Natalya Discusses How She Trains, A Feud With Beth Phoenix And More

WWE Diva Natalya spoke with The Miami Herald to promote the Road to WrestleMania 28. Here are some highlights:

The Pin-Up Strong movement: "Six to eight months ago we were kind of on a crusade to change the diva's division. Our diva's division has so many strong and powerful girls, but Beth and I kind of felt like we broke the mold. The term diva has kind of evolved over the years from the Wendi Richters of the past, like the Fabulous Moolah and Mae Young. You had Wendi Richter, Sensational Sherri and Miss Elizabeth. Then it sort of evolved more with the likes of Trish Stratus, Molly Holly, Lita and all sorts of women.

"Now you have the modern day diva with me, Beth Phoenix, Kelly Kelly, Eve Torres, Alicia Fox, the Bella Twins and so on. We [Neidhart, Phoenix] felt we broke the mold of even the modern day diva. The two of us together, throughout our entire careers, have been compared to each other. They say, 'You guys are so alike.' We get mistaken for twins. Every time we are in an elevator together people think we are twins. We are so much alike but different in a lot of ways."

Training and doing Olympic power lifting: "Beth Phoenix and I actually do that together, where we were introduced to Olympic power lifting by John Cena. He is kind of like the big brother and role model for all the WWE superstars. We do all of that down in Tampa, Florida with a world-class coach by the name of Rob MacIntyre. John Cena's personal coach is amazing, second to none in the world. Rob really helps all of us divas and superstars get in tune with our bodies. He has it down to a science. I attribute a lot of my strength in the ring to what Rob has taught me with strengthening my core and doing a lot of Olympic lifts. With Rob's coaching, it has really taken Beth and I to another level in the ring. It's also our diet, too. Beth has a fondness for pumpkin seeds."

Potential feud with Beth Phoenix: "In the almost four years we have been on the road with WWE, we have never once touched each other. People talk about it all the time. I have over 200,000 followers on Twitter, and that is all Beth and I get. 'When are we going to see Beth and Natalya?' It's all anybody wants to see. People have been talking about it for years because we look so much alike. It's funny that the very first time I met Mark Henry he said, 'You remind me so much of Beth Phoenix.' She has gotten that in her career, too. We have so many similarities and contrasts.

"It's a dream come true of mine to get in the ring with her. It would certainly be something revolutionary and not seen before. I can almost put money on it that we would have the best match in the history of the divas. That may be a little bit arrogant, but nobody is going to fault me for being a confident diva. I think it would certainly be a match everybody is anticipating."

Source: The Miami Herald