Natalya has never looked at going to NXT as a bad thing.
Natalya went back to NXT for a brief storyline in May of last year when she worked a program with Cora Jade. Asked by Bill Apter of WrestleBinge if she’d accept going to NXT again, Natalya replied:
“Anytime I’ve ever been presented with going to NXT, I never look at it as a step down. One of the most significant matches of my entire career was when Triple H asked me to go to NXT to work with a newcomer named Charlotte Flair. That was 2014 and truly, besides the match I had with Lacey (Evans) in Saudi Arabia, the match that I had with Charlotte in 2014 was my WrestleMania moment. It was the most special match of my career because I was able to show what I could do in the ring, along with taking a brand new woman that nobody really knew or nobody really believed in yet and say, ‘this is what she is capable of, but look what I’m capable of.’ That match against Charlotte was one of those matches that went down in history that today, people still talk about it in the same way they talk about Bret Hart vs. Roddy Piper or Bret Hart vs. Mr. Perfect or Kurt Angle vs. Rey Mysterio. That match with Charlotte was so special and it happened at NXT. I had an awesome rivalry with Cora Jade last year. Shawn wanted me to come down to wrestle Cora. To me, it’s an honor to go to NXT.
“This past week, I was on Main Event. Somebody said, ‘Oh you’re on Main Event, don’t you want to be on Raw?’ There is no area in our company that I feel I’m above. Whether I get asked to do Main Event, NXT, SmackDown, whatever quarter it is, WWE is very special. To me, I just have to go through a rebuilding phase within myself. It’s not even like I feel I’m in competition at this moment with Rhea (Ripley). I actually feel I’m in competition with myself. I have to prove to myself that I’m okay. It’s important to talk about this kind of stuff because, so many times, we’re programmed and conditioned that we have to be strong at all times. We have to look like we’re in control and on top and very much company people. I didn’t last 15 years by being a dummy. I’m also smart enough to recognize that this was a down moment for my career and we have to find a way to rebuild.”
Natalya
On Monday’s WWE Raw, Natalya challenged Rhea Ripley to meet her face-to-face on the July 3 episode of WWE Raw. We will have to wait and see how the match will go down this time as the Ripley has dominated each match the pair have had in recent weeks.
H/T to Fightful
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