After 11 years in WWE, Tamina finally captured a major title when she and Natalya won the WWE Women's Tag Team Titles on the May 14 episode of WWE SmackDown.
Being 43 years old and already having a long career behind her, Tamina wondered if she would ever get that major title, but the drive remained within her.
"Knowing that it was coming up on 11 years and we had the pandemic last year and jobs were on the line, that's why I kept saying, 'If I never get a title, I had a great career and have been blessed.' I still had the drive of, 'I still want a championship,'" she said in an interview with Renee Paquette on Oral Sessions.
Natalya added, "I made it my mission since Tamina & I formed a tag team. I told everyone, 'We're going to do this.' At WrestleMania, we came so close and came up short. We were so emotional because we were like, 'What if we don't get the chance again?' TJ said, 'You will, just keep fighting.' I think about some of the greatest superstars in industry and they never stopped fighting or dreaming. The best success stories are the ones that never had it easy and that made everyone rally behind us and turned us into babyfaces when we're really heels at heart."
Elsewhere on the podcast, Natalya and Tamina revealed that it was TJ Wilson's idea to put them together as a team.
Tamina & Natalya defeated Shayna Baszler & Nia Jax to win the titles, which ended up being a sell out at the curtain.
"I had no idea that Bayley rallied the troops and got all the girls into Gorilla during our match the night we won the titles. Every girl in the locker room, no matter what role, was there and they were jumping up and down. TJ said the girls created a fan-like environment in Gorilla when we won the titles where even Vince was like, 'Holy shit.' The girls are ride or die. We've all grown close to each other and want to give and see each other succeed. I had a little guilt winning the titles because as much as I felt like we deserved it, especially Tamina, I also look at Ruby and Liv. They're the longest-formed tag team in WWE and we want them to have a chance and a moment. I'm super excited about competing against Ruby and Liv because they are two of the best in the division. In us winning, it'll also be part of their success. We know how to pay it forward," said Natalya.
Natalya & Tamina defeated The Riott Squad in a non-title match on SmackDown.
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