Natalya has been a part of WWE for more than 17 years. She has had a very successful career in WWE and it’s no surprise that the former Women’s Champion is a role model for many young female fans who aspire to become a wrestler one day.
The Hart family member recently had an interview with McKenzie Mitchell. She talked about things such as her start in wrestling, getting to compete in the first-ever women’s match in Saudi Arabia and more.
When asked if there were any female talents, she herself idolized while climbing the WWE ladder, Natalya took the name of Beth Phoenix without hesitation:
“Beth Phoenix. I had never met her prior to working in WWE. I remember like she debuted and I was just getting hired, I was like, ‘I like that she’s different. I like that she’s not your typical Barbie doll, she’s beautiful, and she’s strong, and she loves wrestling.’ It’s funny because she messaged me when I got hired by WWE on MySpace.
Beth Phoenix messaged me on MySpace and she’s like, ‘Hey I’m Beth. My whole childhood I grew up idolizing your family and I just had heard that there was a female Hart getting into the business. I wanted to reach out and just introduce myself.’ Long story short. We’ve been best friends ever since.”
There’s Only So Many Colors In The Rainbow
Natalya would later get the chance to share the ring with her idol and the two even formed a tag team named Divas of Doom. The Canadian star recalled how the two had a lot of fun working together including working on their gear:
“Beth always wanted to pay homage to my family with pink and black. You know, we got these little sparkly study-like spikes made for one of our costumes. We always wanted to match each other.
I remember Beth coming up to me and going ‘Would you mind if I got pink and black in my gear,’ and I was like ‘Oh my gosh Beth, I will be honored and also I don’t own pink and black.’ There’s only so many colors in the rainbow for us to use.”
While the tag team came to an end after Phoenix retired from active competition in 2012, Natalya has continued being a featured superstar in the women’s division. She most recently competed in the Queen of the Ring tournament, being eliminated by IYO SKY.