Natalya Sets the Record Straight on WWE Contract Demands

Natalya’s upcoming autobiography The Last Beating Hart has been turning heads—not just for its content, but for the story behind how it came to be. Initially, it was reported that Natalya made the book a condition for re-signing with WWE in 2024. But now she’s clearing up what actually went down, and according to her, the real story is far more collaborative than confrontational.

Speaking to Fightful‘s Sean Ross Sapp, the WWE veteran pushed back on claims that she made strict demands during her contract negotiations. While she did express a strong desire to pursue outside projects—especially writing a book—she made it clear that it was never presented as a take-it-or-leave-it situation with WWE.

“I saw something the other day. The things I get tagged in on Twitter and Instagram, I saw something the other day was like, Natalya made these demands that she had to have this in order to—I was like, ‘No, no, no, no. There was no demands.’ It was just a conversation.”

Natalya explained that the bigger picture for her was growth, both personally and professionally. She needed her next WWE deal to open doors, not close them.

“The big thing for me with re-signing my new deal is that it sparked all these new things that I wanted to do. I said to my husband, I said to TJ [TJ Wilson], said, ‘I don’t want to continue if I can’t grow.’ A new contract for me, I wanted to find something I felt was fair, but I also was like, ‘I gotta be able to do these other projects in order to continue doing this.’”

That’s when the book started to become a serious conversation—not as a demand, but as a passion project that WWE ended up fully backing.

“The book was something that had been pulling at my heart for a long time. I was like, ‘Nattie, take the plunge, do something that is speaking to your heart.’ I went to WWE, I told them, ‘Listen, this is something that’s really important for me. I wanna write uh my book.’ They were extremely supportive.”

According to Natalya, WWE didn’t just greenlight the idea—they went out of their way to help bring her vision to life.

“They actually have been so supportive throughout the entire process. They helped me with photos. They’re helping me with my book tour. They’ve been like above and beyond supportive and it just means the world.”

Her memoir The Last Beating Hart is set for release on Tuesday, October 28, and covers everything from her Hart family roots to her 20-year run in WWE. She hopes it resonates with readers not just as a wrestling story, but as a deeply personal one about family, resilience, and reinvention.

Was the story about contract demands blown out of proportion—or do you think talent should use negotiation moments to push personal projects? Let us know what you think in the comments.