The desire to become a great wrestler has been Natalya’s dream from childhood growing up in the Hart family. WWE introduced Natalya by referencing her background as the daughter of Jim Neidhart and the niece of Bret Hart. Natalya had a few different twists and turns throughout her tenure in WWE that started fourteen years ago. WWE clearly values Natalya’s overall body of work even though not all chapters worked out in the long run. The relevance of Natalya sees her still involved in major programs going through all the shifts in WWE’s women’s division and will become a future Hall of Famer in the future.
9. Partnership with Ronda Rousey
WWE signing Ronda Rousey gave them one of the biggest stars in entertainment for a year. Rousey had great programs and matches for someone who didn’t have any experience in the business before joining the company. Natalya’s friendship with Rousey would link them together in the storyline and as well in the ring with Nattie showing Ronda the ropes and also training Ronda as well. The occasional tag match would see them working together with Natalya always playing second fiddle. Natalya never turned on Ronda to make the most of this angle which would have been interesting to see how far these women could’ve taken this storyline.
8. Teaming With Lana
WWE tried to form a tag team between Lana and Natalya when both were struggling to find a role. Lana ended her run as Bobby Lashley’s love interest when WWE realized Lashley had stronger chemistry with MVP as a manager. Natalya and Lana used their social media influencer side gigs as part of the gimmick with weak results. The draft coming up would end the tag team when Natalya moved to SmackDown in the draft and Lana remained part of the Raw women’s division I would’ve loved to see how they would’ve been as women’s tag team champions but it was cut short.
7. Alliance With Victoria
The initial version of Natalya in WWE saw her debut in the promotion as a friend of Victoria. WWE utilized the strong reputation of Victoria as a credible heel to showcase Natalya in the same light when the two formed an alliance on SmackDown. The heels feuded with the faces in the division of Michelle McCool, Maria Kanellis, and Brie Bella (which would lead to Nikki debuting along. Natalya struggled to break out and found more success afterward when the team ended. Victoria leaving WWE when her contract expired gave Natalya a role on her own and show just what she was capable of in the ring.
6. Top Single’s Face
WWE has used Natalya in the face role as a singles star to mixed results throughout the years. The first Divas Championship win for Natalya was the peak of this version when defeating Michelle McCool and Layla in the first ever 2 on 1 handicapped match for the Divas Title. Fans loved the story of a second-generation wrestler and one of the few women in the division at the time with a background in wrestling winning that title. Natalya has not had the same success in her later years as a singles face as she has fallen into secondary roles most times but continues to elevate the women as well as her own career in the process.
5. Teaming with Tamina
The current version of Natalya has teamed with Tamina in the women’s tag team division. Few fans had an interest in the duo since neither had momentum for years. The WrestleMania 37 weekend saw their value grow over the two nights and showed just what a tag team these 2 women made as they had one of the best matches at Wrestlemania 37. Tamina and Natalya won a gauntlet on the first night to earn a title shot on night two. An impressive outing losing to Shayna Baszler and Nia Jax would make fans react stronger than expected on night two. WWE has given more time to Natalya and Tamina as veterans of the roster looking to make an impact together.
4. Top Single’s Heel
Natalya has found more success from the heel role when getting pushed as a singles star. The initial run introduced her as a credible villain who could dominate a weaker opponent from the right angle. WWE gave Natalya the biggest run of her career from the heel side at SummerSlam 2017 when she defeated Naomi to capture the Smackdown women’s championship for the first time in 5 years. She only held the title for 3 months but she put on phenomenal matches and elevated the Smackdown women’s division in the process.
3. Managing Tyson Kidd & Cesaro
The tag team run of Tyson Kidd and Cesaro made them arguably the best duo in WWE. Natalya had a storyline already going with Kidd being a jealous husband at ringside for her matches. However, this shift would see Natalya becoming more of a manager. Kidd and Cesaro often stole the show whenever having enough time on major events. Natalya added a lot at ringside for the right story like when Naomi was managing the Usos to even the odds which gave the women more television time when it was rare for them at the time until the #GIVEDIVASACHANCE moment took off.
2. The Hart Dynasty
WWE introduced Tyson Kidd and David Hart Smith in the Hart Dynasty tag team with Natalya as their manager. The legendary legacy of the Hart family saw their ties to Bret Hart, Jim Neidhart, and Davey Boy Smith giving their active interest.
Natalya primarily wrestled around this time as the duo won the WWE Tag Team Championship at their peak and unified the Raw and Smackdown tag titles in the process. The Usos debuting with Tamina as their manager gave Natalya a bigger role in the story in 2010. Unfortunately, WWE lost interest and split them up despite looking like they had a long-term run in them.
1. Divas of Doom
The chemistry between Beth Phoenix and Natalya both in and outside of the ring would see their careers linked together. Both ladies were among the few credible wrestlers in the women’s division and formed a tag team. The Divas of Doom was the name used for Natalya and Beth during their stint together. WWE told a great story that culminated with the Divas of Doom beating the heel LayCool tag team in the first women’s tables match in WWE history. Phoenix and Natalya reunited in 2019 for a short program in the new women’s tag team division to show they could still thrive as a duo and would also compete at Wrestlemania 35 for the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships in the process.