wrestling / News

Natalya and Tyson Kidd On The Hart Name Making It Harder For Them to Get Signed By WWE, The Myth That It Got Them Into WWE

March 13, 2020 | Posted by Jeremy Thomas
Natalya Tyson Kidd TJ Wilson WWE Image Credit: WWE

On the latest After the Bell, Tyson Kidd and Natalya talked about the pervasive myth that being Harts gave them an opening to get into WWE and how it was actually the opposite. The two, along with Harry Smith, discussed how the tension between WWE and Bret Hart following the Montreal Screwjob that lasted until Bret returned in 2009 made it a “little tricky” to get signed, particularly for Natalya.

You can check out the highlights below and the full podcast:

Kidd on having the Hart name being a barrier to being signed: “I think that’s part of the great myth is – I mean, all three of us have had it said a million times, that we got an opportunity because of the Hart Family. And it’s like, ‘Well, if you go do your history a little bit, you might see we got an opportunity in spite of some things that happened in 1997 and beyond. There was a time where, like I couldn’t get backstage at a WWE show, let alone a tryout. At no stage did Bret make a phone call for any of the three of us. Nattie and I — Harry was already under contract. Nattie and I went to Deep South and did a full week tryout just like anybody else that would have gotten signed. And Nattie got split open at that tryout, and of the three of us sitting here, she was the one that got signed last out of all of us, actually. That’s why the fact that she’s here and still going is almost like, laughable, yeah.”

Natalya on having difficulty getting signed: “Yeah, I was almost not gonna get signed. I had a really hard time getting hired. And I won’t get into too many details, but I think because of the conflict with Bret and the Screwjob, and there was just so much tension with the family. I think it did make things a little tricky. Because whether anybody wants to believe it or not, and I’m just coming right out and saying it. In the world – not just in wrestling, but in the world, there’s politics. There’s nepotism, there’s politics, there’s friends that are friends with friends, that get – we didn’t have that luxury because Bret had conflict with the company. And so it was really hard and I had to just basically get in their faces and not take no for an answer. So it’s a great story, because it makes me appreciate my career here so much more.”

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit WWE’s After the Bell with a h/t to 411mania.com for the transcription.