"It's such an emotional time" - Natalya on the return of the WWE Universe [Exclusive]

On Friday night, the WWE Universe returns to SmackDown for the first time in well over a year. For Natalya, this moment can't come soon enough.

Natalya sat down with Sportskeeda's own Rick Ucchino ahead of Money in the Bank to discuss all things WWE. When the return of the fans was brought up, Natalya expressed great excitement to perform in front of a crowd again.

"I mean, we haven't had a show with fans since Wrestlemania," Natalya began. "And for me, that was such an emotional time to actually to be there after 16 months of not performing in front of fans. When I look back at WrestleMania, and at that point, it was over a year. So now we're just so excited, like it's such an emotional time. It's such a special time. It's just like everybody just wanted this so much we all wanted to get back. There's just nothing like performing in front of a live crowd."

Natalya believes SmackDown will feel like Christmas in July

While WWE continued through the pandemic with the ThunderDome, Natalya believes nothing can replace performing in front of the fans in person.

"Of course, in WWE, we did whatever it takes over the last 16 months," Natalya continued. "We had our virtual audience, we kept going. We kept moving, we kept pushing through. But to have them back in person? I'm so excited for Houston, I can't wait, it's just gonna be so special. I feel like it's Christmas in July."

Are you excited for WWE SmackDown tomorrow? What kind of surprises do you expect from WWE this weekend? Let us know your thoughts by sounding off in the comments section below.

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