{"id":41639,"date":"2019-03-18T22:50:55","date_gmt":"2019-03-19T02:50:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lwosonprowrestling.ms.lastwordonsports.com\/?p=41639"},"modified":"2019-03-21T15:54:17","modified_gmt":"2019-03-21T19:54:17","slug":"queen-of-harts-the-understated-importance-of-natalya-videos","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/2019\/03\/18\/queen-of-harts-the-understated-importance-of-natalya-videos\/","title":{"rendered":"Queen of Harts: The Understated Importance of Natalya (VIDEOS)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Natalya Neidhart<\/strong> has been a part of the WWE Universe since January of 2007 and is only one year behind Alicia Fox<\/strong> as the most tenured woman in the WWE women’s locker room (The Bella Twins<\/strong> were signed five months later). And while she’s a 2x Women’s Champion in the WWE (a Divas Championship in 2010 and SmackDown Women’s Championship in 2017), Natalya’s true value is the understated leadership she offers a women’s division grappling with proper exposure for the first time in decades, and offering guidance in the ring (and out) for newer stars on the rise.<\/p>\n

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Born into Canadian wrestling royalty, Natalie Neidhart is the daughter of WWE Legend Jim “The Anvil” Neidhart<\/strong>, 2x WWF World Tag Team Champion, and Elizabeth “Ellie” Hart<\/strong>, one of the daughters of Stu Hart<\/strong>. Pro wrestling runs through her blood, as her mother is the sister of Bret “Hitman” Hart, Owen Hart<\/strong> and the rest of the Hart brothers (Bruce, Ross, Keith, Wayne, Smith and Dean), and she counts Teddy Hart<\/strong> and Davey Boy Smith Jr.<\/strong> as cousins. In 2000, at the age of 18, she began training in the famed Hart Dungeon (the only woman to do so), alongside her cousins Teddy Hart and Harry Smith (Dave Boy Jr.), as well as other students like TJ Wilson<\/strong> (aka Tyson Kidd) and Jack Evans<\/strong>. A year later, she was working for her uncle Bruce – alongside Teddy, Harry, TJ and Jack, as well as a young Maritime grappler named Rene Dupree – in an Eric Bischoff<\/strong> produced promotion\/TV show called Mat Rats<\/strong>, which featured a unique roster of wrestlers aged 14 to 21 years old.<\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=je0dTCMDQl0<\/p>\n

While Mat Rats folded sooner than it took to launch, she soon found herself working in the family business, wrestling for Stampede Wrestling in her native Calgary, Alberta, Canada. In 2005, she expanded her presence in the Western Canadian indie scene, working for Vancouver’s Elite Canadian Championship Wrestling (ECCW)<\/strong>, where she faced the likes of Cheerleader Melissa, LuFisto<\/strong>, and Nicole Matthews<\/strong>. In 2006, she entered the US indie scene, debuting with SHIMMER<\/strong> and wrestling the likes of Sara Del Rey<\/strong>, and All American Wrestling (AAW)<\/strong>. She also worked in Japan, where she faced future TNA\/IMPACT Wrestling<\/strong> star, Amazing (Awesome) Kong<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=7zScWKaQdBo&t=105s<\/p>\n

She joined the WWE in 2007 and immediately headed to WWE’s developmental systems, from Deep South Wrestling (DSW)<\/strong> to Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW)<\/strong> to\u00a0Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW)<\/strong>, where she was part of the Next Generation Hart Foundation<\/strong>, alongside fellow signees Harry Smith and Teddy Hart. Teddy’s stint would be short-lived before he was released, and he was replaced by TJ Wilson.<\/p>\n