WWE's Natalya Believes There Was A Silver Lining To Fan Attack At 2019 Hall Of Fame

In 2019, WWE decided to induct The Hart Foundation into its Hall of Fame. It was the second time Bret Hart had been inducted, and the first for his late tag team partner and brother-in-law, Jim "The Anvil" Neidhart. However, as Hart and Jim's daughter Natalya Neidhart were standing in the ring giving their speeches, a fan jumped the barricade, stormed into the ring, and tackled Hart to the ground. A group of WWE wrestlers quickly got the fan away from Hart, who wasn't seriously hurt.

According to Natalya on "Busted Open Radio," the unfortunate situation did result in one small positive.

"I'd never, ever, of course, want it to happen again," Natalya said. "It's just that my dad – I felt like it was inadvertently his way of saying, 'Okay, Bret is gonna get all the time he needs to give the speech that he wants to give.' Because Bret's speech was like a love letter to my dad."

Natalya recalled worrying that WWE officials would force them out of the ring midway through Hart's speech, as he wanted more than 10 minutes to say everything he had to say. As a result of the incident with the fan, Hart was given as much time as he needed.

"When Bret Hart wants to speak, you let him speak," Natalya stated. "Because he's a beautiful storyteller."

The trespassing fan, identified as Zachary Madsen of Lincoln, Nebraska, was turned over to the police and eventually faced several criminal charges, including assault. As for Hart, he powered through the incident, even returning to attend WWE WrestleMania 35 the following night. Hart would later be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame for a third time, as his WrestleMania 13 bout against "Stone Cold" Steve Austin became the first-ever match to be given the honor.

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.