Following her big win at Sunday’s SummerSlam, newly crowned SmackDown Women’s Champion Natalya was interviewed by the Calgary Sun (where Natalya is also a regular contributor) to discuss her big title win, continuing her family’s legacy at the PPV and reaching a new WWE PPV milestone. Highlights of the interview below.
Reaction to winning the SmackDown Women’s Title: “A lot of different thoughts were running through my head but the first thing I thought about was my husband, TJ. TJ was the first person who ever trained me to wrestle. He was there with me for all of these incredible moments in my career: from the day I got hired in the WWE, from the day that I had my first match for my family in Stampede Wrestling at the Ogden Legion hall in front of 50 people and he was there for me when I got called up to the main roster… he’s been there for me through every aspect of my career. I feel like I won this for both of us.”
On continuing her family’s legacy at SummerSlam: ”I called my mom and dad right away, and I talked to Bret as well. Everybody was just so happy. It’s not just my championship, it’s a championship for the Hart family.” Nattie also noted that SummerSlam seemed a fitting place to win her first title given that both her late uncle, the British Bulldog Davey Boy Smith, and Bret, had secured championships at SummerSlam. “And then Bret and my dad, in 1990, won a tag team championship at SummerSlam. The jacket I wore (Sunday) night was made by the same woman who made the jacket for my dad in 1990. I put little anvils on the front of the jacket on the sleeves.”
On tying Trish Stratus for most WWE PPV appearances by a female: “I was blown away by that. It really reminded me that I’ve worked hard to get to where I am right now and to have a chance at being the women’s champion and to have this opportunity. To tie one of the most iconic women Superstars in WWE history, I just have to sometimes step back and look at how far I’ve come and see all that I’ve accomplished and just be so grateful that I’ve had so many incredible opportunities to prove myself. Trish is one of my absolute all-time favourites, to tie her is pretty damn cool.”
Natalya also discusses backstage reaction to her match with Naomi and training with Fit Finlay.
You can read the full interview here.
What did you think of the interview?
