Natalya Reveals The First Person She Called After Jim Neidhart’s Passing
Natalya's father and WWE Hall of Famer Jim 'The Anvil' Neidhart passed away on August 13th, 2018 at the age of 63.
While on "BT Sport", the former "SmackDown" Women's Champion revealed who the first person she called was following her father's passing in 2018.
"The very first person I called when my dad passed away was Vince McMahon," Natalya said. "I was supposed to do a show that night, and I said to Vince, I said, 'I'm so sorry, I can't do the show. My dad just died.' And Vince was just like, so wonderful. He really made sure that I always felt like I had a person to turn to, especially him, way outside of work.
"You know, I was always able to turn to him for that, and then four days later, after my dad's funeral, Vince wanted me to like, be there with Ronda. So, the day after I buried my dad, I made sure to be there for Ronda at SummerSlam because I really wanted to be there for her, and like, Vince knew that would help get my mind off of things."
Natalya made the call to Vince McMahon who, at the time, was the WWE Chairman of the Board. Vince has since stepped down following multiple investigations being launched involving him and WWE. In Vince's stepping down, Stephanie McMahon, daughter of Vince, took over as Interim CEO and Chairwoman of the Board.
Prior to his passing in 2018, Neidhart had a very successful tag team career in WWE. Neidhart teamed with Bret 'The Hitman' Hart to former the Hart Foundation, and the duo would win the WWE Tag Team Championships on two separate occasions for a combined total of 483 days. Neidhart would not find as much success as a singles wrestler as his tag team partner did, as Hart went on to win the Intercontinental Championship twice and the WWE Championship on five different occasions.
During WrestleMania 35 weekend in 2019, Neidhart was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame alongside Bret as the Hart Foundation, however, due to his passing less than a year prior. This marked Bret Hart's second Hall of Fame ring he had received, with him firstly being inducted into the WWE HOF in 2005.
Since Neidhart's passing, Natalya has won the WWE Women's Tag Team Championships alongside Tamina, just as her father won Tag Team Titles back in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
If you use any quotes from this article, please credit "BT Sport" with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.