I Feel Bad for Natalya....

[OYDK]

Here's a woman who has wrestled all over the world; Japan, England, Canada, etc. and was known for being one of the best female talents on earth when WWE acquired her. Since her debut she has continuously been passed up for girls who better fit the "WWE mould" whether that be Michelle McCool, Kelly Kelly, Eve Torres, The Bellas, etc. and has never been treated particularly well by WWE management considering her unwavering loyalty towards them (anyone remember the farting gimmick...). She held the Diva's title one time 5 years ago and lost it pretty soon afterwards to Eve. Natalya is now a 12 year veteran who has been with the WWE since 2007 and really has accomplished nothing, which is frigging sad when you think about it. In my opinion, Natalya would have been a great choice to build the Divas division around in the years when it was struggling the most. She would have been a great foundation to build these new girls on as well, but instead she's seemingly sitting at home or doing God knows what while this Revolution drags on.

If Total Divas can be seen as a reliable source at all, it seems as if WWE is trying to transition Natalya into a global ambassador at the end of her current contract, basically meaning they want her out of the ring and out of the way. I believe Mark Carrano's exact words were "the clock is ticking" referencing her age which is 32... one year older than The Bellas. To me Natalya has always come off as the red-headed stepchild. The one who can do no right no matter how hard-working or loyal she is. The one who never got a chance for one reason or another. People always talk about the most misused person on the roster, how about Natalya? Natalya is probably one of the best wrestlers on the roster, woman or man, and even with this "Diva's Revolution" she's passed up for wastes of space like Tamina and Alicia Fox. Someone who had Hall of Fame level potential will probably go down in wrestling history as a footnote when it's all said and done.

I guess there's no real point to this thread other than me just ranting about something that has bothered me for a while now. Opinions on Natalya and how she's been used in the past and currently?

 

[ASKane]

I terms of talent in the division it is only Sasha Banks ahead of her, she is more talented in the ring than PCD, Team Bella, Naomi and Tamina. She the potential to be a star but was always on the fringe player, never getting an opportunity unless an injury happened. She deserved far more and deserves to be part of the Revolution more than the Bellas, Tamina and Foxy but unfortunately for her, her husband broke his neck just prior to the start of the revolution story so as she was worried about and helping Tyson the divas division passed her by. I would now look at using her in NXT but she is definitely a case of a talent not being allowed to reach the heights they deserve.

However as someone who gave Total Divas a chance (stupidly) she came across as the most annoying women ever and at that time I was glad she wasn't getting success but from a pure talent perspective she deserved far more than what she got

 

[Dagger Dias]

I feel bad for Natalya too. She is definitely one of the best on the roster and is in the top tier in pretty much every category. Legitimate in-ring ability, mic skills, and has been good on both sides of the face/heel spectrum. There's no reason why she shouldn't have held the Divas Championship more than once by now, especially during the years when they had constant champions that cannot wrestle. As far as her missing out on the Divas Revolution storyline.... I'd much rather see Natalya as the dominating veteran in the Divas Revolution who PCB and Sasha are all after. She'd have been infinitely better than Nikki Bella, but it is what it is. Maybe Natalya will get another Divas Championship shot down the line. She deserves it.

 

[Hard Hit Prince]

Now that's how you rant. With logic! I agree 100%. Natalya genuinely looks like a freaking good person and on top of it all she loves wrestling, she loves WWE and has the talent to back it up. I really thought his matches with Charlotte would open some eyes backstage, but nope. We get The Bellas. Being a women in wrestling must be really shit, because it's not how good you are but who you fuck.

Look at AJ Lee, for another example here. Here's a gal that loved WWE, loved wrestling and was talented and that the company decided to fire her husband in their wedding day. Seriously, WWE's politics are disgusting. Just thinking about it makes me sick. I hope Natalya can have more opportunities in the future, and that's it.

 

[joeg]

Nattie has been working house shows recently & refereed a Divas match last night, so she actually has been on tour, as she's still on the cast of Total Divas.

Don't believe a scripted reality show, only intended to create drama. Mark Carrano is just a douchebag background character on the show. Layla was in her late 30s when she won the Divas championship & Rosa is 35 & pregnant.

The main problem is that Natalya doesn't mesh well with any of the divas. Beth Phoenix was the last thing she had to having chemistry with anybody. Her personality just doesn't stand out. Everybody had had eccentric personalities which made them a lot easier to push in the eyes of WWE. They tried to pair Natalya with Paige last year, but Paige was head & shoulders over her in crowd reactions. There has been nobody on the roster she can pair up with or feud with that would make her pop. They might have something with her & Charlotte sometime down the road, but they want exciting programming out of their talents all year round.

Who could be great women's wrestlers complimentary to Nattie? I can only name a couple right now. TNA's Angelina Love or independent wrestler Candice LaRae, & neither are obviously able to do so anytime soon. Beth doesn't seem like she is itching for a comeback & if Trish ever has one last match, it's obviously going to be a stupid one like "Besties vs. Bellas".

 

[@smarkmouth]

So far it's unanimous, and I couldn't agree more, with you all. Beyond the Divas Revolution, there is still ample opportunity for Natalya on TV, even if it is by loose affiliation with Cesaro. It's not a seamless pairing, but there's enough logic for it to make sense. More sense than Natalya and Great Khali, anyway.

I think when this Revolution reaches a logical conclusion, ie Charlotte winning the championship, I hope Natalya is at least involved in a handful of marquee matches. She could ride the wave of the revolution, scoffing at it, citing that "the Revolution has been here all along", or something to that effect.

Also, as a footnote, Natalya's pop at Montreal's live event last night was second only to Kevin Owens. She worked as a special guest ref in the Triple threat women's tag team match. I'm not even referring to her teasing a Sharpshooter on Sasha. Her entrance got a huge reaction.

 

[Soulblazed]

It's a damn shame Nattie's been completely out of this "revolution" storyline...As others have said, there's still plenty of time to add her..

Here's how I'd put Nattie in the mix..She wouldn't have her own clique of women's wrestlers, instead she'd just go after any and all women in the WWE. When she does cut a promo, it'd be in depth and a "worked-shoot" style, where she'd go into detail how she's not only the best women's wrestler in the WWE, her family's history and how no other woman in the WWE could ever match up to that, how she's been overlooked for years on end and lastly Nattie could "destroy" the Diva's Title.

If anyone remembers, during the Hall Of Fame when Nattie was introducing Madusa, she remarked how she loved it when Madusa threw the WWF Women's Title in the trash on Nitro. Hence my reasoning in that Nattie could "trash" the Diva's Title, bring in a new WWE Women's Championship belt and immediately declare herself the rightful champion since in her eyes she's clearly the most dangerous, dominant, technically gifted woman in the WWE. Nattie could then defend her WWE Women's Championship against any woman in the WWE on her terms. Hell, she could even have a dominant, 6 month/1 year reign with that belt.

Course, the idea above actually makes sense, so I doubt "WWE Creative" will ever have the collective brainpower to pull something like that off...Though it'd be great IF that happened.

 

[Messiah]

She has nothing besides in-ring ability... That's all you guys say, oh Natalya should be pushed since she's great in the ring, push Cesaro, he's excellent in the ring.. Sorry to burst your bubble but it takes more than that to be a WWE Superstar/Diva.. I've never heard Natalya cut a good promo and she's had mic time before, she doesn't look like anything special.. If she's such a great in-ring competitor, go to SHINE Wrestling, or Shimmer.. WWE is not for her then. Being great in the ring is only a small part in being a Superstar or Diva... Nikki Bella is being pushed because she's the total package. Like it or not it's the truth. She looks phenomenal, she has the best move set out of any diva there, pretty good in the ring and can probably cut the best promo besides maybe Sasha Banks. People just don't like her that's why they deny her ability, much like John Cena. They're just sick of them, once someone is around for a long time people tend to get sick of them, it's normal.

 

[TJ Matics]

Since I'm always looking for any reason to quote OITNB:

"You can't spend your whole life holding the door open for people and then being angry when they don't thank you. Nobody asked you to hold the fucking door."

I can't find it in myself to feel bad for Natalya, mainly because I don't feel bad for people who know exactly what their situation entails but turns a blind eye for sympathy. Natalya will never be Divas Champion in this current landscape, I'd be surprised if she's even given a title shot. Does she deserve as much? Her work ethic and loyalty screams absolutely. Unfortunately in the WWE, especially with the women, that's just not enough.

I don't want to see Natalya as Divas Champion and I don't care that she's not involved in the revolution because she's boring. If there was ever a chance for her it was before this revolution was jump started when she was with Tyson and Cesaro. Now we have 3 fresh faces who are all great in the ring. I know some people complain that not much personality has been shown for the 3 (well maybe not Sasha) of them but a look at NXT will tell you they all have distinct personalities, which is a hard thing to sell when at least 5 of the 9 women in the revolution are being pushed at the same time.

Now I can cut her some slack given the fact that, contrary to the end of my quote, she has been blatantly asked to be a door holder. Though she acts as if she doesn't know what that means, she's all but being payed to do as much. Loyalty is a wonderful thing but self preservation, and to a certain extent, self respect needs to kick in at some time.

Again slack can be cut out for her because she's been given dog scraps to work with for way too long, with good opportunities few and far between. Wrestlers turn what seems to be bad gimmick into a great one all the time, but a freaking farting gimmick? For a diva? As opposed to one of her few lights working with Beth Phoenix as two power houses, but that didn't last very long. Maybe creative doesn't trust her to get over on her own, but it's like putting a whole into a boat and then wondering why it's sinking. I also still believe that Natalya's run of bad luck started when she lost to Michelle McCool to be the inaugural Divas Champ, she should have won and carried on from there. McCool was never much of a face anyways and her first reign was completely forgettable.

So to be clear since I started a rant of my own: No I don't feel bad for Natalya, but yes a good deal of reasoning for that comes from her mishandling from creative.

 

[jmt225]

She's one of the most respected female wrestlers in WWE history, she has been in some of the best women's matches in WWE history, she has most likely set herself up with a job for life with the company (she's definitely going to be a trainer/agent once her in-ring days are done), she is happily married to her high school sweetheart, she stars in a very successful reality tv show for one of the biggest networks on television.... I mean, what's there to feel bad about, exactly?

How many women have been as successful as her in WWE? Just because she doesn't headline a Wrestlemania, or isn't the one focused on some horseshit "Divas Revolution" doesn't mean that she has something to sulk about. She's very blessed and fortunate to be in the position she's in, and I'm sure she recognizes it. Her fans should as well.

As far as what I personally think of her as a talent, I feel like a lot of women's wrestlers are highly overrated by the IWC today. Nattie, however, isn't one of them. She's terrific in the ring and has put on some fantastic matches over the years, against some really mediocre talent. If she looked more like Torrie Wilson, she definitely would have been the face of the Diva's Division for the last 7 years or so, but despite that, her talent has made her been able to create a very successful wrestling and entertainment career for herself. She'll be a HOFer when it's all said and done.

 

[OYDK]

She's one of the most respected female wrestlers in WWE history, she has been in some of the best women's matches in WWE history, she has most likely set herself up with a job for life with the company (she's definitely going to be a trainer/agent once her in-ring days are done), she is happily married to her high school sweetheart, she stars in a very successful reality tv show for one of the biggest networks on television.... I mean, what's there to feel bad about, exactly?

Marrying her sweetheart and starring in a successful reality show I'll give you, but is she respected? To the talent, I'm sure she's the grizzled vet who's been around forever, but it seems like WWE Management sees her honestly as more of a joke... they really don't seem to think very much of her considering her treatment over the years when it comes to her on-screen character. Also, you're right she's put on a few great matches with Charlotte, but that's about the only chance she's gotten to showcase herself in the last few YEARS. Which makes it even more frustrating that they're keeping that talent off of TV when they have people like Tamina, Alicia, and Brie stinking up the building weekly. I don't feel bad for the life Natalya lives or has lived... but I do feel bad that one of the best female talents of all time has been used so horrendously over the past 8 years or so.

How many women have been as successful as her in WWE?

Well if we're talking stats here, since the inception of the Diva's title Natalya has held it for the third least amount of time only ahead of Jillian Hall and Alicia Fox. People who have held it longer are; AJ, Nikki, Brie, Maryse, Eve, Michelle McCool, Layla, Beth Pheonix, Kaitlyn, Melina, Kelly Kelly, Paige, and Mickie James. She's been in the WWE for almost a decade and her biggest accomplishment to date (other than winning one Divas title) is managing the Tag Team Champions. Sure she has longevity, but I wouldn't call that success. There are a lot of women who have come through WWE that have been more successful than Natalya.

Just because she doesn't headline a Wrestlemania, or isn't the one focused on some horseshit "Divas Revolution" doesn't mean that she has something to sulk about. She's very blessed and fortunate to be in the position she's in, and I'm sure she recognizes it. Her fans should as well.

Cesaro's blessed to be in the position he's in as well. So is Dean Ambrose, Kevin Owens, etc. Still doesn't mean that they don't want or deserve to rise higher or become champion one day.

As far as what I personally think of her as a talent, I feel like a lot of women's wrestlers are highly overrated by the IWC today. Nattie, however, isn't one of them. She's terrific in the ring and has put on some fantastic matches over the years, against some really mediocre talent. If she looked more like Torrie Wilson, she definitely would have been the face of the Diva's Division for the last 7 years or so, but despite that, her talent has made her been able to create a very successful wrestling and entertainment career for herself. She'll be a HOFer when it's all said and done.

I agree wholeheartedly with you, except about the HOF. Why would she go in? What has she done in the WWE to warrant a HOF induction? I'd say Maryse is more deserving of the Hall than Nattie and that is why I feel sorry for Natalya. She was somebody who could have been special if they just decided to run with her, instead she has become a non-entity in wrestling history.

 

[MartialHorror]

Maybe she should bring back the farting gimmick. Unfortunately, every time it looks like she's gaining momentum, she gets cut off at the knees. I don't know they could fit her into this Diva's Revolution storyline. Maybe she can join the Bella Empire or something.

 

[stingray11214]

Gang, Natalya is there for two reasons: Reason one is that she serves as a "den mother". She serves as a veteran hand to long-time fuckups like Rosa Mendes, who is being protected for reasons known only to VKM and God. She is there to keep the Divas on the straight and narrow. That has long been known. Secondly, she is the Anvil's daughter. Bloodlines play a strong political role in WWE. Take away those two things, and Natalya would either be retired, in TNA or in Japan/Indies. She never had the "Supermodel" looks that VKM and Kevin Dunn crave.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

As a fan who knows she's always had a lot to offer inside the ring, I also can't help but feel bad for her. If this Divas Revolution had begun 5 years ago, she'd be right smack in the midst of things but, as is the case of most circumstances in life, timing can sometimes be everything.

At 33 years of age, she's definitely a "veteran" when you take into account how long she's been in WWE and that there aren't a whole lot of women in WWE in their early 30s. Natalya's pretty hot, in my opinion, and 33 is still very young in life and in wrestling itself. However, part of why she's been out is to help her hubby in his recovery and she's a significant part of Total Divas.

Looking at it objectively from a non-fan perspective, I don't see a whole lot to be sorry for Natalya about. She's been in WWE for about 8 years now, she's obviously making a lot of money, she's travelled all over the world, she's happily married and, comparatively speaking, her job hasn't been even remotely as physically strenuous as it has for her male counterparts. If the Divas Revolution becomes more than a passing fad and is part of a genuine change for women going forward in WWE, then Natalya may be one of the last women on the roster who's had it easier than the men.

 

[BestSportsEntertainer]

Natalya has always been underrated. She's great in the ring and decent on the mic. She has plenty of potential, but WWE never pushed her so that potential could shine.

 

[thekooljt]

In terms of why Nattie is not a part of divas revolution, unfortunately, In Nattie's case, she is a victim of something ALL sport celebrities go through at some point in their lives AGE. But it seems like age, amongst sports entertainers, are determined differently between men and women. Whats even more ironic is that its not the universe per se that forces this determination, its the suits. This is why the Bellas are a part of the Divas Revolution even though they are just one year younger (than Nattie).

 

[Kodo Sawaki]

In terms that she was widely overlooked almost her whole career on expense of others yes. You cant tell me that in the sorry state Divas Division was couple of years ago you couldnt have Natalya as one of focal point of it and that you could have, for example, Kaitlyn. And you cant tell me that Alicia Fox, Naomi and Tamina deserve place in so called "Divas Revolution" and Natalya doesnt.

In terms of her carreer as a carreer, no. She is a veteran in the biggest wrestling company in the world, she is likely gona stay there as a coach when she retires and she is in a big reality show. Lots of people in bussiness would kill for that kind of carreer.

 

[Prince Vee]

It's really a shame that she isn't the part of Diva's Revolution. But I ought to say I don't feel really bad that she isn't a part of the revolution as much I wanted her to be in. Because at this moment, she needs to be there for Tyson Kidd. He just had an injury which possibly could've killed him. So she just needs to accompany him.

But, certainly she's a complete wrestler in any context. And I'm really hopeful that she'll be part of this revolution in the future and will hold the Divas title for one more time.

Cheers!!

 

[BestSportsEntertainer]

In terms of why Nattie is not a part of divas revolution, unfortunately, In Nattie's case, she is a victim of something ALL sport celebrities go through at some point in their lives AGE. But it seems like age, amongst sports entertainers, are determined differently between men and women. Whats even more ironic is that its not the universe per se that forces this determination, its the suits. This is why the Bellas are a part of the Divas Revolution even though they are just one year younger (than Nattie).

Natalya wasn't pushed and didn't have much success when she was younger.

 

[George Steele's Barber]

Natalya is fine. Let's not go overboard. Maybe it is a lack of opportunity but I really don't recall anything that great in or out of the ring from her. I don't know where all these great wrestler or great on the mic comments are coming from. Could one person provide one Natalya match or moment that made you want to see more from her.

And this mysterious smark love she has is keeping her off tv right now. She has no place in the Divas Revolution. The Revolution needs flunkies, upstarts, and one strong villian. An IWC beloved veteran has no place there unless you want her taking losses playing last fiddle for the good guys.

There is not much place for her right now. Her biggest opportunity is probably her last. The only story they can tell with her is the old veteran getting put out by the younger generation. But once she gets a full push with a title or title shot she is pretty much done. And honestly the story may not even work with anyone other than the 0.1% of WWE's audience that is female and over 35 and not just there because their kids need a chaperone.

 

[whoopin' ass]

A agree, it is a shame Nattie hasn't had a better run. It is bad timing. Around the time that she started is when wwe switched back to the looks over talent attitude. Almost all of the good talent left and they were pulling in people like Michelle McCool and pushing them hard, telling us how talented they were and expected us to believe it. Girls like Nattie were in a bad spot and it hasn't gotten better. The fact that she is not in the Divas Revolution says lots. I think she is stuck though - she is married so she can't just run off to Japan like Harry Smith did. As well, we don't know what is going to happen with her husband once he recovers. There is a real chance he might not wrestle anymore so leaving wwe might not be a good idea even if it means she plays second fiddle to others.

 

[THTRobtaylor]

There are several things at work that have caused this...

First off for YEARS they have not been interested in womens wrestlers, only Divas... Nattie is a gorgeous, realistic, athlete... not a Diva. So she has been down the pecking order due to that. Sure she's the pioneer for the Revolution in many ways but the downside of that is that now WWE IS ready to change, she's that bit too old in their eyes compared to the others... with Paige, Charlotte, Sasha, Becky and Bayley all in their early-mid 20's then someone a decade older stands out. It's why they really haven't done the obvious and brought in Trish and Lita to endorse the Revolution, cos now they're both nearing 40 - they'd just look old next to the younger girls.

It's harsh but it's also the same in any sport - once the average age of the team lowers and is successful, the older guys get fewer and fewer, even if they "still got it". It's common here in the UK for Footballers to only be given one year deals as they age, and at some clubs that is from 30 without exception - even the club captain or a goalkeeper who could play another 10 years at the same standard... WWE is more interested in the 10 years it can get out of the new girls than the 1 or 2 tops it could out of Nattie on top.

Add to that the "stigma" of being a Hart - WWE and Vince have a very love hate relationship and Trips is not going to like Bret at all after his 4/10 comments. Her and Tyson to an extent have been as someone said, the red headed step-children... they aren't really wanted there, but they're too good to let the competition have or the shit storm that comes with releasing them isn't worth the relatively small contracts they are paid. They get released, Bret kicks off again, they lose being able to use him and his likeness etc... and now they've lost Hogan and Snuka, they need to keep as many legends as they can. It's again, very harsh as in many ways they are punished for past issues involving their family, even Jim stiffed Vince on money once... so it's not just about Owen and Montreal...

Same situation with Otunga, without the bad karma in the company... They kept him on cos of the Jennifer Hudson connection (even after they split) as it was a good "in" for Hollywood and jettisoning him could piss her off, she moans to her agent and then talents linked don't come in any more... It helped for him that his relatively low talent contract was roughly the same as a lawyer of his quality would make for them in Legal anyway, so they just moved him there most of the time. With Nattie and Tyson, they moved them to NXT and Total Divas where they had that R.A. role, helping the new talents adapt to WWE... the one thing they are good at is navigating the politcs, between growing up as Harts and being in the WWE as Harts, they're the experts.

The biggest stumbling block now is Tyson's injury... if it IS career ending then it's entirely possible he will end up suing, just as Chuck Austin did back in the 90's. If the injury was THAT severe and it was remotely not done right (surely their wonderful doctor they are backing against Punk KNEW how serious it was immediately right?) then it could cause a major issue... Austin got $26m as a jobber in 1992!, what would a 31 year old wrestler in his prime and getting a push get today?

With guys like Sting and Taker on the roster and wrestling past 56 years old then Tyson could easily claim for 25 more years of his career, which would have arguably been higher paid had he gone to Japan and as he was considered a "star on the rise" and was being pushed. WWE couldn't claim he was a jobber, because he and Cesaro were being majorly pushed at the time.

You're easily looking at three times the Austin payout if not a 9 figure sum at worst case for WWE, if he has any other long term issues and any negligence can be found. Remember Austin was the one to botch back then, not Marty Jannetty, yet WWE still lost the case!

As a result they can't invest too much time and push in Nattie in case her and Tyson do decide to sue... and it then becomes a very toxic situation quickly... look at AJ...

For this year or so until they know his future, she has to "bite the bullet" as both are still getting their contracts paid in full- once that year is up and Vince has to make the same inevitable call he did to Edge, then there might be an issue and Nattie is suddenly "retiring" along with her husband and a not so frivolous lawsuit against WWE begins.

Nattie and Tyson could play a major part in the future of the business, just not in the way either would have wanted.

 

[shooter_mcgavin]

She has nothing besides in-ring ability... That's all you guys say, oh Natalya should be pushed since she's great in the ring, push Cesaro, he's excellent in the ring.. Sorry to burst your bubble but it takes more than that to be a WWE Superstar/Diva.. I've never heard Natalya cut a good promo and she's had mic time before, she doesn't look like anything special.. If she's such a great in-ring competitor, go to SHINE Wrestling, or Shimmer..

So how does this differ from the Diva's that had runs with the Championship?
Sable - Terrible in the mic, terrible in the ring
Kelly Kelly - Below Average mic skills, below average in ring skills
Maryse - Average mic skills, Average in Ring Skills
Candice Michelle - Terrible in the ring, Average in the mic