Natalya as WWE Divas Champion
Natalya as a Diva of Doom
Evil Queen of Harts
Evil Natalya @ NXT
Natalya @ Payback 2015
Natalya as a villainess in 2017
Natalie Katherine Neidhart (born May 27, 1982) is a Canadian professional wrestler. She works for WWE under the ring name Natalya.
The first third-generation female wrestler in the world, Neidhart is a member of the Hart wrestling family. She trained in the Hart family Dungeon under the tutelage of her uncles Ross and Bruce Hart. In 2000 and 2001, she worked for the Matrats promotion, before debuting for Stampede Wrestling in 2003. In 2004 and 2005, she wrestled abroad in both England and Japan. In June 2005, she became the inaugural Stampede Women's Pacific Champion, and won the SuperGirls Championship the following year in October 2006.
In January 2007, she signed a contract with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) and spent time in the Deep South Wrestling, Ohio Valley Wrestling, and Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW) developmental territories. While in FCW, she managed her cousin, DH Smith, and her boyfriend, TJ Wilson. She debuted on the main roster in April 2008 as Natalya, allying herself with Victoria. The following year, she began managing Tyson Kidd, formerly TJ Wilson, and they were joined by David Hart Smith (formerly DH Smith) to form The Hart Dynasty. In September 2010, Natalya began focusing on singles competition, which culminated in her winning the WWE Divas Championship in November of that year. Beginning in 2013, Natalya has been featured as one of the main cast of the Total Divas reality television show.
Professional wrestling career
Training and early career (2000–2007)
Neidhart received formal professional wrestling training in the infamous Hart family "Dungeon" from her uncles Ross and Bruce Hart, becoming the first ever woman to do so. In addition to her professional wrestling career, Neidhart has received training in amateur wrestling and mixed martial arts. Neidhart is the first third-generation female wrestler in the world.
In late 2000 through 2001, she served as the host and ring announcer of the Eric Bischoff led youth-promotion MatRats. In 2003, she began working for the Hart Family's own promotion, Stampede Wrestling, beginning a long time feud with Belle Lovitz. The pair wrestled each other repeatedly, including a match for the Prairie Wrestling Alliance, where Neidhart teamed with her father, Jim "The Anvil" Neidhart, against Lovtiz and Apocalypse. In 2004, however, Neidhart and Lovitz formed a tag team, wrestling several intergender matches against The Meyers Brothers as well as against Anna and Ma Myers.
Neidhart also began wrestling abroad. In mid-2004 she accepted bookings for a tour in England, and in March 2005, started on a two month tour of Japan where she used the name Nadia Hart. When she returned to Canada she promptly turned into a villainess, announcing that "Nasty Nattie" had been born. On June 17, 2005 she defeated Anna Marie, Lovitz, and Ma Myers in a four-way match to become the first Stampede Women's Pacific Championship, though she later vacated the championship. In November 2005, Neidhart damaged her cruciate ligament while wrestling in Japan, and underwent surgery in early 2006. She was sidelined for six months while she recovered.
On October 8, 2006, Neidhart won the SuperGirls Championship from Lisa Moretti at a Big Time Wrestling show held by NWA: Extreme Canadian Championship Wrestling in Newark, California. She held the championship for 19 days, before losing it to Nikki Matthews on October 27 in Surrey, British Columbia. Also in October 2006, she debuted in the all-female promotion, Shimmer Women Athletes. She lost to Sara Del Rey at the tapings of Volume 7, but defeated "The Portuguese Princess" Ariel at the Volume 8 tapings. The following month she competed in the tournament to determine Great Canadian Wrestling's inaugural W.I.L.D. Champion, and defeated Danyah and Aurora en route to the final, where she lost to Sirelda. She had her last match for Stampede Wrestling on January 26, 2007, after she had signed with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), defeating Veronika Vice. During the show, she also gave a speech thanking the fans for their support.
World Wrestling Entertainment / WWE
Developmental territories (2007–2008)
On January 5, 2007, Upon signing she was assigned to their developmental territory Deep South Wrestling for the first half of the year, competing against wrestlers including Krissy Vaine and Angel Williams. She was briefly transferred to Florida Championship Wrestling when it opened in June, and then moved to Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW), debuting in a dark match at the television tapings on July 18, 2007, where she won a battle royal. She debuted the next week as a member of the Next Generation Hart Foundation, accompanying her cousins Teddy Hart and Harry Smith for tag team matches. In September, she and the rest of the Hart Foundation were moved back to FCW. Initially, Neidhart formed an alliance with Victoria Crawford to take on The Bella Twins, but in 2008, the pair began competing against one another, either in singles matches or in tag team matches with various partners. She continued to make appearances in FCW in late 2008, after debuting on SmackDown, and managed TJ Wilson and DH Smith (Harry Smith) to the FCW Florida Tag Team Championship on October 30.
The Hart Dynasty (2008–2010)
Neidhart made her main roster debut as a villainess under the name Natalya Neidhart (later shortened to just Natalya) on the April 4, 2008 episode of SmackDown!, coming out of the crowd to aid Victoria in an attack on Michelle McCool and Cherry. On the following week, Natalya laughed evilly after introducing herself to the crowd, and then helped Victoria defeat McCool in a singles match. Her televised in-ring debut came three weeks later, in a win over Cherry. When SmackDown General Manager Vickie Guerrero announced the creation of the WWE Divas Championship on June 6, Natalya was the first Diva to qualify for the championship match. At The Great American Bash on July 20, however, Natalya lost the match to determine the inaugural champion to McCool. For the rest of the year she competed mainly in tag team matches, sporadically wrestling singles matches.
While still a member of the SmackDown brand, Natalya made her debut for the ECW brand, via the talent exchange agreement, on February 10, 2009, managing her real life boyfriend Tyson Kidd (TJ Wilson). In her ECW in-ring debut, on the March 3 episode, Natalya defeated Alicia Fox. On April 5, Neidhart competed in a Divas battle royal at WrestleMania XXV, but the match was won by Santina Marella. On April 15 Natalya was made an official member of the ECW brand, when she was drafted there as part of the 2009 Supplemental Draft. On the May 13 episode of ECW, Kidd and Natalya were joined by her real-life cousin David Hart Smith, forming The Hart Dynasty, although it was originally called The Hart Trilogy.
On June 29, 2009, Natalya was traded back to SmackDown along with the other members of The Hart Dynasty. Natalya's first match back for the brand was in a six-person mixed tag team match on the July 17 episode, when The Hart Dynasty defeated Cryme Tyme (JTG and Shad Gaspard) and Eve Torres. Natalya, Kidd, and Smith went on to feud with Torres and Cryme Tyme, with Natalya also facing Torres in singles matches and tag team matches involving other Divas. Natalya was on the winning team when the SmackDown Divas defeated the Raw Divas at the Bragging Rights pay-per-view in October. On December 4, Natalya lost in a triple threat match to determine to number one contender for the WWE Women's Championship after she was pinned by Mickie James. The match also involved Beth Phoenix.
Natalya, along with the other Hart Dynasty members, appeared at WrestleMania XXVI, helping her uncle Bret Hart during his match against Vince McMahon, turning them into faces as a result. On April 26, The Hart Dynasty won the Unified Tag Team Championship from The Miz and The Big Show. The following day, as part of the 2010 WWE Supplemental Draft, Natalya was drafted to the Raw brand, along with Kidd and Smith. On the May 24, 2010 episode of Raw, all three members of The Hart Dynasty were attacked by The Usos (Jimmy and Jey) and Tamina, who were making their debuts. This provoked a feud between the trios, with The Hart Dynasty attacking The Usos and Tamina the following week in retaliation. At the Fatal 4-Way pay-per-view in June, Natalya and The Hart Dynasty defeated Tamina and The Uso Brothers in a six-person mixed tag team match, when Natalya pinned Tamina following a discus clothesline. At the next pay-per-view, Money in the Bank, Natalya helped The Hart Dynasty to retain the championship against The Usos by stopping Tamina from interfering in the match, ending the feud. In September, at Night of Champions, The Hart Dynasty lost the Tag Team Championship in a Tag Team Turmoil match.
Divas Champion (2010–2011)
On the September 27 episode of Raw, Natalya won a battle royal to become the number one contender to the WWE Unified Divas Championship, and began feuding with self-professed co-Divas Champions Lay-Cool (Michelle McCool and Layla). On the October 1 episode of SmackDown, Natalya won an eight-Diva tag team match for her team when she made Maryse submit. At the Hell in a Cell pay-per-view on October 3, she defeated Michelle McCool via disqualification in a match for the championship, which meant that McCool retained the championship. She received another championship match three weeks later at the Bragging Rights pay-per-view, where she lost to Layla after McCool interfered. On the November 1 episode of Raw, she once again became number one contender to the Unified Divas Championship after defeating Michelle McCool in a non-title match. The Hart Dynasty split on November 15 after weeks of tension, when Kidd attacked Smith.
At the Survivor Series pay-per-view on November 21, Natalya defeated McCool and Layla in a two-on-one handicap match to win the WWE Divas Championship for the first time. After the match she was attacked by Lay-Cool until Beth Phoenix came to her aid, with the pair forming an alliance. On the December 6 edition of Raw, Natalya defeated Melina in a non-title match, and was later attacked by LayCool after the match ended, while Melina began displaying a villainous persona when she didn't return to the ring to help Natalya. At the TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs pay-per-view in December, Natalya and Phoenix defeated Lay-Cool in the first Divas Tag Team Tables match in WWE history.
On the December 20 edition of Raw, Natalya was on commentary during a #1 Contender's Triple Threat Match that saw Melina defeat Eve Torres and Alicia Fox. After the match ended, Natalya entered the ring to congratulate Melina on her victory. In response, the evil Melina slapped Natalya and walked out of the ring, turning Melina into a villainess. The two fought for the title on the January 24, 2011 edition of Raw, and the result saw Natalya victorious over Melina. Natalya was scheduled to defend her championship agasinst Lay-Cool in a two-on-one handicap match at the Royal Rumble, but the match was changed to a fatal four-way, also involving Eve. Eve went on to pin Layla and become the new Divas Champion. On the February 14 edition of Raw, Natalya failed to recapture the title in a Lumberjill Match against Eve.
On April 26, Natalya was drafted back to the SmackDown brand as part of the 2011 supplemental draft. In her return match for the brand, she was defeated by then Divas Champion Brie Bella in singles competition. In May, Natalya began acting as the on-screen mentor to the Chickbusters (AJ and Kaitlyn), giving them advice and managing them during their matches. Natalya and the Chickbusters feuded with Alicia Fox, Tamina, and Rosa Mendes throughout mid-2011.
Heel Turn and Divas of Doom (2011-2012)
Natalya Heel Turn
On the August 1 edition of Raw, Natalya competed in a Divas battle royal to determinate the number one contender to Kelly Kelly's Divas Championship at SummerSlam, which was ultimately won by Phoenix. Four days later on SmackDown, Natalya defeated her protégé AJ in singles competition, but after the match ended, Natalya turned into a villainess and brutally attacked AJ. Natalya's attack was a show of solidarity to Beth Phoenix, who made her own villainous turn after winning the battle royal by attacking Kelly Kelly. Natalya and Phoenix officially debuted together as "The Divas of Doom" on the August 12 edition of SmackDown defeating the Chickbusters, who they continued to assault after the match. At SummerSlam Axxess on the following day, the villainous Natalya competed in a losing effort against AJ in a singles match. The two started a feud with Alicia Fox, Eve Torres, and Kelly Kelly and on the August 30 SuperSmackDown, defeated Fox and Kelly in a tag team match. On October 2 at Hell in a Cell, Natalya helped Phoenix defeat Kelly to win her first Divas Championship, after Natalya hit Kelly with the microphone. On the October 17 edition of Raw, Natalya was accompanied by Phoenix on commentary in a match against Eve Torres who was accompanied by Kelly Kelly in a losing effort.
On the November 18 edition of SmackDown, the Divas of Doom defeated The Chickbusters in tag team action. At Survivor Series, Natalya accompanied Beth Phoenix to a successful lumberjill Divas Championship match against Eve Torres. On the November 25 edition of SmackDown, the Divas of Doom again defeated the Chickbusters and later attacked AJ after Kaitlyn, who was slowly turning into a villainess, left AJ out of frustration. After another win over AJ and Kaitlyn on December 9, the evil Kaitlyn attacked AJ and became a part of Divas of Doom. However, the match and Kaitlyn's villainous turn were edited from the broadcast.
On January 29, 2012, at the Royal Rumble, the Divas of Doom and the Bella Twins defeated Alicia Fox, Eve, Kelly Kelly, and Tamina in an eight diva tag team match. Towards the end of her run with Phoenix, Natalya was involved in an infamous angle where she had a problem with flatulence, but this was not well received by fans. The angle ended on the March 2 edition of SmackDown, where Natalya was defeated by Eve Torres. Natalya and Phoenix then quiently ended their alliance, with Natalya turning tweener, and on the March 22 edition of Superstars, Natalya teamed up with Tamina Snuka in a losing effort to Eve and Phoenix.
NXT; Feud with Kaitlyn (2012)
Evil Natalya scowling at Kaitlyn
Natalya occasionally appeared on NXT Redemption beginning with the April 4 edition, where she faced off against her former protégé Kaitlyn. Natalya turned into a villainess during their match and eventually defeated Kaitlyn via submission, while her boyfriend Tyson Kidd was on commentary. On the April 25 edition of NXT Redemption, the evil Natalya began a feud with Kaitlyn when she thought Kaitlyn was flirting with Kidd, which lead to a diva tag team match with Maxine against Kaitlyn and Tamina Snuka in a losing effort. On the June 13 edition of NXT Redemption, Natalya was defeated by Kaitlyn in singles competition. On the July 12 edition of WWE Superstars, Natalya reunited with Beth Phoenix as they teamed together in a losing effort against her rival Kaitlyn and Alicia Fox after Kaitlyn pinned Phoenix. On July 15 at Money in the Bank, Natalya, Beth Phoenix, and Eve Torres were defeated by Kaitlyn, Layla, and Tamina Snuka in a six-diva tag team match. On the August 20 Raw, Natalya competed in a number one contender Divas battle royal for the Divas Championship, but was inadvertently eliminated by Tamina Snuka. After a twitter war against Kaitlyn, the two squared off in singles competition on the August 31 edition of SmackDown, in which Natalya was unsuccessful in winning the match, thus ending their feud.
Face Turn; Alliance with Great Khali (2012-2013)
On the November 2 edition of SmackDown, Natalya appeared backstage watching The Great Khali defeat David Otunga in his return match, and would afterwards thank Khali for defeating him, beginning a relationship between the two and a face turn for Natalya. On the December 6 edition of WWE Superstars, the evil Rosa Mendes attacked Hornswoggle with a bouquet of flowers as a measure of revenge for an incident the previous month on Raw, but was in turn assaulted by Natalya. On the December 7 edition of SmackDown, Natalya accompanied Khali and Hornswoggle, where they defeated Mendes' allies, Primo and Epico. During the match, Natalya once again assaulted Mendes. On December 16, during the pre-show TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs, Natalya participated in a "Santa's Little Helpers" battle royal, which was won by Naomi. On the January 4, 2013 edition of SmackDown, Natalya teamed up with Khali and Hornswoggle to defeat Mendes, Epico and Primo in a mixed-tag-team match. On the January 25 edition of SmackDown!, Natalya defeated Mendes in a singles match via submission after a distraction from Hornswoggle.
Total Divas (2013-present)
Natalya makes her entrance on Raw
In April, Natalya was involved in a storyline where a secret admirer would send gifts to Divas Champion Kaitlyn; Natalya would have Khali go under cover to try and find Kaitlyn's admirer. On the May 27 edition of Raw in her home town of Calgary, Alberta, Canada, Natalya (who was celebrating her birthday) teamed up with Kaitlyn in a losing effort to The Bella Twins in tag-team action when Brie pinned Natalya after Kaitlyn inadvertently speared Natalya. Natalya faced off against Divas Champion AJ Lee due her dislike of AJ's recent acts of humiliation against Kaitlyn and her disrespect of the entire Divas division on June 21 edition of SmackDown, where Lee emerged victorious after Lee forced her to submit to the Black Widow. Natalya once again faced off against Divas Champion AJ Lee in a non-title match on the June 28 SmackDown, where Natalya emerged victorious following the distraction by Kaitlyn.
Following the debut of Total Divas, Natalya began a feud with the Bella Twins on the July 29 edition of Raw, after they called themselves the stars of the Divas Division and Natalya an "ugly duckling". Later that night, Natalya faced Brie Bella in a losing effort due to a distraction from her sister Nikki. On the August 12 edition of Raw, Natalya and Khali defeated AJ Lee and Big E Langston in a mixed-tag team match, with Natalya submitting the Divas Champion for the win. Six days later at SummerSlam, Natalya, with The Funkadactyls (Cameron and Naomi) in her corner, defeated Brie Bella via submission, who had Eva Marie and Nikki Bella in her corner, in a singles match.
AJ interrupted the celebration over Brie Bella's victory in a rematch against Natalya on August 26, 2013 on Raw, cutting a worked shoot promo on the cast of Total Divas. On the following episode of Raw, AJ interfered in a triple threat match between Natalya, Naomi, and Brie Bella, which was to determine the #1 contender for her Divas Championship, leading to the match being stopped and her getting beat down afterwards. Later that night, Stephanie McMahon announced that AJ would defend her Divas Championship in a fatal four-way match against Natalya, Naomi and Brie Bella at Night of Champions. At Night of Champions, Natalya was unsuccessful in winning the title, after being forced to tap to the Black Widow by AJ. On the October 7 episode of Raw, Natalya teamed with rookie divas JoJo and Eva Marie in a winning effort against Alicia Fox, Rosa Mendes, and Aksana in a six diva tag-team match. On the October 11 episode of Smackdown!, Natalya teamed with Kaitlyn and Eva Marie in a losing effort to The Funkadactyls (Cameron and Naomi) and Brie Bella, with Naomi pinning Kaitlyn in a six Diva tag team match.
Alongside long-time ally The Great Khali, she would enter a feud with Fandango and Summer Rae, leading to a mixed tag match between the two duos at Hell in a Cell, where she and Khali lost. The next night on Raw however, she would defeat Summer in singles competition. On the November 1 edition of SmackDown, she would team with the Bella Twins to defeat WWE Divas Champion AJ, Tamina Snuka and Alicia Fox, with Natalya forcing AJ to submit to the Sharpshooter. On the November 4 episode of Raw, Natalya continued her winning streak, teaming with her husband Tyson Kidd to defeat Fandango and Summer Rae. On the November 13th edition of Main Event, Natalya would challenge WWE Divas Champion AJ Lee for the title, picking up a win due to disqualification, after Tamina Snuka interfered. Two days later on SmackDown, Natalya defeated Tamina via submission. At Survivor Series, Natalya and Nikki Bella were the Sole Survivors in a 7-on-7 Divas Elimination Match after Natalya made AJ submit to the Sharpshooter. The next night on Raw, Natalya was eliminated by AJ in a rematch from Survivor Series, which the Total Divas also won.
In December, Natalya unsuccessfully challenged Paige for the NXT Women's Championship. After pinning AJ again in a six-Diva tag team match on Raw, Natalya was named number one contender to the WWE Divas Championship, but failed to capture the title at Tables, Ladders and Chairs. In April 2014, at WrestleMania XXX, Natalya was a participant in the Divas Championship Invitational match, in which AJ retained the championship. In May, Natalya was entered into a tournament to determine the new NXT Women's Champion. She defeated Layla and Sasha Banks en route to the final at NXT Takeover, in which she lost to Charlotte. Natalya defeated WWE Divas Champion Paige on the August 18 episode of Raw as well on SmackDown the same week in non-title matches after distractions from AJ. In November, Natalya was part of Alicia Fox's team at Survivor Series; the team was victorious in a clean sweep.
Managing Kidd and Cesaro (2014-2015)
Natalya as a villainess on SmackDown in 2015
In late 2014, Natalya entered a storyline with her real-life husband Tyson Kidd, in which their relationship was openly acknowledged on-screen. She regularly accompanied Kidd to the ring, where he often used her as a distraction to win his matches. Once Kidd began teaming with Cesaro, Natalya began serving as their valet. At Fastlane on February 22, 2015, Natalya was at ringside as Kidd and Cesaro defeated The Usos to capture the WWE Tag Team Championship.
Natalya turned villainous on the following night's Raw, when she interfered a title rematch and helped Kidd and Cesaro retain the tag titles via a DQ finish. On the February 25 edition of SmackDown, Natalya defeated Naomi in singles action by using her injury as a distraction, but she was pinned by Naomi in a six person tag team match on the March 2 edition of Raw. Three nights later, Natalya continued portraying a heel manager when she tripped up El Torito at ringside, which allowed Kidd and Cesaro to defeat Los Matadores. At the WM 31 Pre-Show, the evil Natalya placed El Torito in the Sharpshooter and later tried to attack Naomi, only for Naomi to fight back against her. Natalya would turn face once again, as did Kidd and Cesaro, due to their feud with The New Day, who became heels en route to defeating Kidd and Cesaro for the tag titles.
Various Feuds (2015-2016)
After a three month absence from television due to Tyson Kidd suffering a serious spinal injury, Natalya returned on the September 21 episode of Raw, confronting the evil Paige over her actions during Charlotte's Divas Championship celebration. Later in the evening, she was defeated by Naomi in a singles match. After multiple confrontations between the two, Natalya would defeat Paige on the October 5 episode of Raw. Three days later, onSmackdown, Natalya teamed with Charlotte and Becky Lynch and the three defeated Team Bella (Alicia Fox, Brie and Nikki Bella). On the October 15 episode ofSmackdown, while Paige saved Charlotte and Becky from an attack by Team Bella, Natalya, after a backstage altercation with Paige, would be attacked. In the end of October, Natalya started a feud with Team B.A.D. (Naomi, Taminaand Sasha Banks), after the three distracted her during her match with Paige, and attacked her, but Natalya went on to gain revenge over the team by defeating Naomi and Tamina in two singles matches before the feud quietly ended.
In January 2016, Natalya revealed that she had been working through a broken ankle, which was mistaken for a simple sprain and after two months of inactivity, she made her official return during a live event on January 3. Few weeks later, Natalya returned to WWE television, on the January 18 episode of Raw, where she defeated Brie Bella, with her former rival Paige in her corner. Upon her return, Natalya started competing in various singles and tag team matches, ending on both winning and losing sides. On March 12, at Roadblock, Natalya unsuccessfully challenged Charlotte for the Divas Championship.
On the March 22 episode of Main Event, alongside Alicia Fox she accompanied Paige to her match against Naomi, accompanied by Tamina and Lana. Later in the match, she and Fox were viciously attacked by Summer Rae and a returning Emma, distracting Paige as they aligned themselves with Lana and Team B.A.D. The following week, she along with Brie Bella and Fox accompanied Paige to her match against Emma on the March 28 episode of Raw, where she was defeated after Lana attacked Paige. Post-match, she along her allies were attacked by Emma, Summer, Lana, Tamina and Naomi, before they were saved by a returning Eva Marie. As a result, a 10-Diva tag team match between the Total Divas team (Brie, Fox, Natalya, Eva and Paige) and the newly dubbed team B.A.D. & Blonde (Naomi, Tamina, Lana, Emma, and Rae) was announced for the WrestleMania 32's pay-per-view pre-show. At the event on April 3, Natalya's team won after Naomi submitted to Brie Bella. After confronting Charlotte during her championship celebration the following night, she challenged Charlotte to a championship match on the April 11 episode of Raw, in which she was unsuccessful in capturing the WWE Women's Championship. On the April 18 episode of Raw, Natalya confronted Charlotte during an interview and revealed that Shane McMahon had booked them in a rematch for the Women's Championship at Payback and that her uncle Bret Hart will be at her corner. At the event, she was defeated after match referee Charles Robinson, ended the match as Charlotte held her in the Sharpshooter submission hold, Natalya's signature finishing move, even though she had not submitted making reference to the infamous "shoot screwjob" the Montreal Screwjob. After the match, both Natalya and Hart applied their finishing maneuver the "Sharpshooter" on Charlotte and Ric Flair. The following month at the Extreme Rules pay-per-view, she was once again defeated by Charlotte in a submission match in which Ric Flair was banned from ringside, however, she was helped by Dana Brooke while dressed as Flair allowing Charlotte to get the victory.
Villainess (2016-present)
Natalya displaying her heel persona on SmackDown
On June 19 at Money In The Bank, Natalya teamed with Becky Lynch in a losing effort against Charlotte and Dana Brooke. Natalya began turning heel when she attacked Lynch after the match, and on the following night's Raw, Natalya attacked Lynch backstage, and then stated that she's only focusing on herself. On July 4, it was announced that Natalya would face off against Becky Lynch at Battleground, and three nights later, the evil Natalya attacked Lynch on SmackDown to cement her role as the villainess in their feud. Natalya defeated Becky Lynch at Battleground on July 24. Two nights later on SmackDown Live, Natalya was defeated by Lynch in a rematch. At Backlash, Natalya competed in an elimination match to crown the first ever SmackDown Women's Champion, which was won by Becky Lynch.
In the weeks leading up to Survivor Series, Natalya campaigned to become the captain of Smackdown's women's team, but she was defeated by Nikki Bella for the position on October 25. After Nikki was attacked by an unknown villainess at Survivor Series, Natalya took her spot on Team SmackDown, who lost to Team Raw. Carmella was accused of the attack by Nikki, but after losing to Nikki at TLC on December 4, Carmella named Natalya as the culprit. In the following weeks, Natalya denied the claims to Nikki, while fighting Carmella in a confrontation and in an eventual match, which Natalya lost. On the December 20 edition of SmackDown, however, the evil Natalya revealed herself as the villainess behind the attack on Nikki, with the reveal coming after Carmella revealed Natalya's unflattering comments about the Bellas. In her admission, Natalya expressed jealousy of Nikki, claiming that she and Brie received everything because they're beautiful.