Natalya reflects on her 18 years as a WWE Superstar and a text message she received from Nick Khan, WWE President.
Natalya was recently interviewed by Denise Salcedo ahead of the WWE Raw premiere on Netflix. When asked about her recent milestone of 18 years as a contracted WWE wrestler, Nataly reflected on the different eras she's seen come and go, and why she feels that this era is truly the greatest in WWE history as it is one of gratitude and appreciation.
As an example of this, Natalya revealed that WWE President Nick Khan texted her on the anniversary of her first contract signing to congratulate her on all she's accomplished and let her know how appreciated she is behind the scenes.
"I'm so grateful that I've seen so many different eras in WWE. In 2008 I debuted. I was signed in 2007. I've worked and seen so many different women come and come and go, and I've worked with over 65 different women. I love what I do, and so when you love what you do, you never really feel like you're at work. Time has just flown," she said. "On my 18th anniversary of my contract signing, Nick Khan, he's, of course, in charge at WWE, sent me the nicest text. He was just like, 'I'm so proud of you. Thank you for all you do.'
"It reminded me of this new era of gratitude, of appreciation, of my boss, who probably has 1,000,001 things going on in the world, saying, 'Hey, thank you. You're doing awesome. We appreciate you. Keep up the great work.' It just reminded me that we're in, truly, the greatest era in WWE. This Netflix era is transcending. It's a huge time for the industry, and I'm so happy that I've been able to stick around for all of it and to feel appreciated is one of the best feelings in the world. So I just feel so happy, more than anything, and so grateful."
In 2024, Nattie stepped away from the ring for several months, but not due to any injury she suffered in between the ropes. Instead, she had eye surgery after living with an astigmatism her whole life. Learn more here.
WWE continues to make history and break records. The debut of WWE Monday Night Raw on Netflix, which emanated from the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California, also broke the record for the largest arena gate in company history. Learn more here.
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