Coming off the legendary Neidhart family, Natalya has become a pioneer in WWE programming. She was first assigned to WWE’s developmental territory, Deep South Wrestling, before being transferred to Florida Championship Wrestling and then Ohio Valley Wrestling. She made her debut in 2007 by winning a battle royal in a dark segment.
Moving on, Natalya debuted as a member of the Next Generation Hart Foundation with her cousins Teddy Hart and Harry Smith. The revamped Hart Foundation was then moved back to FCW. By the early phase of 2008, they got the call to enter the main roster, and the rest, as they say, is history. Per the female WWE Superstar’s belief, she was born to join the main roster of WWE,
“I debuted on SmackDown in April of 2008,” Natalya recounted that segment from 15 years ago during a telephonic conversation with Toronto Sun.
“My very first match on Smackdown was against Cherry. She was WWE’s first and only roller skating diva. Fit Finlay was our producer. I was so nervous and so excited and the match went so well. I was so happy.”
WWE Smackdown: Natalya Neidhart Achieves Yet Another Milestone In Career
Natalya came to the roster at a time when women were trying to maintain the legacy of Trish Stratus, Lita, and Chyna and become the new force to be reckoned with in the world of sports entertainment. As a result, many women trying to break into the business. By the time, she entered the main roster, it was heading into a new era for its women, the Divas Era with a brand new butterfly-shaped championship to signify the change.
“It was like ‘OK, these girls aren’t going to be called women anymore, they’re going to be called divas,” Natalya noted in her comments. The term diva gathered some negative feedback but the female superstars had to fight tooth and nail to be in the spotlight.
WWE Veteran Natalya Neidhart Shares Inspiring Gym Session Photos
Natalya pointed out a few exceptional matches from the WWE Divas Era
Moving along a dud period, a change was noticed when AJ Lee was the Divas Champion. No one could have main-evented the scene like Trish and Lita but there were some young guns like Paige and Emma who created a new record by delivering a 20-minute match, a rare feat at the time.
Natalya Neidhart also delivered a solid bout on NXT against Charlotte Flair in 2014 to set the wrestling world abuzz. Recounting that match, The Queen of Harts stated that Triple H gave them all the freedom while competing in the match with no time limit,
“Me versus Charlotte, we had no time limit. Triple H said ‘Just go do whatever you want to do’ and we stole the show because we were just able to wrestle. And then you saw the actual official label of the Women’s Revolution in 2015. They actually labeled it and branded it Women’s Revolution. Then you saw the emergence of Sasha (Banks), Becky Lynch, Bayley, and Charlotte come up to the main roster.”
Natalya also proceeded to mention one of the best matches that her young career, during that Divas Era where for the first time ever, the female talents got to compete in a Tables Match, that’s a gimmick match. The Canada native headed into the match as the reigning champion, the first title run of her career where she and Beth Phoenix intended to change the complexion of the Divas division. However, that storyline didn’t last long.
“I remember having this incredible tables match with Layla and Michelle McCool and Beth Phoenix in 2010 when I was the Divas champion,” Natalya stated. “We were so excited because we just did all these cool things during the match and people just praised and celebrated that match afterward, both fans and people in the back. “Then the next day we were back to doing nothing.”
