Natalya shares an emotional message ahead of WWE Night of Champions.
In recent weeks, Natalya has been feuding with WWE SmackDown Women's Champion Rhea Ripley. On the May 22 episode of WWE Raw, Ripley challenged the veteran to face her at WWE Night of Champions, and the match was subsequently confirmed. Prior to the beginning of the storyline, Natalya hadn't been featured on WWE TV as much as Ripley; she hadn't won a match on WWE TV since the March 24 episode of WWE SmackDown.
In a tweet, Natalya shared a video in which she discussed her upcoming match with Ripley. She addressed the criticism of her throughout her feud with Ripley up to this point. Natalya then noted that she might not be on Ripley's level right now, and she may not have the same momentum the champion does. However, she made it clear that, though she has never been a favorite, she has lasted as long as she has by fighting for everything she has. Natalya then vowed that Ripley would respect her after WWE Night of Champions.
"Just want to get something off my chest that I haven’t been able to stop thinking about, just from the moment that I first got drafted to Raw until now. I was so excited. I was excited for a fresh start, and when I went out to save Dana, maybe Rhea was right. Maybe I was trying to save myself. It’s hard to not see comments online, waves and waves of comments that I’ve read on Twitter and people’s podcasts that have talked about it and just saying, ‘Natty’s not on Rhea’s level and she doesn’t have Rhea’s momentum.’ But I started thinking about it, and I was like, maybe they’re right. Right now, I’m not on Rhea’s level. I don’t have her momentum, and the truth is, I’ve never been a favorite. I’ve never been a favorite, and it’s something I’ve struggled with, and I’ve fought against. I haven’t lasted this long in WWE by not fighting tooth and nail for every single thing I have because I know that I’ve never been a favorite. Rhea can mock me, she can beat me up, and she might even beat me. But at Night of Champions, I can assure you that she is going to respect me. She’s gonna respect me," Natalya said.
Though Natalya has been drafted to WWE Raw, she has not ruled out making appearances on WWE SmackDown. Check out her comments here.
Catch up on our coverage of the May 22 episode of WWE Raw here. For a full review, check out our post-show podcast on our YouTube channel.
Check out the card for WWE Night of Champions here.
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