Natalya is proudly carrying on the family legacy as the first third generation diva who has gained a legion of fans with her technical prowess in the ring. Not to mention her drop dead good looks that might confuse the casual spectator into thinking she can’t whoop some behind!

Scott Fishman from The Miami Herald and I chatted up Natalya last week to learn more about the campaign Pin-Up Strong which she co-created with good friend (and WWE Divas Champion) Beth Phoenix.

“Six to eight months ago we were kind of on a crusade to change the diva’s division,” Natalya said.

“Our diva’s division has so many strong and powerful girls, but we kind of felt like we broke the mold. The term diva has kind of evolved over the years from the Wendi Richter’s’ of the past like the Fabulous Moolah and Mae Young. You had Wendi Richter, ‘Sensational’ Sherri and Miss Elizabeth. Then it sort of evolved more with the likes of Trish Stratus, Molly Holly, Lita and all sorts of women. Now you have the modern day diva with me, Beth Phoenix, Kelly Kelly, Eve Torres, Alicia Fox, the Bella Twins and so on.

“We felt we still broke the mold of the modern day diva. We felt we broke the mold of even the modern day diva. The two of us together, throughout our entire careers, have been compared to each other. They say, ‘You guys are so alike.’ We get mistaken for twins. Every time we are in an elevator together people think we are twins. We are so much alike, but different in a lot of ways.”

Natalya says the ‘Pin-Up Strong’ movement wasn’t planned. Fans got behind the two’s message of breaking down barriers and standing confident in your abilities as powerful women.

“We are very different from all of the girls,” Natalya said.

“We respect the other girls, but we pretty much broke the mold and kept tradition alive. Tradition to me is very important because I come from a very long lineage of wrestling excellence, wrestling royalty. So for me, keeping the tradition alive was important. We wanted to be more than just pretty faces. We wanted our WWE Universe to see extremely competitive girls. If I’m a fan watching from the sidelines, what do I want to see? What I want to see is what Beth Phoenix and I are. We are highly competitive divas that push all the limits and are, what Beth said once, willing to suffer for our craft.

“I think the WWE Universe can connect with that. They can connect with divas like myself and Beth who have an extreme passion for our business. You can’t replace hard work for anything. There is just no substitution for it. To me, that is what being ‘Pin-Up Strong’ is all about. It is embracing the bold, bright person that is inside.”

The female powerhouses stand out among the current crop of divas because they are as much beautiful as they are physically intimidating. Natalya is under the mentality that you have to change, adapt and grow as individuals or be left behind.

“There is nothing wrong with being a beautiful Barbie doll like Kelly Kelly, but we are ready to take it o another level,” Natalya said.

“We have to continue to evolve because the WWE Universe is becoming more and more sophisticated. They want to embrace girls who are not just size zero or size two. Sexy is confidence. Being sexy is embracing what you have. There is nothing sexier than a confident woman who is willing to go to the ring and get the job done. The fans expect nothing but the best from us. Beth and I aren’t just going to stay in this same bubble where we are just like Trish Stratus. We respect Trish Stratus and all the women before us, but just like those women helped their generation evolve, we have to help our generation evolve.”

Team ‘Pin-Up Strong’ has built a close bond with each other based on the passion they have for their profession. To Natalya, Beth is a best friend and sister.

“Of course there is friendly competition, but I really look up to her,” Natalya said.

“She is a couple of years older than me, but so she is a big sister to me. She is unconditionally supportive of me, and I’m unconditionally supportive of her. We don’t always agree on everything. We don’t always see eye-to-eye on everything, but that is what I like about our relationship. We can always tell each other how we feel. I always equate Beth to being my sister because I have two sisters, and they both grew up in the wresting world with a big wrestling family like the Harts.

“We would have little arguments and then be friends five minutes later. Beth and I have never had a huge argument, but we have a relationship that she is like a family member to me. My whole family respects her very much. I feel such closeness to Beth that I can tell her how I feel. We can be a little competitive, but we also share a lot with each other too. She has helped me come up with different moves, and I have helped her come up with different submissions. We both take our own areas of expertise as Beth is more power, and I’m more submission technician…I really couldn’t ask for a better friend than Beth.”

Even though Natalya and Beth are the best of friends, you can’t help but want to see them battle it out in the ring!

My dream match would be against Beth, Natalya explained very enthusiastically! It would be like Bret v Owen!!!

But I wanted to start a bit of beef between Natalya and another Diva, so I asked her who she would like to challenge!! Someone other than Beth of course!

“I think that myself and Beth both have our eye on Kharma…I think she would more than have her hands full with myself or Beth. I would love to personally practice my new German suplex on her. I know it would be really hard to get my hands around her waist, but I would love to get in the ring with Kharma. She may be the biggest, most dominating diva in WWE, but I came from the Dungeon. My whole family was raised to be winners. It’s not the size of the dog, but the size of the fight in the dog. So maybe Kharma would be up for challenge.”

When she is not making divas cry in the ring or working out, Natalya enjoys winding down with some of her favorite television shows. It’s an interesting mix to say the least.

“I love court TV,” Natalya said.
“Anything that is Nancy Grace or Cold Case Files or Investigation Discovery, I love. I’m so interested in anything that has to do with law and court system. When this whole Casey Anthony trial was going on I was glued to my TV. I knew everything about the case. I felt like I was practically a lawyer there. I love investigative reporting and all those kind of shows. I’m also a huge fan of the ‘Real Housewives of Beverly Hills’ for some reason or another. So yes, court TV and the Real Housewives interest me.”

On Natalya flatulence gimmick: “I haven’t seen it so I can’t comment on it directly, but hopefully it’s one of those things where it just gets people talking and it’s kind of like the Molly Holly thing where [we had] the ‘junk in the trunk’ [storyline]. People were like, ‘I can’t believe they’re doing that to her’, but at the end of the day, it got people interested, it got people invested, it got people into what they’re doing and you have something to talk about.”

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Fox and Phoenix open the match with Fox getting the better of the champion with a few kicks. Natalya tags herself in and gives Phoenix some attitude about it. Natalya is happy tonight for some reason. Fox monkey flips Natalya and spanks her. Natalya drives Fox head first into the canvas for a two count. Phoenix kicks Fox while the referee is distracted. Natalya trips Fox and goes for the Sharpshooter which she locks in. However, it looks like she farted and the referee was disgusted by it. Tamina hits a Samoan Drop after getting the tag and pins Natayla after hitting a top rope big splash.

Winner: Tamina Snuka & Alica Fox via pin fall

After the match, Tamina lays Phoenix out with a kick and heads to the top rope to hit a big splash on the champ but Phoenix bails to the floor to grab her championship.

Three of the face Divas out in orange, Tamina in black and animal print for her father. Video of Eve beaing stalked by Kane last week before Cena saved her and beat down Kane. Bellas out in teal, Natalya in pink, Beth in black. Beth talking smack about all the other Divas and there’s no competition for the Title.

Eve and Beth start, but an ugly clothesline on Eve for two. Beth slams Eve to the mat, then slaps a Bella hard on the chest, wanted to see what she can do. Swinging neck breaker on Beth. Bellas talking smack at Beth, but Tamina taks in and a Samoan drop on the Bella. Tamina climbs, but the other Bella rushes her. Kelly and Fox rush around and rip the Bella from the apron. Tamina up, cocks her head, flies and pins the Bella.

Winners – Face Divas

Beth outside the ring smiling at Tamina. Tamina smiles back.

TAMINA & AKSANA vs. NATALYA & BETH PHOENIX

Tamina was already in the ring, but Aksana got an entrance. Bodyslam by Natalya on Aksana, then she knocked Tamina off the apron. DDT attempt, but Aksana was thrown off. The landing did not sound good and didn’t look great either. Beth tagged herself in and gave Aksana the Glam Slam.

WINNERS: Natalya and Phoenix

An upset Natalya tried to put Aksana in the Sharpshooter after the match, but Tamina kicked her in the face, then hit a splash off the top rope.