WWE legend Natalya appeared on an episode of Stephanie McMahon’s podcast, What’s Your Story?, where she discussed various topics, including a meeting she had at the airport.
Natalya said, “So I take on this task of, you know, I’m gonna drive Khali. I get the free car, I get the hotel paint for because they’re gonna get me a room. This is a little extra money. I’ll take free! I land at the airport, I’m meeting him at the airport. We do like, a two-hour meet & greet at the airport… everybody and their brother is recognizing him from WWE, The Longest Yard. As I said, he’s just like an attraction, yeah? So I’m like, we’re at the airport, Khali’s doing a damn meet and greet. And I don’t want to rush him, because he wants to take pictures with everybody. So he was very sweet, very gracious.”
On Khali wanting to eat:
“So we get in the car, and I’m like, ‘Let’s get to the gym. We’ve got to get to the gym. We’ve got to get to the live event. I want to get there early. I want to talk about things with Layla. I want to go over my match. I want to get–‘ Khali says, ‘I’m hungry.’ Oh. So I was like, ‘Great.’ I mean, I’m looking at a Quest Bar that I’ve got my bag from 2018, Khali says, I’m hungry.’ So he goes, ‘I’ve got a friend here. I want to go to their restaurant.’ His friends owned a restaurant in San Diego. So we go to the friend’s restaurant. They make a smorgasbord of stuff for us, like a crazy — It was like, every type of food you could possibly eat. Now granted, I was hungry too. So I had a lot. I had probably eight pieces of bread and some hummus, and I had all the Indian cuisine. It was great, it was amazing. A lot of different spices. And my stomach was starting to turn a little. Khali decided, ‘We’re gonna pack it all up.’ So we had so much food that there was some that we took to go. And I was like, ‘This is perfect, because I’m about to explode. And Khali might still be hungry after this, and we don’t have to go get food after.’”
On her match at the live event:
“So we go to the live event. I tell Layla, ‘Listen, no hip tosses, no suplexes.’ I’m like, ‘I can’t.’ And I’m wearing — spandex is a lot thinner than people realize… And people were like — I was also starting to break out into a little bit of a sweat too. Because there were spices that I wasn’t used to. So I had a very awkward match with Layla. And thank goodness like, Fit Finlay was the producer, and I kind of pulled him aside. And I was like, ‘Khali wanted to do dinner prior to this. And I’ve eaten a lot.’ And Fit’s like, ‘Just get through it.’”
On seeing Khali after the match:
“So I get through it. I see Khali in the parking lot, he’s just swaying back and forth. He’s seven foot two. And he goes, ‘I’m hungry.’ And I was like, ‘Great! We’ve got the food in the car.’ He’s like, ‘No, I ate it.’ Yeah, during the break of the live event, Khali ate the food. So he goes, ‘I want to go back to my friend’s restaurant.’ Well, their restaurant was closed. But of course, this is Nattie the People Pleaser. In my mind I was saying, ‘F**k!’ In my mind I was swearing and dropping profanity. And all that could come out was, ‘Sure, we could do that. Whatever you need.’ And I get the car. I’m driving, his friend’s restaurant is closed. He’s like, ‘He said I can come over to the house.’ We get to the house, there’s about 20 people there. And it’s a chaotic scene, because Khali is like a god and everybody wants to see him. I mean, I can only imagine that his friend was calling friends that were calling neighbors that were calling. Walk into the house. It’s like, Khali is — he’s just, everybody loves him. And more food, more food, more food, more food. I was trying to make conversations with people that didn’t speak English. And I was chatting with them and explaining about wrestling. And, ‘Yeah, it’s really fun. We travel a lot, and it’s really–‘ Khali speaks their language, and he’s just sitting there like Abraham Lincoln on this chair. I’m like, ‘Khali, you speak their language. You know Punjabi. I don’t, and I’m making conversation. And I’m thinking, ‘We’ve got to get to the next town. It’s a four-hour drive, we got to get the next time.’”
On being told they were staying there for the night:
“So I — you know, more food. I’m already gonna put on six pounds for this whole thing. So I’m eating, we’re eating. Kali comes up to me. He hasn’t said a damn word, and I don’t even really know if he ate anything. But he just wants to be with these people. Because you know, he’s just so lovable, and he loves his friends. So he comes up to me, and he’s like, ‘It’s getting late.’ And I said, ‘Well, we should probably go. We’ve got a four-hour drive to the next town.’ And he’s like, ‘Do you like this house? Do you love these people?’ He goes, ‘Tonight, we stay here.’ I wanted to be like, ‘Get the f**k in the car right now.’ All I could do is go, ‘Sure, I’d love to stay here.’ Khali got in his room. I think the parents, they were like, ‘This is the kid’s bedroom.’ I slept in the parents’ room, and the parents slept in the living room.”
On calling TJ Wilson about it:
“I called TJ. I was in the parents’ bed… I was like, I was scared to — I’m dealing with all this cuisine. My stomach is turning. I’m scared to go — like, ‘Listen, this toilet better have a strong-ass flush.’ I had all these emotions. And I was like, ‘F**k,’ I don’t want to use their bathroom.’ I called TJ up, and I was whispering in this parents’ [room]. I go, ‘I don’t know what–‘ He says, ‘What are you doing?’ And I go, ‘TJ, I’m safe. Everything’s fine. I love Khali, but I’m in this bed of this house of these people’… He goes, ‘You always get yourself into these situations, and why didn’t you just say no?’ And I was like, because I love Khali, and I didn’t want to hurt his feelings, and everybody loves him.”
On the next morning and finding her voice:
“I woke up in the morning. It was 7:00 AM and I woke up to more cooking, more cooking, more cooking. And I just found my voice… Khali’s like, ‘We have breakfast now. We’re gonna have breakfast.’ And I go, ‘Khali? Get the f**k in the car right now! We’re going to the next town!’ And he was just like, he was scared. But I think he almost kind of liked it. He was like, ‘Damn, Nattie! This is kind of awesome.’ He got in the car and I was so proud of myself. I took control of the situation. My stomach was finally settling down. And I was like, ‘I found my voice, I spoke my mind. I stood up for myself.’”
You can check out the complete podcast in the video below.
(H/T to 411Mania.com for transcribing the above quotes)
