Natalya Details Backstage Reaction To Rhea Ripley WWE Raw Match

WWE

Natalya and Rhea Ripley took part in a highly praised Women’s World Championship match on this week’s (July 3) episode of Raw.

The match reportedly impressed higher ups in the company, with Natalya herself calling the match an ‘apology’ from her after she was quickly defeated by Rhea at Night of Champions.

Appearing on Busted Open Radio, Natalya discussed the match, detailing her backstage reaction after it was over, and whether she went to the back braggadocious.

She said:

“Yes, I did. I went from, going into the match, ‘Okay I can do this, I think I can do this.’ I’m being open and honest about my confidence being rocked since Night of Champions, I fell to a low point. I went into that match on Monday with unsteady confidence. I came out of it like, ‘Yes, I am one of the best women’s wrestlers on the planet, and I can still hang at this level.’ Not only can I hang at this level, but I exceeded everybody’s expectations and going into this match, I think Rhea Ripley underestimated me. It truly felt like a Rocky story. I felt like I was Rocky. Prior to the match, she didn’t think anything of me. She really thought, ‘I’m in there with Nattie, she’s respected.’ She had no idea that I was going to take her to her limit.

“At the end of the match, what I wanted to do when it was all said and done, I wanted to shake her hand. I wanted to shake her hand and give her a hug. I never got that chance because she beat me up after the match. What I felt was that it was my cry to the world that I could still do this, but I never really lost it. People were like, ‘Nattie really brought it, she had something to prove.’ This has been me the entire time, I haven’t always had that opportunity in the last couple of years, I haven’t had that chance on this stage with somebody like Rhea. It’s been great.

Nattie continued on, saying that she loves competing as a singles competitor, and that there are plenty of other women that she wants to work with.

She added:

“It’s not like I don’t like doing tags, I love being part of a tag team. The stuff that I did with Tamina was awesome and the stuff I did with Shotzi at WrestleMania was fun. To get into a really deep story, I think about my work with Charlotte and Ronda Rousey. I love being a singles competitor and I think about the women that I still want to work with. I want to work at a high level and stay at a high level. Monday night proved that and I’m excited to see where WWE is going to go with me next. We all have to believe in ourselves. You have to have some sort of ego if you’re going to be in this industry. I love being humble and there is a real side of humble Nattie, but I’m also like, I am one of the best women’s wrestlers in the world and I want to go and stay at a high level. On Monday, I brought our 26-year-old Women’s Champion to her knees and made her believe in me, and made the whole world believe in me. I’m ready to stay at this level and prove I belong at this level.”

Natalya recently showed off the scars that she suffered in the match, which you can see here.

transcription via Fightful

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• Natalya
• RAW
• rhea ripley
• wwe

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