Natalya Calls Tyson Kid “One Of The Most Valuable Assets In WWE”
In an interview on Out of Character with Ryan Satin, WWE star Natalya talked about WrestleMania 37 and the involvement of her husband, retired wrestler turned WWE road agent Tyson Kidd. Referring to him under his real name, TJ Wilson, Natalya praised his effort behind the scenes, especially when it came to helping out WWE's women's division.
"TJ is one of the most valuable assets in WWE, and I can say that with complete conviction," Natalya said. "What's so crazy is that everything leading up in TJ's life, up until his forced retirement, it was all for what he's doing right now in WWE. Because he's never made more of an impact than he has at this very moment in the company.
"There's nothing in his career that has been as special as producing every single Woman's match at WrestleMania. They were all produced by TJ. 18 women were produced by TJ, which is a huge percentage of the show. TJ wanted the challenge. He took on the challenge."
One of the reasons Natalya is bringing this up is because Kidd won't go public in putting over his contributions. "TJ doesn't talk about it. He hasn't tweeted about it, he doesn't want to talk about it, because TJ doesn't want to brag or boast, but I'm gonna be the one to brag for him!
"He took on all those matches and he's become such a huge resource for the women of WWE. He spent 20-30 plus hours training and practicing and preparing with any woman in the company, and men as well, but women that wanted to pick his brain to tap into the knowledge.
"What we saw at WrestleMania this year was unbelievable. The most women's matches in WrestleMania history. A historical main event with Bianca Belair and Sasha Banks. And, of course, one of my favorite matches of my entire career with myself and Tamina Snuka vs. Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler. And that was all such a big part, partly from TJ.
"He just made so much happen. He had a vision for everyone. A lot of people behind the scenes don't get credit, but on TJ's days off, he trains people to be better at what they do in the ring and he's not asking for money, he's not getting a thank you for it, he's not asking for public posts, he's just doing it cause he loves the business."
Later Natalya was asked about her relationship with WWE Owner and Chairman Vince McMahon. The former WWE Diva and Smackdown Women's Champion revealed Vince is always accessible to bounce ideas off of.
"I leave no stone unturned," Natalya said, describing her process of pitching ideas. "We have certain writers that we work with, we certain producers that we work with and certain people that we work with.
But one of my most treasured things of working in WWE is, at the end of the day, I know that when all else fails, I can always knock on Vince McMahon's door. And I'll always say to him, 'Hey. I have an idea. What do you think?'
"And my entire time of being in WWE, Vince has always made time for me. Being as busy as he is, and being in the position that he is, he's always heard me out. He's always listened, said yes, said no, said why he liked it, said why he didn't like it, but I always felt – in that aspect – I always had a voice."
Natalya continued. "I would always bounce ideas off of Fit Finlay, I would bounce ideas off writers, but when I couldn't get answers, I've always been able to talk to Vince. And I know that takes time, to build that kind of relationship, but it's always just been this mutual understanding because Vince trusts me.
"He trusts that I'm not gonna let him down, but also I love that we can talk to a billionaire man that is running this global juggernaut, yet he's always there. He's accessible if we need to talk to him.
"So that's been something that I've kept with me throughout my whole career. I don't abuse it! But when I need to go to him, I know I can, and it really helps drive some storylines in the sense that certain things in my career never would've happened without that."
If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit Out of Character with Ryan Satin and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.