Natalya credited Vince McMahon for making it possible for her to compete in the first-ever WWE women’s match in Saudi Arabia, noting that he fought for the bout to take place.
Speaking with DS for “Ring the Belle,” Natalya reflected on her 2019 Crown Jewel match against Lacey Evans, expressed her appreciation for Tamina, and shared more about her experiences.
You can check out some highlights from the podcast below:
On talking to McMahon about wanting to wrestle in Saudi Arabia: “WWE is my home. It’s where I’ve built so many incredible, amazing moments. I think it is about trust, though; they know that I’m going to deliver. I just feel like the women have come such a long way, and Vince McMahon gave me so many opportunities… The Saudi Arabia match, I said to Vince McMahon, when WWE first started doing stuff in Saudi Arabia, I said, ‘Vince, I really want to go. I want to be the first woman to wrestle in Saudi Arabia.’
“Vince made it happen. I think Vince really wanted women to wrestle there, too, and he really wanted us to have more visibility there, to be able to do what we love. So I will always be so grateful to Vince for that moment, because he fought for the women to have more visibility in Saudi Arabia. He had to fight. So, look at us now.“
On Tamina: “I love her… she didn’t get enough credit. I mean, she was there in WWE for a long time, but she never wanted to have — I felt that she never wanted to be in the spotlight as much as she wanted to be there for the girls in the locker room. And I think that’s so commendable. She loved being — really, she was the true mama bear of the locker room.”
On her message to her fans: “Thank you for being on this journey with me since the beginning. It never goes unnoticed with me, and I just — I see everybody’s beautiful comments, beautiful messages, and I always just feel the support. So you guys get it. And it means the world to me, so thank you.”
On her Nattie Neidhart persona: “I think everybody has two different sides. You know, first of all, I’m a Gemini. So Geminis have two different personalities. The thing about Natalya is that she’s gonna be a team player. She’s safe. She wants to help everybody. She wants to elevate. She survived a lot. She survived an era when women’s wrestling wasn’t always encouraged, but she did whatever she had to do to survive. Nattie, I have no sympathy for the weak, and I’m like a vigilante. When it comes to when the bell rings, everybody can go f**k themselves.”
“Triple H, we’re working on some opportunities right now, which is really exciting. Like, if it wasn’t for Triple H, I wouldn’t be able to do all this stuff outside of WWE, right, which I said to him the other day at Triplemania. I walked up to him, and I got emotional, and I was like, ‘Thank you so much for letting me be Nattie.’ I needed to be Nattie, and I still want to do a lot more with Nattie, but I said to him, ‘I never would have been able to do that outside of WWE,’ had he not given me that permission to do that.”
On her farting gimmick in WWE: “I have a whole chapter, and it involves one of our head writers in WWE. You’ve gotta read the book just for that chapter. It’s a serious chapter, but it is juicy. Tea is spilled.”
On working AAA TripleMania: “I had a little talk with Undertaker right before I went out. When Undertaker asks you to do something, you do it. I’m not gonna say what he asked, but I made sure that Nattie was alive and well that night. I will say Taker was a big inspiration for me to really just unleash, and I’m happy that Triple H, Taker, Shawn, and the powers that be. Everybody was there to really see that Nattie character come to life.”
Ricky Saints captured the WWE NXT World Championship at No Mercy, defeating Oba Femi in Saturday’s pay-per-view main event. Following the victory, several wrestling stars — including Shawn Michaels and Cody Rhodes — took to social media to share their reactions.
Michaels even posted a backstage video congratulating Saints on his championship win, while others across the wrestling world praised the new NXT Champion online.
You can check out some of the reactions below:
Congrats Champ you earned tonight.@starkmanjones #NXTNoMercy pic.twitter.com/e592nZLiTA
— Shawn Michaels (@ShawnMichaels) September 28, 2025
Champ Rick https://t.co/icsRCPqexU
— Cody Rhodes (@CodyRhodes) September 28, 2025
Lfg Ricky 👏👏👏👏 https://t.co/CjoEJvEXyx
— VertVixen – ヴァート・ビクセン – Player One🎮 (@VertVixen) September 28, 2025
I GOT THE SECRET PUMPKIN PATCH SONNY ANGEL TODAY AND RICKY WON THE NXT TITLE??? IM GONNA GO BUY A SCRATCH OFF AND LOTTO RN OMMMMGGGGG #NXTNoMercy
— ALLIE KATCH アリー・キャッチ (@AllieKATCH) September 28, 2025
Cm Punk giving Ricky Saints his flowers 💐 pic.twitter.com/NwcOS7ifjU
— FADE (@FadeAwayMedia) September 28, 2025
Love to see it! 💪🏾 https://t.co/kPrNEGdhMI
— Jade Cargill (@Jade_Cargill) September 28, 2025
(h/t – Fightful)
