WWE almost rejected 2-time Champion due to Bret Hart

Natalya revealed on the latest episode of Corey Graves’ After The Bell podcast that she found it difficult to get hired by WWE due to her family’s strained relationship with the company.

Bret Hart, Natalya’s uncle, was involved in one of the most controversial incidents in WWE history – the Montreal Screwjob – at Survivor Series 1997, resulting in years of animosity between Hart and Vince McMahon.

Although the former SmackDown Women’s Champion eventually signed with WWE in 2007, she had to spend seven years working on the independent scene before getting her opportunity in WWE’s Deep South Wrestling developmental territory.

“There was so much tension with the family and it did make things a little tricky. Whether anybody wants to believe it or not, and I’ll just come out and say it, in the world – and not just in wrestling but in the world – there’s politics, there’s nepotism, there’s politics.”

The 20-year veteran added that, as a result of Bret Hart’s conflict with WWE, she did not have the luxury of being treated in the same way as other up-and-coming talents, and she felt that she needed to “get in their [WWE] faces and not take no for an answer”.

In 2020, thirteen years after joining WWE, Natalya is now widely regarded as one of the best technical female wrestlers of her generation, while she has held two titles (Divas Championship and SmackDown Women's Championship) during her time with the company.