and I really wanted to do, and I also fought to get the opponent that I have.”
Natalya also revealed her personal connection to her Bloodsport opponent. “I called her out. I said to Josh Barnett, ‘’I want Miyu’ because Miyu has trained with me in my dungeon. I believe, in my heart of hearts, that she is the greatest unsigned Japanese female wrestler in the world, if not the greatest unsigned female wrestler in the world. She is phenomenal.”‘
If you use any portion of the quotes from this article please credit Sportskeeda with a h/t to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription.
