Natalya On Chris Benoit Helping Her Get Hired By WWE, Why She Was Nervous Working With Nikki Bella
Recently on E&C's Pod Of Awesomeness, pro wrestling legends Edge and Christian chatted with current WWE Superstar Natalya. Among other things, Natalya talked about helping Charlotte Flair reach her potential in the squared circle, Chris Benoit helping her get her start in WWE, what she regrets from her pro wrestling career, and who her favorite opponents are.
According to Natalya, she is proud that she was able to help Charlotte improve in the ring the way TJ Wilson, also known as Tyson Kidd, helped her get better.
"I always wanted to be good for other people, so we could keep paying it forward. And the way TJ helped me, I'm proud to say, like, I helped Charlotte Flair that way, because when we had our match, we had a very famous match in NXT and we'll talk about that another time, like, that match helped her so much to believe in herself. And she understood what it's like, and now I'm going to put myself over, she understood what it was like to drive a nice car." Natalya added, "she got a chance to work with somebody that was better and that way, she could learn and grow. That's how I got better, by working with people who were better than me."
On the subject of Charlotte, Natalya named 'The Nature Girl' as one of her favorite opponents. Natalya divulged that Charlotte really doubted herself when she arrived in NXT and that the two have developed an unspoken connection.
"One of my favorite, favorite, favorite opponents is Charlotte Flair. It's just a magical chemistry that we have with each other. When I first met Charlotte Flair, one of the things I loved about her was how vulnerable she was. We had a very emotional conversation and she told me how she still didn't believe in herself." Natalya continued, "I love working with Charlotte. I know I can go in the ring and get the job done. She can go in there. She hits hard. I hit hard. It's very, very, very physical to a point where I feel like we're almost in a relationship and I mean that in the best way, a.k.a., the German suplex. But I love working with Charlotte. We just have this unspoken [bond]. We don't have to talk. It's just this connection that we have."
Also, Natalya said she loved working with Nikki Bella, though she was scared of reinjuring John Cena's future bride.
"Someone else that people would be surprised that I loved, loved, loved working with was Nikki Bella. She was determined to prove herself after her injury and you guys both know what it's like to go through serious injuries, and especially anything to do with your spine. And Nikki had come back from this spinal fusion and it was really serious injury." Natalya recalled, "I helped Nikki kind of with her in-ring return, but I was nervous because I was like, 'TJ, I don't want to be the one that hurts Nikki and have John Laurinaitis, Brie Bella, Daniel Bryan, and John Cena staring me down.' Like with Nikki, you get the whole package. You get all of them."
Natalya shared that she regrets not having an angle with close friend and WWE Hall Of Famer Beth Phoenix.
"One of my biggest regrets is that I didn't have a feud with Beth. We walked into SmackDown one day and they were like, 'oh, you and Beth are wrestling.' I went for years, and years, and years not having a rivalry with Beth. We were either always both bad guys, or both good guys, or teammates. And so, that was a regret that I had."
Interestingly, Natalya claimed that Chris Benoit helped her and Kidd get hired by WWE at a time when Natalya's uncle, the legendary Bret 'Hitman' Hart, was not on speaking terms with WWE following the Montreal Screwjob.
"I don't know if you want to include this or not, I was lucky enough that there were people in the industry at this time, when I got hired, Bret still wasn't talking to WWE. They weren't on good terms or they just weren't talking at all. And everybody knows the history between Bret and WWE, and the Montreal Screwjob, so it was a tricky time for the Harts to get hired, so Chris Benoit was a good family friend and our family helped him break into the industry. So Chris Benoit actually is one of the people that helped me get hired and he really pulled for myself and TJ and he put pressure on Johnny [Ace] and said, 'I want to help these two people get hired.' So I really feel like it was Chris helped us get hired."
For those with the benefit of appropriately functioning index fingers, click here. If you use any of the quotes that appear in this article, please credit E&C's Pod Of Awesomeness with an H/T to WrestlingINC for the transcription.
Source: E&C Pod Of Awesomeness