Natalya has revealed that her bestselling first book is being developed into a project audiences will be able to watch, while also confirming that she and The Bella Twins have been actively pushing WWE to bring back Total Divas.
Speaking with TMZ, the longtime WWE star discussed several projects inside and outside professional wrestling, including plans to expand the story told in her book into another medium.
While Natalya was unable to reveal exactly what the adaptation will be, she confirmed that notable people are already involved. “I do have another book in me. I’m working on something that’s from my first book. There’s a project that I’m working on that I am not at liberty to say exactly what it is, but it is a derivative of my book. When I wrote my book, I always knew I wanted it to be a bigger story, and I wanted it to be a story that people couldn’t just read, but they could also watch. It’s very, very cool where we’re going with it, and there’s some really incredible people involved.”
Natalya also addressed the possibility of Total Divas returning. The E! reality series originally ran from 2013 until 2019 and provided fans with a behind-the-scenes look at the lives and careers of WWE’s female stars. Natalya revealed that she and The Bella Twins have been among the strongest advocates for reviving the show. “The Bella Twins and myself, we have been advocating, pushing, fighting, scratching, clawing and wanting to bring back Total Divas more than anyone. So many women that come into WWE tell me they watched us on Total Divas and that’s why they wanted to do this. Bianca Belair is one of them. We very much, very actively are fighting to bring it back.”
Natalya also floated the possibility of starring in a reality series centered around her own family. She believes her life with husband TJ Wilson could provide plenty of material, from their upbringing in professional wrestling to their work running the Hart Dungeon. She added that CJ Perry would be enthusiastic about the idea.
Elsewhere in the interview, Natalya offered high praise for Avery Styles, the son of WWE Hall of Famer AJ Styles.
After watching Avery face her student Marcus Mathers at GCW, Natalya came away highly impressed despite Styles having only been training for four months. “He’s only been training for four months, and he is firing on all cylinders. It’s not just about a name — he has this energy, this it factor, this ‘I can’t take my eyes off this person’ type of feel. I was like, ‘That’s a star.’ I told him, ‘You are invited to the Dungeon,’ because I want to work with you.”
Natalya also revealed that Jacob Fatu has been training at the Dungeon for approximately a year. According to Natalya, Fatu has regularly driven hours to train in a facility without air conditioning and has also spent time helping Tatanka’s sons develop their promo and in-ring skills.
Another name Natalya would like to bring into the Dungeon is Logan Paul. She described Paul as “a student of the game” and suggested there is more to his dedication to professional wrestling than some fans realize. Natalya also pushed back against the perception that established main roster wrestlers appearing on NXT represents a demotion.
In her case, Natalya revealed that nobody in WWE instructed her to work NXT. Instead, she personally contacted Shawn Michaels because she wanted the opportunity to work with Jaida Parker. “Nobody ever asked me to go to NXT. I texted Shawn Michaels and said, ‘I want to go to NXT,’ because I love what he does with that show. I really wanted to work with Jaida Parker, I wanted to do a program with her, and when I messaged Shawn, he was like, ‘We’d love that.’”
That same willingness to seek out opportunities also played a major role in developing her “Nattie” character outside WWE.
Natalya revealed that she approached WWE Chief Content Officer Paul “Triple H” Levesque and WWE President Nick Khan with the idea of taking outside bookings to establish the character in different wrestling environments. “I went to Triple H and Nick Khan and said, ‘I have this character. I really want to build it. Can I do Bloodsport? Can I do NWA? Can I do Reality of Wrestling? Can I please get booked on AAA?’ I wanted to build the character outside of WWE because I wanted to get the character over, and I stopped at nothing.”
Natalya believes WWE has become increasingly receptive to talent bringing forward their own ideas. She specifically credited Khan with taking the time to listen to pitches and encouraged other wrestlers trying to earn opportunities to continue asking questions and presenting ideas rather than waiting for something to come their way.
For Natalya, that mentality remains unchanged despite her lengthy WWE career — she has no intention of taking her foot off the gas.
