Natalya wants to clear something up about her new “Natty” character — she isn’t trying to become WWE’s next Ronda Rousey.
While speaking with the Toronto Sun’s “No Holds Barred,” Natalya addressed comparisons between her more aggressive presentation and Rousey’s MMA-influenced WWE persona. Natalya made it clear that while she respects what Rousey accomplished in WWE, that isn’t where this character came from.
Natalya said she hopes WWE gives her more television time to explain the transformation, because she knows some fans have looked at the tougher presentation and immediately connected it to Rousey.
“For me, and hopefully I’ll get a chance to explain this more on WWE programming in the near future, but for me, it’s not like I’m trying to reenact an MMA character, for example. It’s not like some people are like, ‘Oh, she’s just trying to be like Ronda Rousey.’ It’s like, no, I love Ronda, and I think Ronda did really cool work in WWE, but I feel like my character is still evolving and growing.”
According to Natalya, fans looking for the real origin of Natty need to go much further back — all the way to Stu Hart’s Dungeon.
She explained that the character is a modern extension of the wrestling style she was raised around, and revealed that she made that exact point to Josh Barnett when the two first discussed her competing at Bloodsport.
“The character is really just a derivative of what I did when I first started from my grandfather’s Dungeon, you know. And I said this to Josh Barnett when we were first talking about me doing Bloodsport, I was like, ‘The Dungeon was Bloodsport before Bloodsport was Bloodsport.’”
Natalya then broke down exactly what she meant by that. The legendary Hart Dungeon wasn’t about elaborate character work or sports entertainment presentation. It was wrestlers on a mat testing each other in an environment built around legitimate grappling and toughness.
“You had men, you know, that were the guys that were shooting in my grandfather’s Dungeon. My grandfather was a shooter, and so that’s what he would do in the Dungeon. Everybody from Gorilla Monsoon to my dad, to my uncles, to some of the greatest wrestlers that ever lived.”
Natalya said the setup itself was stripped down to the absolute basics — and that was how she first learned the business.
“There were no ropes, it was just this mat and they would just shoot with each other. And so that’s how I learned to wrestle. I learned how to shoot with men.”
There’s also more to Natty than simply wrestling more aggressively. Natalya said the character is about becoming more unapologetic after spending nearly two decades as one of WWE’s most recognizable veterans.
“For me, the Natty character was really about just being unapologetic. It’s like, yeah, I’ve had a legendary career, but I don’t need to tell the world about my career.”
Rather than constantly reminding fans about her accomplishments, Natalya said she’d rather let people make up their own minds about where she belongs historically.
“People can embrace it if they want, or they can say, yeah, Natty’s — that’s why I say I’m a low-key legend. Because people are coming back and saying, ‘No, no, you’re not low-key.’ Let them make the decision, you know, let them decide whether I’m a legend or not.”
So while the gloves-off presentation may have some fans thinking Rousey, Natalya says the DNA behind Natty actually runs straight through the Hart family. This isn’t her borrowing somebody else’s MMA identity — it’s Natalya digging back into the toughest parts of the wrestling world she came from and finally putting that version of herself front and center.
Do you think Natalya’s explanation separates the Natty character from the Ronda Rousey comparisons, or do you still see similarities between the two? Let us know your thoughts and feedback.
This transcript was produced exclusively for Ringside News from the original recording. Republishing the transcription in full is prohibited. When using excerpts, provide prominent credit and a link to this article.
