There are few WWE wrestlers past or present who deserve their flowers as much as Nattie Neidhart. As an in-ring talent, a backstage mentor and a trainer, the artist formerly known as Natalya has continued the Hart family legacy for new generations and for her supreme efforts over the past two decades is more than deserving of a showpiece match on the grandest stage of ‘em all.
Credit: WWE
With an entrance fit for the occasion.
Once bedecked in traditional Hart family pink and black, Natalya now goes by Nattie, the gum-shield wearing ‘Lowkey Legend’ who is just as comfortable in the crimson soaked, rope free surroundings of a bloodsport arena as she is under the bright lights of WWE’s main roster.
The presentation shift is one that has drawn Neidhart a plethora of plaudits over the past 18 months. A reinvention that felt sorely needed. And one that, most importantly, has breathed fire back into one of WWE’s most talented and knowledgeable stars.
All in black, the ‘Lowkey Legend’ incarnation of Nattie Neidhart has torn through GCW, the NWA, AAA in Mexico and WWE’s developmental territories EVOLVE and NXT. With her Dungeon faction alongside her in the form of Karmen Petrovic, Nikkita Lyons and Layla Diggs, Neidhart has solidified herself as the veteran benchmark of NXT.
Now the likes of Jaida Parker, Thea Hail and NXT Women’s Champion Kendal Grey are pitting their wits against the two-time World Champion on a weekly basis down in Orlando.
But what of the aforementioned bright lights of the main roster? Neidhart eliminated Becky Lynch from this year’s women’s Royal Rumble match. In the moment it felt like the blue touch paper was being ignited. The Lowkey Legend vs The Man. An A-List feud for Neidhart to sink her teeth into during WrestleMania season.
Except, it never happened. Nattie would deal with former protege Maxxine Dupri in relatively blunt order and then disappear from Monday Night Raw, rather than progressing onto a feud with more meat on the bone for WrestleMania 42.
Of course, The Lowkey Legend is still producing the goods on NXT. Her title match with Kendal Grey in June a bona fide WWE Match of the Year contender. But a marquee programme on Raw or SmackDown, complete with major Premium Live Event bouts, feels like it needs to be on the immediate horizon for Nattie rather than admirably sculpting the stars of tomorrow in the Performance Center every Tuesday night.
And should that day arrive sometime soon, Neidhart has something special in mind for her entrance.
SoundSphere spoke exclusively to the former Women’s Champion during SummerSlam weekend in Minneapolis. Our interview taking place roughly 16 hours after Nick Aldis had been accompanied to the ring to the blaring riffs of ‘Morning Glory’ by Oasis, the question was posed to Nattie if her indie entrance music of choice, ‘Killing In The Name Of’ by Rage Against The Machine, could ever see the light of day at a major show in the future?
“You never know,” Neidhart begins, “I wanted to change my music so it sounded a little bit like Rage Against The Machine. So we kind of altered my new music a little bit so it sounds comparable to that. You never know. Maybe for a really big event? When I win the championship at WrestleMania then we can use Rage Against The Machine.”
But, while we fantasy book Neidhart roaring down the ramp in front of a packed stadium of 50,000+ fans to Zach De La Rocha ferociously informing everyone that he won’t do what you tell him, The Lowkey Legend is keen to remind everyone that she doesn’t just see herself as a wrestler.
“Bully Ray, Bubba Dudley, he said to me, ‘Nattie, you’ve already paid your dues, why do you keep paying them?’ and I’m like, ‘because the rent’s always due’. There’s never going to be a moment as long as I’m actively wrestling that I’m not going to be paying my dues.
“I don’t want to just be a wrestler in WWE, I want to be everything. I want to be behind the camera. I want to be working with the girls, I want to be working with the guys. I want to be writing promos, directing, creating, producing. I see myself building stories far, far, far beyond what I’m doing in the ring.”
However, while Neidhart lends her myriad of talents to as many areas of the business as possible, let’s get the chequebook open for RATM in the meantime, eh Paul and Nick? And get The Lowkey Legend into a High Key World Title match sometime in the near future.