Jim Neidhart Was Furious He Wasn’t in WWE Hall of Fame Prior to His Passing

Natalya just dropped a raw and emotional story about her late father, WWE legend Jim “The Anvil” Neidhart—and it’s got people rethinking how the company treated its legends in the past.

During a live episode of Insight with Chris Van Vliet, Natalya opened up about her dad’s time on Total Divas and how the E! reality series gave him something WWE wasn’t offering at the time: purpose.

“He didn’t always feel like he was wanted,” Natalya admitted. “WWE does so much more now to honor legends and to bring back people. But back then, they weren’t doing all of that. It was hard.”

According to Natalya, The Anvil was deeply frustrated about his lack of recognition in WWE after retirement—especially being snubbed for the Hall of Fame during his lifetime.

“When he was alive, he was pissed off that he wasn’t in the Hall of Fame,” she said. “He was like, ‘Why the hell was Hillbilly Jim in before me?’ I’m just being honest! My dad loved Hillbilly Jim but he’s like, ‘Dammit! I should be in there before Hillbilly Jim.’”

Neidhart eventually got his due, posthumously inducted in 2019 alongside Bret Hart as part of The Hart Foundation. But for Natalya, it was Total Divas that gave him a second wind before that moment finally came.

“He really felt like he got to be a part of something… He loved the limelight, he loved the cameras on him and he loved all the attention,” she shared. “So that’s one of the things I loved about Total Divas—I loved having my dad included on that show, even if gummies were involved.”

With the 2025 Hall of Fame ceremony just days away and Bret Hart set for his third induction—this time for his WrestleMania 13 match with Steve Austin—it’s hard not to reflect on how far WWE has come in honoring its past.