"Really arrogant" - WWE star on her strained relationship with Ronda Rousey

Natalya has opened up about the recent change in her friendship with fellow WWE star Ronda Rousey.

The Queen of Harts will challenge Rousey for the SmackDown Women’s Championship at Money in the Bank on Saturday. The two women have been friends for many years and regularly used to train together.

Appearing on Corey Graves’ “After The Bell” podcast, Natalya gave a scathing response after Rousey criticized her for not having children.

“We were very, very close friends, and I think some of that changed a little bit when she came back because I think, without being a jerk, I think Ronda’s really arrogant,” Natalya said. “It’s funny because she just last week on SmackDown dismissed me. She said, ‘You didn’t wanna have kids, you put wrestling first.’ Well, actually, maybe I don’t want kids. Maybe that’s not what I want in my life, and I don’t think I should be shamed for that.”

Although Natalya spoke out-of-character in the interview, it is unclear if these particular comments were said in-character or whether she genuinely believes Rousey is arrogant.

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Natalya doubts Ronda Rousey’s love for wrestling

Since joining WWE in 2018, Ronda Rousey’s passion for the wrestling industry has often been questioned by fans. The UFC Hall of Famer famously referred to wrestling as “fake” in 2020, causing huge backlash online.

Natalya, a third-generation performer with 22 years’ in-ring experience, views Rousey as a natural at wrestling. However, she does not think The Baddest Woman on the Planet will ever respect the business in the same way she does.

“Don’t dismiss every single thing that I’ve done in this industry,” Natalya continued. “I’m sorry, Ronda, that my love and my passion is way greater than yours will ever be. And because you’re so naturally good at something, that makes you arrogant. But don’t dismiss me for [having] the love that you don’t have for our industry. That’s really how I feel.”

Natalya and Rousey’s only previous televised singles match took place on the December 24, 2018, episode of RAW. The latter defeated her long-time training partner in 15 minutes to retain the RAW Women’s Championship.

Recommended: What did former WWE writer & WWE Hall of Famer think about Ronda's comments on Wrestling a few months ago? Find out here!

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Please credit “After The Bell” and give a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription if you use quotes from this article.