Natalya Believes She’s “Too Selfish” To Be A Producer In WWE
Natalya was a recent guest on the Wilde On podcast where she spoke about the possibility of becoming a producer. She also discussed the role she played in Xia Li's WWE debut.
Natalya's been a mainstay in WWE for nearly 15 years. In that time, she's wrestled more matches than any other woman in WWE history. With that longevity and her husband TJ Wilson already working as a producer, it might be a natural assumption that she'd do the same. Natalya addresses the possibility in the interview.
"For me, I don't see myself being a producer per se. I'm also one of those types of people that never say never," Natalya said. I love helping people, but I also love being in front of the camera. I love speaking, I love hosting things, I loved being on Total Divas which, you know, was so fun. I'd still love to do something like that, do reality TV. My sister and I do a fun YouTube show. I'm not the greatest at holding the candle for someone else and then not being in front of the camera. I'm just not there yet in my career, I'm not really sure if I have the patience to be a producer.
"Our producers in WWE, they're so unsung. They don't always get the credit they deserve. You see someone like Adam Pearce, he's a GM on the show but he also handles a lot of things backstage that nobody even sees. He trains people during the week. He works RAW, he works SmackDown. A lot of our producers are on the road six days a week. It's really, really challenging and really hard because they don't always get an action figure or get to be in a video game. They don't always get that spotlight. They're the first ones in the building and the last ones to leave. It's a lot. I'm too selfish to be a producer."
Despite thinking she's too selfish to be a producer, she has a track record of helping new talent. A recent instance of this was Xia Li's debut earlier this year. According to Natalya, she was instrumental in helping Xia adjust to WWE's style and getting her moment to "shine".
"I know on TV I play the role of the bad guy, but I could see that Xia is brand new. She's just learning the English language," Natalya remarked. "She's trying her hardest. She's been training and she's been working hard for this chance to make her debut for WWE. How can I help her to showcase herself in the best possible way in two minutes on SmackDown? I know we don't have a lot of time, but two minutes is still two minutes. Let's make it amazing. Let's make sure that Xia shines, let's make sure she stands out. Not everybody knows how to do that or wants to do that."
If you use any quotes from this article, please credit the Wilde On podcast with an h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.