WWE star Nattie Neidhart, known simply as Nattie, pushed back on comparisons between her current in-ring character and that of Ronda Rousey when she was performing for the company.
Neidhart spoke ahead of her fatal four-way match at AAA’s Triplemania 34 Night 1 in which she will compete for the No. 1 contender spot for the AAA Reina de Reinas Championship. With UFC and Zuffa Boxing hosting events in Las Vegas on the same weekend, OutKick Dropkick asked her if she would entertain a mixed martial arts match.
First, Rousey was on her mind.
“It’s funny because this headline that’s been going around all day. It says, ‘Natalya’s character is nothing like Ronda Rousey,’ and I was laughing about that because somebody had compared me to Ronda – first of all, I love Ronda,” she said. “We’re very good friends. We’re very good friends to this day so I do want this to get out there. I love her to death but my character is a derivative of coming from The Dungeon. It was something I created after I wrote my book and I realized, man, what I was doing from my very first year of wrestling, it was like Bloodsport before there was ever Bloodsport because I was the only woman trained in the dungeon where I was wrestling men. We were shoot fighting with each other. My grandfather was an amateur wrestling champion of Canada so that was the kind of training in The Dungeon that they went through and there was no ropes. It was just a mat – a mat and some walls.
“I always say that I’m Stu Hart’s granddaughter from The Dungeon and I respect the hell out of Ronda. She’s no doubt one of the greatest women to ever compete in MMA. She’s the first person to bring attention and eyes to women in that sport. I loved my matches against her but for me, this is something that is totally different. But the thing is, because I trained with a lot of men, I would never rule out doing an MMA match. I think it would be fun. I would love to beat the s— out of someone.”
Neidhart explicitly explained how much she really enjoyed getting hit, dishing out punishment and even enjoying the taste of blood in her mouth.
“And here’s the thing about my character, which is kind of an extension of me in real life is that I really love the taste of blood in my mouth and bruises underneath my clothes,” she told OutKick Dropkick. “I love it. It excites me. I just did this rivalry and this storyline with Jaida Parker at NXT and I love that she hit me hard and I love that I hit her hard.
“I love that I would come home and I would be like, you know, I’d be scratched up and clawed up and bruised. I mean I had a tooth that was knocked loose and I was like, this is great s—. Jaida said the other day, ‘Nattie really brought out the dog in me.’ And that’s the thing, win or lose, let’s f—ing go. Let me bring out the dog in you because there’s a f—ing dog in me and it’s not a chihuahua.”
That’s the kind of intensity Roxanne Perez, Faby Apache and La Hiedra need to expect on Night 1 of Triplemania on Friday night.
The event will take place at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. The winner will earn a championship match at Worlds Collide later this month.