Total Divas' ninth season has officially come to a close and all the action and drama of the finale could not be contained in only one episode. Season 9's epic two-part finale was an emotional roller coaster and calls for a serious tissue alert.
The finale documented two surgeries for two of WWE's premiere female Superstars in Nia Jax and Ronda Rousey. Nikki Bella opened up about her post-WWE health struggles. Nataya honored her late father. Liv Morgan went on a vacation for the very first time and was the beneficiary of the surprise of a lifetime. There were feuds, friendships, tears, and even a poisonous sea urchin attack, but the two-part Season 9 Finale lived up to even the loftiest of expectations.
Join us as we unveil 5 things we learned from the Total Divas Season 9 Finale.
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#5 'The Anvil' was honored
WWE Hall of Famer Jim 'The Anvil' Neidhart's passing was documented in the Total Divas Season 8 finale. Natalya's struggles with grief were a main focus of Season 9.
Natalya spent much of the season looking for ways to honor her late father's memory. This included a pitch to win the Women's Tag Team Championships alongside Ronda Rousey, but that idea was rejected by WWE CEO Vince McMahon. The Neidhart Family can take solace, however. They found the perfect way to commemorate the late WWE Hall of Famer in the Season 9 finale.
After the Neidharts came together for a family dinner, Natalya proposed doing "something really special" for her father and together the family decided to spread a portion of his ashes in his favorite place to wrestle: New York.
The family found the "perfect spot" at a park in New York City. There stood a pot-bellied tree that resembled the late WWE Hall of Famer.
Natalya was overwhelmed with emotion,
"We had no idea pulling up to this park that we would see this incredible tree and the Oak Tree is very symbolic of my dad's strength. It even physically resembles my dad. This is right where we need to be."
Natalya was surrounded by family when she spread her dad's ashes throughout the base of the Oak Tree. Her mother, now a widow, spoke openly, as if Jim Neidhart was there with her,
"We always had so much fun - we fought like crazy, but nobody had more fun fighting than we ever did. 40 years and there wasn't one day that we didn't fight with each other."
There wasn't a dry eye around when the Neidhart women tearfully embraced each other in a family hug. Natalya described feeling her father's presence and described the moment as an "emotional release." She also revealed that she is closer to her family now than ever before.
ALSO READ: 9 Things You May Have Missed From Total Divas Season 9
#4 Expect Nia Jax at WrestleMania 36
Despite usually playing a heel on WWE Television, it was difficult not to feel sympathetic towards Nia Jax, who revealed the extent of her knee injuries this season on Total Divas. Struggling through severe pain for upwards of a year, there wasn't an area of Jax's life that wasn't affected by her career threatening knee injuries.
Jax opened up this season about the possibility of her wrestling career coming to an end, but after having surgery on both knees, the WWE Superstar seems optimistic about making a return at WrestleMania 36.
After a four-hour surgery, Jax woke up to a doctor who was quite optimistic about Jax's in-ring future. Jax's orthopedic surgeon Dr. Schwartzberg revealed that Jax had no ACL in either knee as suspected, but also had arthritis and a torn miniscus in her right knee. Dr. Schwartzberg was impressed with how the surgery went and believes that things will continue to go well for Jax, who later set a goal of returning at WrestleMania 36.
Jax was reflective post-surgery,
"I've been incredibly blessed to have had such a great career in a short period of time. For the past five years, it's been non-stop WWE and so I'm scared to go away for a long time, but to be able to fix what's going on, it's something that I really need."
ALSO READ: 5 Things We Learned From The Total Divas Season 8 Finale
#3 Sonya Deville & Natalya had real-life heat
When the cast of Total Divas got together for a season finale inspired vacation to Hawaii, things quickly turned awkward. This was especially true in the case of Sonya Deville, who brought her girlfriend to a vacation that was exclusive to WWE Superstars without even telling anyone.
While this initially rubbed Natalya the wrong way, things really became heated after The Queen of Harts talked about who she saw as future WWE Women's Champions. Natalya listed both Lacey Evans and Mandy Rose, but left Deville off her list. This drew Deville's anger,
"Liv Morgan, Mandy Rose, Carmella, Bayley - literally she'll name everyone, but me. Are you trying to insult me?"
When Deville confronted Natalya, the former RAW Women's Champion claimed that the former MMA star was simply being sensitive.
Natalya fired back,
"For fu*k's sake, Sonya's now accusing me of not complementing her enough. I didn't say she was gonna be Women's Champion. I mean, I can be who I want to be, right? Is it not a free country to do what I want to do? I didn't know that I had to come up with a little compliment jar for everybody and their god*amn egos."
Later Deville overheard Natalya calling her "ungrateful," and things came to a boiling point, but the two women eventually made amends on a sunset dinner cruise and as often happens on Total Divas, all was eventually forgiven.
#2 WWE means more to Ronda Rousey than you think it does
The Total Divas cast was legitimately shocked to learn that Ronda Rousey would be leaving WWE after WrestleMania 35 to focus on family life. Natalya and the cast decided that they wanted to find a way to honor the former RAW Women's Champion, so they put together an elaborate surprise party in Rousey's honor.
The Total Divas cast also recorded a special video tribute to Rousey, who viewed it through teary eyes. After hugging her closest friend on the roster in Natalya Neidhart, an emotional Rousey gave a stirring speech and professed her love for WWE,
"I didn't know what I was getting into at all at the beginning of this year. I can't tell you how much it means to me to suddenly have this whole family out of nowhere. You made me a believer in how this really does affect change across the entire world. I learned to love and respect myself again because of the relationships I was able to form with you guys. Thank you for giving me the benefit of the doubt, and welcoming me in, and helping me to open up again, and love myself again."
Rousey added more later in post-production,
"When I first came to the WWE, I really didn't think I would be around for long. I didn't think I would ever be able to be a large player in all of this. I had a lot of proving myself to do. Then I just fell in love with the division and every other woman in the locker room."
Fans looking forward to seeing The Baddest Woman on the Planet wrestle again were given a glimmer of hope when Rousey claimed that "no one ever truly retires from WWE," and that she doesn't know how long she'll "be able to resist the urge to come back."
#1 It was a vacation to remember for Liv Morgan
One of Season 9's bright spots was certainly the Total Divas inclusion of Liv Morgan. Morgan was able to reveal more about herself on Total Divas than she ever has before in WWE. This was especially true during the cast's season finale vacation to Hawaii.
Morgan revealed that she had never been on an actual vacation before. The youngest of seven children, Morgan's father passed away before she was even born. Heroically, Morgan's mother raised she and her siblings by herself. Morgan revealed that one day she would love to take her mother on a real vacation.
Thanks to Nikki and Brie Bella, Morgan didn't have to wait long. With some Twin Magic, the duo were able to secretly invite Morgan's mother, Georgette, who surprised her daughter in Hawaii. Upon seeing her mom, Morgan was speechless and wept profusely. The cast joined her and the waterworks only continued, as mother and daughter shared in a warm embrace on their very first vacation together.
Morgan, obviously touched by the gesture, poured her heart out to her cast-mates,
"I just can't believe that you guys surprised me like that and have my mom come down here. I never thought I'd be in Hawaii with my mother, and I never thought you guys would care enough to bring her out here. Thank you so much for that."
The women toasted and left us all with the feeling that dreams really do come true.