Real Reason WWE Canceled 'Nattie Neidfart'

WWE veteran Natalya has been a mainstay of the women's division for a long time. During her tenure, she has been part of some memorable feuds and has won the Women's Championship twice.

However, she also had to play an infamous gimmick known as Nattie Neidfart, which had her character passing wind whenever she was around others, much to their disgust. The gimmick began in 2012 and was dropped quickly afterward.

Speaking on INSIGHT with Chris Van Vliet, the Queen of Harts talked about how the gimmick was first pitched and what her initial reaction was. She revealed that a writer presented her with the gimmick, saying it was Vince McMahon's idea.

"I think it was just an outlandish, outrageous, kooky, crazy, wacky idea. But I was like, I don't want to fart. I just don't want to do that. But in true Natalya form, I smiled. I said, 'Of course, I'll do it. Not only will I do it, I'm going to make this amazing.' I'm going to own it. I'm going to show Vince that I'm not going to be difficult," Natalya said.

Insane Vince McMahon ideas that got canceled - Watch Here!

However, after a few weeks, the gimmick was dropped as the response from the fans wasn't great.

"Fans didn't like it. Fans said, This isn't good. And so they stopped. I think enough people had spoken up and said, 'The fans don't like this.' So one of the writers came up to me again and was like, 'Hey, we're not going to do the Nattie Neidfart character. There's been a lot of negative feedback about it from fans and stuff like that. We're just gonna drop it,' she added.

You can check out her comments in the video below:

Natalya eventually returned to being a key part of WWE's women's division without any silly gimmick.

Natalya revealed how WWE tragedy affected her family

During the interview, Natalya discussed the impact of the tragic passing of Owen Hart at WWE's Over the Edge pay-per-view in 1999.

The WWE star added that Owen's mother, Helen, never got over it and "died from a broken heart." She also mentioned that the tragedy had a domino effect on her family.

Natalya added that that was the hardest thing her family had ever gone through, and it was a traumatic time for all of them.

If you use quotes from this article, please credit INSIGHT with Chris Van Vliet and give an H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription.

About the author

Sherjeel Malik is a writer at Sportskeeda and covers pro wrestling. He was hooked on the product from the moment he saw The Hardy Boyz jumping off ladders during the Attitude Era. While he comes from an engineering background, Sherjeel’s love for pro wrestling and content writing led him to pursue a career in sports journalism. Before assuming his current role at Sportskeeda, Sherjeel worked at other reputable organizations for five years.

While writing articles, he ensures that he only relies on credible sources for information and covers relevant subjects that do not project an agenda against a particular person or association. WWE legend Paul Heyman once shared Sherjeel’s work on his social media handle.

Sherjeel’s earliest memory of pro wrestling is watching Stone Cold Steve Austin and The Undertaker square off for the WWE Title in the main event of a pay-per-view in 1998. His favorite wrestlers are Randy Orton and Jeff Hardy. While he admires Orton for his character work as a heel, he looks up to Jeff because of his unique wrestling style and risk-taking ability.

If he could go back to the Attitude Era, Sherjeel would like to manage Ken Shamrock and be his mouthpiece. He feels Shamrock’s promo skills prevented him from becoming a main event-level act in WWE. Hence, he would like to help the UFC Hall of Famer get over with fans.

When not writing about pro wrestling, he likes to read classics and fiction books.

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Edited by Sherjeel Malik