Natalya Says Embracing Uniqueness Is the Key to Success

– Natalya’s latest column for OK Magazine column is online; you can read it here. In the article, Natalya discusses how “embracing your uniqueness” is a key element to getting to the top.

“Being one of the first third generation female wrestlers in the WWE, I’m so proud of where I came from and I’m proud of the road my dad and other family members paved for me,” she writes. “Being teased about my dad’s bad guy persona on TV when I was a kid ended up conditioning me to the fact that my dad was doing his job playing the role of a “bad guy.” Kids believed it! And now I’m the first to brag about all of my dad’s accomplishments in wrestling and outside of the ring too. Embracing my roots and heritage has made me super successful today. I look around in our WWE locker room and think about others who have taken their eccentricities and made them work for them in a huge way. Take Sheamus for example. He’s a multi-time champ in the WWE, but he’s also someone who’s taken his bright red hair (an easy target to be teased about!) and made it into his most identifiable asset! Sheamus embraces that red hair more than Connor McGregor embraces his bank account! I’m sure Shamus laughs now at anyone who’s ever teased him about his fiery locks.”

She continues, “I also think about the unique and diverse locker room we have for women in the WWE. We have girls from so many walks of life and so many shapes and sizes. Someone like Sasha Banks, who is tiny, may have been picked on for her size but now she’s dominating on Monday Night Raw as “The Boss” and she’s showing that she may be small, but she packs a powerful punch! Take the bold and beautiful Nia Jaxx for example. Nia could have been teased for coloring outside the lines and not being “like most girls.” Nia embraces that she isn’t stick thin and shows that strong and powerful is where it’s at! Both Nia and Sasha prove that embracing their differences is one of their keys to succeeding today in the WWE and in life.”