Natalya has spoken about the significant pressure she faced during the Divas Era of WWE. She admits she felt unworthy of being a champion and details why she agreed to one of the most infamous gimmicks of her career.
Speaking on Insight With Chris Van Vliet, Natalya explained that she desperately tried to fit the physical standard of the time. “It was so difficult because I realized that I couldn’t dance to save my life. I tried so, so hard,” she confessed. “I was like, I gotta try to lose weight. I gotta try to be thin. I gotta look like Torrie Wilson. I always had Torrie on this pedestal because she’s to me, I love her physique and she’s so beautiful. I was like, I always wanted to look like Torrie, but I couldn’t, because my body’s not like Torrie’s”.
Changing Her Mindset
Because she felt she didn’t fit the mold of a champion, she sought a different path to remain employed. “I realized that all these things that I thought that they wanted at that time, I was like, I know what they’ll like. What if I made every single girl I worked with look like gold? What if I was the, maybe not the star, but you know what I can do really well, I’ll be the star maker”.
This mindset severely damaged her self-worth. “I started to look at myself the way that I felt like they were looking at me, where I was like, I don’t really know if I’m worthy of being the champion, I don’t think I am”. She was so grateful to have the job that she convinced herself she didn’t deserve more. “I started to feel like I was just lucky to have the job,” she recalled. “I started to almost talk myself into, ‘Do you know how lucky you are to even have this contract with WWE that so many people are fighting to even just get their foot in the door’?”.
This belief persisted until Beth Phoenix urged her to fight for herself. “Beth really urged me to fight. So I did, and I pled my case,” she said. Natalya admitted she felt “so embarrassed” to ask to be a champion. “I felt so embarrassed that I was trying to tell my bosses that I wanted to be champion when it’s like, no, we all should f*cking want to be champion”.
The Nattie Neidfart Gimmick
Natalya also addressed her infamous gimmick where she was booked to have uncontrollable flatulence. She revealed that the idea was pitched to her by a writer who immediately distanced himself from the concept. “I remember with that idea, when the writer came out of the production meeting, he pulled me aside, and he made it very clear this was not his idea”. The writer noted it was the former Chairman’s concept: “He came out of the production meeting and he just kept saying over and over and over again, ‘This is not my idea, but this is Vince’s idea, and he really loves this idea'”.
The idea was meant to make her more “entertaining.” “Well, the thing with Vince is that he liked to do things that were a lot about entertainment, and he wanted to do something. I think he saw me as being kind of a serious wrestler. So he’s like, let’s do something that’s gonna make Nattie entertaining. And it was this character, you know, eventually what I’m getting to is this Nattie Neidfart character”.
Natalya hated the idea but agreed to it to prove she was professional. “But I was like, I don’t want to fart. I just don’t want to do that,” she admitted. However, she put on a good face. “But in true Natalya form, I smiled. I said, ‘Of course, I’ll do it. Not only will I do it, I’m going to make this amazing.’ I’m going to own it. I’m going to show Vince that I’m not going to be I’m not going to be difficult. I’m not going to be difficult like my dad. I’m going to go out there and I’m going to make it great”. The sound effects were played off an audio recorder for about six weeks until fan feedback prompted creative to drop the angle.
If you use any portion of the quotes from this article, please credit Insight With Chris Van Vliet with a h/t to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription. You can watch the full interview on the Insight With Chris Van Vliet YouTube channel.
