Why Natalya Says It's Harder To Be A Hart Than A Flair Or A Rhodes In WWE

The notion of pro wrestling having "royal families" is something that Cody Rhodes often brings up, as the son of Dusty Rhodes. However, Rhodes is far from being the only second-generation pro wrestler signed to WWE at the moment, with someone like Natalya being a long-tenured WWE name today. However, according to Natalya, being related to the Hart Family hasn't helped her career as much as other second-generation wrestlers' families have.

"When your uncle punches out the boss? The Hart Family? I'm pretty sure we got banned from coming backstage in WWE for a long time," she claimed during an appearance on "Busted Open Radio." "That was the most controversial thing I think that ever happened in WWE [at that time]." Tommy Dreamer then claimed that he was the one who eventually helped lift the ban on the extended Hart family members.

Natalya further claimed that she only recently found out that they were banned from WWE backstage, noting that she was very aware of the conflict between her uncle Bret Hart and Vince McMahon, and compared this to how Charlotte Flair and Rhodes don't have the same issues because their parents were on better terms with McMahon. "I'm not saying it's always perfect and it was always smooth, but with my family, there was a lot of crazy stuff that happened."

"There was a point in my life where I never thought that I'd get here because of what happened between Vince and Bret," she added, noting that even after Hart's WWE Hall of Fame induction, there was still tension between her family and WWE.

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