During a recent conversation with Fightful's Sean Ross Sapp, NWA Women’s World Champion Kenzie Paige opened up about the intense altercation between her and WWE Superstar Natalya at Josh Barnett’s Bloodsport.
Kenzie Paige explains that she felt disrespected by the former WWE Women's Champion because of how much energy she seemed to be putting into her Bloodsport fight with Miyu Yamashita, as opposed to their upcoming Clash for the NWA Women's World Championship at NWA Crockett Cup on May 17.
Paige maintains great respect for Natalya, but she is one of the standard bearers for the NWA in 2025. As such, she wanted Nattie to feel the same level of disrespect that she was made to feel.
"I think that I went there more to show face and just to prove that I had enough respect for Natalya to fly myself out to Las Vegas and be a part of her big historical moment," she said. "Then she got in my face and cussed. So if you're going to cuss at me and disrespect me, I'm going to do the same thing to you. That's how I feel about it. I feel like I was extending the offer to be respectful, and maybe she thought I was coming up hostile because I did double bird her, but that was after the fact. That was after the fact. I drove out all of that way to be a part of this big beautiful moment and she's the one that made it go south. So that's how I remember it.
"It's not even about hostility or a problem. It's the fact that I look up to her, right? I really do," she added. "Even still now, I'm so angry, and it's anger that feeds off the fact that I feel the National Wrestling Alliance doesn't get the respect or attention that it once did. So here I am putting my body on the line, and we finally get some light. The positive light was that Natalya was coming to the National Wrestling Alliance. Then all I hear her post about and talk about is that she’s going to Bloodsport. She’s doing this, she’s doing that. Well, what about the NWA? What about the fact that you’re coming to the National Wrestling Alliance? This is her debut, right?"
Paige believes she is one of the top wrestlers waiving the flag for the NWA in 2025 and she wasn't going to take being disrespected lying down and if that makes her a bitch in the minds of some, she's cool with that.
"She hasn't ever been to the NWA, and then on top of not even talking about the National Wrestling Alliance or anything like that, when she finally decides to, she doesn't talk about the champion. I've held this for over a year now. I'm doing big things. I've carried this company on my back. When you think of the NWA at this time, who do you think of? Kenzie Page, Tom Latimer, maybe EC3. That's how I look at it. So I just felt disrespected, and whenever I'm hurt, I want someone to hurt. So I want her to feel the same pain that I felt and if me ruining her moment at Bloodsport is me being a bitch, well then she started it."
Fans can get Natalya's thoughts on the upcoming match and her issues with Kenzie at this link.
Check out the full interview embedded at the top of this page.
