Tommy Dreamer Believes WWE Raw Segment Could Signal Career-Changing Push For This Star

Natalya appears set to debut a different character on WWE television based on her vignette on this week's "WWE Raw," which Tommy Dreamer believes could revitalize her career.

The WWE star has presented her "Nattie" gimmick on the independent circuit, and it appears that WWE teased it in a vignette where Natalya was shown training alongside Maxxine Dupri. On "Busted Open After Dark," Dreamer praised the character and expressed high hopes for its success.

"Nattie has been someone that has worked her a*s off, she stays in amazing shape, she wrestles for the love of the game. If you follow her on social media, you know it's different. This character that she came up with, this MMA, this person from Stu Hart's dungeon, all that stuff has had a lot of legs on the independent scene outside of WWE, and everybody has been talking about, 'When are they gonna pull the trigger with Natty?'" he said.

Dreamer highlighted how Natalya has done everything that WWE has asked of her. He feels that the time is right for her to take her career to the next level, with what he called a "grittier" character.

"She does whatever asked of her, and this could be a career changer for her if you give her the ball and let her run because you've already seen that the greatness in it, with Ronda Rousey and the MMA type of person. Shayna Baszler, another person who you know fit that role — they made their name outside the WWE, but then they continued with the WWE and became really good wrestlers. Nattie's always been a freaking great wrestler, and if you give her this anger and this MMA style, her hair differently, all that stuff, the mouthpiece, a grittier Nattie."

He likened the new character to what Samoa Joe or Team Taz has showcased over on AEW. The hardcore legend is confident that not just Natalya, but several of the opponents she comes against, will benefit from going up against this new character.