Having previously pitched a match against Shayna Baszler, Nattie has revealed the stakes for their upcoming non-WWE match
Reborn as Nattie, the former Natalya recently called out Shayna Baszler for a match at GCW Josh Barnett’s Bloodsport over WrestleMania 42 week.
Speaking to the Toronto Sun, Nattie shared her rationale for the challenge, calling Baszler “dangerous”, saying:
“It’s tricky because WrestleMania season is very chaotic, hectic season. So, a year ago, Nattie was born at Bloodsport. I was in a place in my career in WWE where I was like, ‘I need more, I want more, I need to grow, and I have to take matters into my own hands and fight for opportunities that are outside of WWE.’
“With the blessing of Triple H and Nick Khan, I was able to go and do Bloodsport for the very first time. That was my first show outside of WWE in 18 years. So Bloodsport is really special to me because that’s where Nattie was born.
“But I also understand this year at Bloodsport, it’s a place where I have lobbied to wrestle Shayna Baszler. I fought to wrestle Shayna Baszler. I campaigned to fight Shayna Baszler. This is my 19th year in a WWE locker room, and I can say with complete confidence, there is no other woman that I have ever shared a locker room with that is as dangerous as Shayna.
“She is a woman that men and women fear. When she says she’s a submission magician, a submission technician, a submission machine, she’s not lying. She is a pioneer in women’s MMA. She’s from the Snake Pit. She trained under Billy Robinson, she trained under Josh Barnett. When you think about The Dungeon versus the Snake Pit, I mean, that’s what I’m going up against is Shayna Baszler from the Snake Pit.
“She’s somebody that when you look at Ronda Rousey, there might not have been a Ronda Rousey. Ronda may never have wanted to do this if she hadn’t been inspired by a Shayna Baszler. A lot of women in MMA that have done well, they wouldn’t have had that road paved for them if there wasn’t a Shayna Baszler.
“So I campaigned to fight the most dangerous woman that I’ve ever worked with in a WWE locker room, and I wanted Shayna. I hand-picked Shayna because she’s going to bring out the very best in me, but I also need somebody that’s going to push me to my limits. I need somebody that’s going to get in my face.”
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Addressing the “high stakes” of the match, Nattie said that her reinvented “Lowkey Legend” persona will “die” if she fails to defeat Baszler on April 17.
“I understand the stakes are high, because if this doesn’t go well, this could be the end of Nattie. This could be the end of me. So, I have to win. Again, a year ago, this is where Nattie was born, but if I don’t win this is where Nattie will die.”
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With Natalya bringing her Nattie persona into the WWE, fans have witnessed the dangerous, harder edged character that was born out of GCW Josh Barnett’s Bloodsport XIII in April of last year.
With two Bloodsport matches under her belt, Nattie is undefeated, having seen victories over Miyu Yamashita and Masha Slamovich.
The Evolution Of Natalya
Signing with WWE in 2007, Natalya was always destined for the professional wrestling world, being the daughter of Jim “The Anvil” Neidhart and a product of the Hart family Dungeon training facility, renowned for being a tough environment in which to hone one’s skills.
A former Divas Champion, Natalya has also been a SmackDown Women’s Champion and held the WWE Women’s Tag Team Champion with Tamina, but had, for years, maintained a friendly persona that firmly established her as a fan favorite.
With her Nattie persona, the veteran star has given the fans a major reason to sit up and notice. While her non-WWE endeavors may be more brutal than what may be acceptable on Raw, she has brought that trademark aggression to the Netflix show, building up and subsequently destroying her former friend and Dungeon Dolls tag team partner, Maxxine Dupri.
Having seen Dupri win and lose the WWE Women’s Intercontinental Champion, a title run for Nattie could be a defining moment for both the future of the championship and the star.
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