Natalya Neidhart, The Queen Of Black Hearts herself is a WWE Veteran and Calgary Sun Columnist who has cemented her own legacy since her April 4, 2008 debut. As the ONLY woman to ever graduate from the Hart Family Dungeon, she had a huge weight on her shoulders yet, over her 15-year tenure with WWE she has only exceeded the expectations set upon her by her family name. How did she cement said legacy you ask?!
Well, let me tell you! Here are Natalya’s Top 5 Most Memorable Moments:
#5 Natalya VS Nikki Bella (Falls Count Anywhere Match)
After weeks of investigations, it was revealed to be Natalya as Nikki Bella’s mysterious Survivor Series attacker. Neidhart, motivated by her pent-up jealousy for the mainstream spotlight and success Bella had garnered over the years, continued to berate Bella on a weekly basis spouting her belief that she should have the life Bella leaves….after all, she is a Hart! The animosity between the two spiraled into a brawl between them, preventing their already scheduled match from happening. However, it would not be long before they would meet in the ring as the stage was set for a one-on-one bout at the Elimination Chamber PPV.
Yet, their hatred could not be contained as the match ended in a double-count out. In a final attempt to end the feud they would compete in a Falls Count Anywhere match on the February 21 edition of Smackdown. After a hard-fought bout, Natalya emerged victorious thanks to a vicious attack by the French-Canadian bombshell Maryse. This rivalry helped establish a refreshing take on Natalya’s heel character and helped cement her as still being a legitimate, engaging, veteran member of the Smackdown roster, which was especially important due to the arrival of NXT superstars Alexa Bliss and Carmella to the fold. The feud also marked significant growth in Natalya’s, often criticized, promo skills which aided her in being able to get over with the WWE Universe in her new role.
#4 Natalya And Tamina Win The WWE Women’s Tag Titles
Was this the best match in the world? No. But, was it tear-jerkingly special for both women. ABSOLUTELY! This title win came after a long slog of both women being moving parts within the women’s division and after months of campaigning on social media, the two finally won the tag championships. The moment spoke for itself with shots of both women emotional upon such a victory, not only on a professional level but quite obviously a personal one too. This proved that no matter what age, women can be successful in their chosen careers, and for that, this will always be a special and memorable moment in Natalaya’s already illustrious career.
#3 Natalya Wins Divas Title
Here lies a true hidden gem of the Divas Era. Natalya’s journey to the Divas Championship was told in a decent storyline with the egotistical duo in LayCool, of which were the co-champions at the time, and she needed a friend.
So, here came the true establishment of the ‘Divas of Doom’, and with Beth Phoenix now by her side, Natalya would develop herself into the face of the women’s division that the WWE Universe could not help but get behind. After gaining the number one contenders for the championship in late 2010 her path to the title became clear yet, at both the Hell in a Cell and Bragging Rights PPV’s LayCool retained their championship through nefarious means.
Here, Natalya had one final opportunity to claim the gold in a two-on-one handicap match for the championship at the 2010 Survivor Series event. Here Natalya finally overcame the odds and won the championship, marking the end of her nearly 3-year drought of championship success for the Queen of Hearts. Whilst, this was ultimately a short reign it meant so much more in that Natalya finally was able to cement her own legacy as wrestling royalty.
#2 Divas Of Doom VS LayCool (Tag Team Tables Match)
To follow from Natalya’s title win, the next month both she and Phoenix challenged LayCool to the first-ever Women’s Tag Team Tables Match. Again, the match wasn’t the greatest of all time yet, the veterans carried McCool and Layla to a decent match that was only enhanced by the lead-in story that was told between the two teams. Fans wanted to see LayCool beaten and the fans wanted to see the Divas of Doom come out on top. It was that simple. And whilst it had to have the obligatory feminization of a hardcore match, through the gimmicked, pink table, it was a match that marked the start of the women being given the opportunity to display their talents in differently stipulated matches, the kind of which hadn’t involved women for years. Therefore, it can only be remarked as a stand-out, memorable moment in Neidhart’s career.
#1 Natalya Wins The SmackDown Women’s Championship
Last but most certainly not the least! Crowned as my number one, most memorable moment in Natalya’s career is…her SmackDown Women’s Title win at SummerSlam 2017. This win almost came out of nowhere as she had only received the number one contendership a month earlier in a six-pack challenge at BattleGround. From here she was slated to face the then-champion Naomi at SummerSlam. Their feud was almost non-existent, further adding to the surprise felt upon Natalya’s victory. However, that didn’t take away from the moment.
With it being fairly known among Diva fans of Natalya’s backstage challenges with often being made to feel ‘left-out’ and ‘washed up in comparison to that of younger members of the women’s roster it became to be such a heartwarming moment to finally see Natalya gets the flowers and respect she deserves and so, a title win, in a decent match, at the second-biggest PPV event of the year. You couldn’t help but feel happy for her here.
Not only that but the match was much better than it had any right to be, given the lack of build, and so it was exciting and refreshing to see two talented women, one-on-one in the ring and being given the time to conduct an engaging match with a heartwarming finish for us DIVA STANS!!