Natalya Credits This WWE Hall Of Famer For Pushing Her To Do Shows Outside Promotion

After nearly 20 years spent in WWE's cocoon, Natalya has begun branching out, all while staying employed. In the last month, she has worked Josh Barnett's Bloodsport during WrestleMania weekend, defeating Miya Yamashita, followed by an appearance at NWA's Crockett Cup, where she lost to NWA Women's World Champion Kenzie Page.

While WWE's relaxed views on wrestlers working other promotions has allowed Natalya to branch out, she also received motivation to do so from two-time Hall of Famer Bully Ray. Appearing on "Busted Open Radio" earlier this week, Natalya credited Bully's pitches for Natalya to wrestle outside of WWE for inspiring her to give it a go.

"In a lot of ways, it drove me to go 'This is what I want to do,'" Natalya said. "And I'm screaming and shouting that I want to do it. Now I'm going to do it. I would love to do for others kind of what you did for me in the sense, where you were like 'I want to see more of this.' And then I'm like 'Well s**t, I want to do more of this.' And then it drove me. In a lot of ways, you drove me to want to do outside shows in WWE, because I was like 'There is just so much more that Nattie wants to do.' 

"And Natalya is very, very safe within the industry. I have great relationships. I have a great career in WWE. But...I thrive on...I love that kill or be killed mentality of like 'I want to fight for my life.' It turns me on, honestly. It just makes me...I want to wake up in the morning and feel that rush. And so...in a lot of ways Bubba, you pushed me to do that. So thank you. I appreciate that very much."

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit "Busted Open Radio" and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription