Natalya explains her decision to re-sign with WWE.
It came down to the wire in June 2024 as rumors circulated that Natalya’s contract was expiring. For the first time of her career, it would seem as if the third generation star would be a free agent on the independent scene. However, it was confirmed on July 13, 2024 that the former WWE Women’s Champion had re-signed with WWE.
So what made Natalya re-sign with the company in the first place?
Triple H’s vision. Natalya sat down on The Ariel Helwani Show and revealed the faith she has in the new creative director and that she ultimately loves what she does for a living (Transcript courtesy of Fightful):
"Because I have a lot of faith in Triple H. I have a lot of faith in his ability to tell stories, and I’ve seen, just in the last year, the entire company is hotter than it’s ever been, ever. We’re hotter than the Attitude Era right now. Every show is big. It’s not just WrestleMania, it’s not just Royal Rumble. Every single show we’re doing is sold out. Every single show is big, and a lot of it has to do with the direction and how we’re telling stories. Prior to this, this isn’t a dig at anyone by any means, but I would be thrown into a storyline that would just last a week or just thrown into a match or just thrown into this or thrown into that. I think I was always, and I still am, a good sport and a good team player. I always want to kind of do the right thing.
I don’t like to make demands or throw my weight around or be difficult backstage, so sometimes I would find myself in certain storylines and things that, I knew that they weren’t going anywhere. Whereas I feel like now, the difference is that Triple H really has a vision, and it takes time to get there, and you see that vision. I see so many incredible changes with people like Nia Jax, with Liv Morgan, with Chad Gable. Those are three people that I feel like Triple H has really changed their whole trajectory and turned everything around for them. It’s hard sometimes when you may have a certain perception of you or how you are. I think that he is incredible at telling stories with talent, and it takes time to tell those stories, though. You see the very, very slow build. I think that takes time, but in order for me to kind of reinvent, I have to take chances. So my decision to re-sign comes in my faith in the company’s new direction and where we’re going and with new leadership and just the way that we tell stories.
So sometimes it doesn’t always happen right away, but I also think that I have to do my part too as a talent. You cannot get comfortable. When I see people tell me they want it and they’re not in shape, I’m like, you’re comfortable. When somebody tells me that they want it but they don’t train, when somebody tells me that they want it but they’re not a student of the game, you have to be watching everything. I watch everything. I watch wrestling across the board because I want to see what everybody’s doing and I want to find inspiration and I want to go, ‘Oh, I don’t want to do that,’ or, ‘Oh, I want to do this.’ It doesn’t have to just be in WWE.
But that’s the thing, I think there’s so many opportunities right now with the company being as big as…just the direction that it’s going and the ability to tell great stories that, for me, I’m really excited to kind of dive into that, but in the right way. I just feel like now, with the storylines and the way the company’s being run, everything’s being so much more well thought out, and I feel like it’s such a great opportunity for me to really do what I always wanted to do, which is tell great stories and just be great. That’s exciting to me. That is so exciting to me, to be able to go, ‘I’m in the best shape of my life. I wake up every single day, pain-free. I love what I do, I love the women that I work with, and I just love wrestling, and I just want to be my absolute best."
Natalya discusses a variety of topics that cover the span of her wrestling career. Though the former WWE Women’s Champion hasn’t been on television much, she still has a busy schedule as Natalya will be working the upcoming Bloodsport and NWA Crockett Cup shows.