With the pandemic shutting down many facilities and causing major changes to WWE training, Natalya and Tyson Kidd took matters into their own hands.
The couple decided to open up their own little training facility in a warehouse in Florida that would allow wrestlers to get in extra reps. The caveat is that it's invite-only as Natalya only wants to share the ring with those who have the same passion as her.
Count Sasha Banks as having that same passion.
Speaking to Ryan Satin on Out of Character, Natalya discussed her private training sessions with Sasha and others.
"We always had a dream of opening our own wrestling school because we love teaching and being around the industry," Natalya said about her training facility with Kidd. "During the pandemic, we didn't have live events. We found a way to get a ring and we got a warehouse. There is so much passion in that building. Sasha Banks would drive two hours to come train with me on Monday nights. We would set a timer -- when I speak about passion, Sasha has to be recognized. For no reason, even when she didn't have a match at WrestleMania, this is way before that, once TJ and I got our ring, she would drive a couple hours, get in the ring, and our goal was to wrestle for one hour straight. We'd turn the timer on and built up from 45-minutes. Imagine a 45-minute women's match, we did it non-stop, no break. She has so much passion, but without a ring, it's hard to find resources. It is by invite only because I want to be with people who share the same passion as me. I want to train and learn from them. Tamina has been coming in there. Everyone has seen the changes in Lana, she'll come in, fly in from LA, and just train."
When asked if there is video of those matches with Sasha, Natalya replied, "We may have some of those on tape."
And now wrestling fans have a new holy grail.
Sasha and Natalya haven't had a singles match against each other since August 26, 2019.
If you use any of the quotes above, please credit the original source with a h/t and link back to Fightful for the transcription.
