Natalya

Summary

Podcast Summary: "What Do You Wanna Talk About?" with Cody Rhodes

Episode: Natalya (Nov 12, 2025)
Host: Cody Rhodes | Guest: Natalya Neidhart

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Episode Overview

In this heartfelt and wide-ranging episode, Cody Rhodes welcomes WWE Superstar, two-time Women’s World Champion, and newly-published author Natalya Neidhart aboard for an honest, unfiltered conversation. The duo dives deep into Natalya’s wrestling journey, growing up as a third-generation “Nepo baby,” challenges and joys of her career, her famous wrestling lineage, and the process—and revelations—of writing her memoir. Together, they reflect on authenticity, work ethic, consistency, and the legacy of wrestling family dynasties, all while sharing stories both hilarious and moving.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Nepo Baby Conversation and Wrestling Lineages

• On lineage pressure: Both Cody and Natalya discuss being second/third-generation wrestlers, the expectations that come with their family names, and the importance of defining themselves beyond their lineage.
  • "You have to be everything they expect already...and then you have to be so much more." – Cody Rhodes (04:03)
• Debunking Entitlement: Natalya reveals that, contrary to popular belief, her family couldn’t simply call in a favor to get her signed; she had to earn entry on her own. (05:06–06:15)
• Work Ethic: Both attribute their relentless work ethic to their mothers, not their famous wrestling fathers.
  • "My mom taught me to not take shit from anyone.” – Natalya (16:12)
  • "My work ethic comes from my mother." – Cody (20:18-21:49)

2. Writing & Releasing Her Book: 'The Last Hart Beating'

• Natalya opens up about the vulnerability and emotional processing involved in writing her memoir.
  • “This book was the most therapeutic thing I have ever done. I’m a recovering people pleaser.” – Natalya (06:32)
• Becky Lynch’s advice played a crucial role in her process:
  • “Becky Lynch actually gave me some of the best advice. She said, just pour your heart out, spill your guts, and then just sleep on it…” – Natalya (07:38)
• Natalya highlights that her story isn’t one of privilege, but resilience and independence.

3. Consistency, Authenticity, and People Pleasing

• Both discuss the ongoing personal journey to be themselves, resist people-pleasing, and embrace their unique paths—even experimenting with personas/attitudes before circling back to their authentic selves.
  • “Tried to do a mean version of me...didn’t click.” – Cody (09:14)
  • "I was able to just push through so much, and I'm so grateful for that." – Natalya (06:15)

4. The Ups and Downs of a Wrestling Family

• The realities of having famous wrestling parents/grandparents—financial booms and busts, instability, hard work from the ground up.
  • “People think you grew up in this big wrestling family, but when the business wasn't good, it's kind of feast or famine.” – Natalya (13:11)
  • “When I was 17, the power went out...we hadn't paid the bill." – Cody (14:44)
• Early wrestling earnings and sacrifices:
  • “My first contract was for $24,000 a year.” – Natalya (23:27)

5. Bloodsport, the 'Low Key Legend,' and Taking Creative Risks

• Natalya details how writing her book led her to create the “Low Key Legend” character, embracing her authentic self and stepping out from safety and compliance.
  • “About halfway through the book, I was like, I had this epiphany that I needed to just, like, take a chance on myself.” – Natalya (27:46)
  • “The Low Key Legend character, it came from the book…Do I want to spend the rest of my career trying to be what everyone wants, or be who I really am?” (28:51)
• Her forays into non-WWE indie promotions (Bloodsport, NWA, etc.), proving herself against the best outside talent, and winning respect in and outside WWE.
  • “I did it over and over...because I, like you, took a chance on myself.” – Natalya (34:07)
• Cody congratulates her for reframing and taking charge:
  • “What a way to take the news feed…hats off to you. It was special.” – Cody (26:42)

6. The (New) Dungeon and Training Tomorrow’s Talent

• Natalya and her husband TJ Wilson (Tyson Kidd) run a training “dungeon” reminiscent of her grandfather Stu Hart’s—a tough, no-frills, invite-only environment focused on work ethic, passion, and etiquette.
  • "You gotta know somebody that knows somebody that can get them in.” – Natalya (42:40)
• Cody sent his nephews, Dylan and Dalton, to train with Natalya and TJ, highlighting the importance of exposing new talent to different wrestling traditions.
• Natalya and Cody agree that etiquette and attitude are the foundation for any aspiring wrestler.
  • “If they didn’t work hard, we wouldn’t give a shit about the greeting card afterwards—they gotta work hard.” – Natalya (48:56)

7. TJ Wilson (Tyson Kidd) & the Women's Division

• Natalya praises TJ's pivotal (and often unsung) role in developing the current women’s division, his behind-the-scenes mentorship style, and advocacy for women wrestlers.
  • “He always finds a way to help every woman shine…and there’s a level of trust there.” – Natalya (51:18)

8. Giving Back: Supporting Brody and Nolan

• They discuss caring for Brody and Nolan (sons of the late Jon Huber/Luke Harper), fostering a supportive community for them.
  • “Brody, you’re like his North Star…he earned his spot [in the dungeon].” – Natalya (52:18, 52:52)
  • “What worried me was what happens the next day [after Jon’s death]…he found a good spot with you guys.” – Cody (53:54)

9. Reflections on Aging, Mentoring, and Career Joy

• Natalya finds herself embracing getting older, feeling more fulfilled and happy with her locker room relationships and career progress than ever before.
  • “The older I get, the more I feel…the happier I am.” – Natalya (49:59)
• She emphasizes uplifting younger or less established talent, citing recent matches with Ivy Nile and others (50:49–51:05).

10. Fun Moments: Luxury, High Fashion & The Dream Team

• Lighthearted talk on their “bougie” tastes (Louis Vuitton, designer shoes), the thrill of “treating yourself” after years of hard work, and what luxuries mean in wrestling culture. (11:04–12:36)
• Natalya’s “American Dream Team” for a (hypothetical) War Games/Zombie Apocalypse:
  • Steph Curry, Michael Jordan, Bianca Belair, Beth Phoenix ("If I was going to be stranded on a desert island, I would have her on my team." – Natalya, 56:47)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Work Ethic & Family:
  • “My mom taught me to not take shit from anyone.” – Natalya (16:12)
  • “My work ethic comes from my mother. I didn’t get it from Dream.” – Cody (21:49)
• On Authenticity:
  • "If you keep doing the same things you’ve always done, you’re gonna get the same result. If I want a different result, I’ve gotta dive into something else.” – Natalya (34:34)
  • "Nothing scares me anymore, except maybe Brock Lesnar." – Cody (38:23)
• On Taking a Chance:
  • “Sometimes, the only green light you need is the faintest color of green.” – Cody (37:18)
• On Supporting Others:
  • “Cody’s like the busiest guy in the whole company…but he’s making time for people…” – Natalya (53:10)
• On The Dungeon:
  • “You gotta know somebody that knows somebody that can get them in.” – Natalya (42:40)
  • “Our dungeon is meant to be very hard. It’s not fancy…I don’t want it fancy.” – Natalya (43:13)
• On Mentorship & Community:
  • “We’re not gonna have kids, but Brody and Nolan are gonna be like our step kids or our surrogate kids.” – Natalya (54:50)

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Notable Timestamps

• [04:03] – Cody explains the dual pressures of wrestling lineage
• [06:32] – Natalya on writing and the realization that she’s a people pleaser
• [08:21] – Cody on Natty’s reputation for readiness, reliability, and heart
• [13:11–15:26] – Booms, busts, and financial realities of wrestling families
• [23:27] – Natalya reveals her entry-level WWE salary ($24,000/year)
• [27:46–28:51] – The “Low Key Legend” origin story and betting on herself
• [34:40–36:03] – Battling (and winning) through injury for the fans and herself
• [42:12–48:55] – The modern Dungeon, Cody’s nephews, and the emphasis on etiquette and work
• [51:18] – Natalya on TJ’s role in the women’s division
• [52:18–54:19] – Brody, Nolan, and the importance of wrestling community
• [56:00–57:08] – Natalya’s American Dream Team picks

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Episode Tone and Takeaways

The episode, blending warmth and humor with candor, celebrates perseverance, individuality, and the hard work behind wrestling’s bright lights. Rhodes and Neidhart, both wrestling royalty in their own right, break down the myth of inherited success, share how adversity shaped their journeys, and champion the power of family, mentorship, and community in—and outside—the ring.

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Purchase Natalya’s book, The Last Hart Beating, for more behind-the-scenes stories and life lessons from one of wrestling’s most enduring superstars!

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(Summary excludes commercial breaks and non-content as requested.)

Transcript

[Natalya Neidhart]

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[Cody Rhodes]

This season, let your shoes do the talking. Designer Shoe Warehouse is packed with fresh styles that speak to your whole vibe without saying a word. From cool sneakers that look good with everything to easy sandals you'll want to wear on repeat, ESW has you covered.

[Natalya Neidhart]

Find a shoe for every heel from.

[Cody Rhodes]

The brands you love like Birkenstock, Nike, Adidas, New Balance. More. Head to your DSW store or visit dsw.com today. Hello everybody. Welcome to what do you want to talk about? I'm your host, the American Nightmare, Cody Rhods. This is a WWE and Fanatics original production and we are back. Not only are we back, we are in the lovely WWE Warehouse. Shout out to Ben Brown for setting it up so kindly. This is the. This is the. This is where it all is. And we have a wonderful, wonderful, wonderful guest who I have wanted on the show since we started the show. This is two time Women's World Champion, WWE Women's Champion, Divas Champion has the most ple matches in history of any woman and the longest tenured women's WWE Superstar in the locker room. A newly published author. I think while we're filming this, it's not out, but when this comes out, it'll be live and you have to go get it. I insist, go and get it now. Press pause. Go get this book. It's incredible. And this is my good friend also, third generation Nepo Baby at its finest and the prime example of what a Nepo baby truly should be. Please welcome with a warm Warehouse round of applause to the podcast. What do you want to talk about? Natty Neidhart.

[Natalya Neidhart]

That was such an introduction. You're so good. Well, so good.

[Cody Rhodes]

Let me walk you through how bad my introductions have been lately. But come out and be honest with it. I did a podcast with one of your peers not too long ago and I was too inebriated to do the Introduction. So that is not going to air now. I got it. We're good. We got that part out of the way. We did the introduction. I see you've got something there. Brought to us by our friends at Wheatley American Vodka. What do you have?

[Natalya Neidhart]

The Queen of Hearts.

[Cody Rhodes]

Queen of Hearts.

[Natalya Neidhart]

It's really good. It's got the Wheatley Vodka in it, which I told you earlier, though, that I have a rule. I try to keep my one. I got my one splash of vodka or tequila. Because when I was filming Total Divas back in the day, crazy stuff happened when we had over two shots of vodka.

[Cody Rhodes]

Total Divas, huh? Start right with Total Divas.

[Natalya Neidhart]

Total Divas. So many women.

[Cody Rhodes]

Yeah.

[Natalya Neidhart]

So many women in our locker room today. Tell me. I got into wwe. I got into wrestling. I got into watching wrestling from Total Divas. Maxine Dupree, she's one of them. Bianca Belair is one of them. Tiffany Stratton is one of them. And they want the Total Divas tea.

[Cody Rhodes]

Yeah.

[Natalya Neidhart]

They always want the inside stuff.

[Cody Rhodes]

You've got the Queen of Hearts. I have an American Mule. Thanks again to our friends at Wheatley American Vodka. Cheers, by the way.

[Natalya Neidhart]

Cheers.

[Cody Rhodes]

Thank you. From one combined baby to another.

[Natalya Neidhart]

Yes. So the Nepo baby thing is very, very, very, very overrated.

[Cody Rhodes]

Nipple babies are in right now.

[Natalya Neidhart]

So in.

[Cody Rhodes]

We're in. Because people started looking around going, who's going to do all this work? Who. You know? And then it's if. When I said in the introduction, the prime example of what one should be, what I meant, and this conversation I was having with another one of my peers earlier today was, you have to be everything they expect already. That comes with your name and your lineage. And then you have to be so much more.

[Natalya Neidhart]

Yeah.

[Cody Rhodes]

And in addition to that, you have to be your own personality in terms of workplace personality. What I mean by that is I have encountered so many people who worked with my dad or brother who have a preconceived idea as to how I am going to act, behave, and be. And I'm none of those things.

[Natalya Neidhart]

Right.

[Cody Rhodes]

And either that excites them, like, oh, he was tough to work with, but Cody's. Or it's, man, he's not funny like his brother. You know, you have to be all these things and own it. Can't pretend to be something else and nobody. I mean, you're the longest tenured person in our female locker room.

[Natalya Neidhart]

Right. It's been in January. It'll be 19 years. And I was doing an interview earlier today. I was talking about the book. And I was saying, it's funny. I. I can't. It's like the first time I've ever verbalized this. But I was like, they were talking about, you know, growing up in the family and was it harder because I was a heart. And I said for the first time ever, I was like, I wished so much. Like, looking back at the journey back then in 2005, when I was sending in tapes and trying to get hired, I wished so much that somebody in my family could just make a call and go, hey, like, can we try to get Natty a job? It was like the complete opposite of that because where the family was at at the time, with the company and like, nobody was able to do that for me. My dad wasn't, Brett wasn't, my grandfather wasn't. Like, there was no uncle. Like, just no one could do that for me. But I was looking back on it, I'm like, why I love and appreciate everything that I have now is because when people read my book, they'll realize, like, everything we thought about Natty is not what we really like. It's totally different than what we thought. But it was nice not having anybody make the call because I was able to. I just pushed through so much, and I'm so grateful for that. And you contributed to my book, too.

[Cody Rhodes]

How nice is this, by the way? Look at this.

[Natalya Neidhart]

I'm so proud of it.

[Cody Rhodes]

It's a real book.

[Natalya Neidhart]

I know. I'm so proud of it.

[Cody Rhodes]

I didn't mean to say that in a way, but this is amazing.

[Natalya Neidhart]

Thank you so much.

[Cody Rhodes]

Are you a bit nervous?

[Natalya Neidhart]

Yes.

[Cody Rhodes]

Right. You're opening up your world to.

[Natalya Neidhart]

Yes. Yeah.

[Cody Rhodes]

What are you most nervous about?

[Natalya Neidhart]

It's funny. We did our dungeon practice last night. We had like a four hour practice. It was so incredible. We had such a great group. I got home from the practice and I sat down to have dinner at the table and I was thinking about our interview today. So I grabbed the book and started going through it, like, just thumbing through it. And I just, like. I just like I was in between bursting out laughing and like, getting emotional, like, crying, because there's so much in the book that I'm so excited for people to read. But I also realized a big. This book was the most therapeutic thing I have ever done. I realized that, like, in writing this book, I realized that I'm such a people pleaser. Like, I'm a recovering people pleaser. And I think that comes from, you know, coming from a family like mine and always trying to Figure out, like, in a family like this, where do I fit in? Do I stay small to, you know, is it safer to be small, or is it easier to stand out? And so this. This book, writing, it was such a therapeutic journey for me. And I was like, TJ said to me last night, he goes, you should be so excited for everyone to read it. And don't be scared. He's like the only person you need to worry about pleasing anymore, Natty, is yourself. And I love the book. I feel so proud of it because I slept on every chapter. Yeah, I would write things. Becky. Becky lynch actually gave me some of the best advice. She said, just pour your heart out, spill your guts, and then just sleep on it, and then you can decide if you want to keep it or change it.

[Cody Rhodes]

Yeah, I love that.

[Natalya Neidhart]

And so I would write stuff, and then I would be up till three in the morning working on stuff, writing, and then I would sleep on it and go, I want to keep that. You know what? You keep it. And then after a year of sleeping on everything, I realized everything I wanted to be in the book. I've kept it in the book. And I'm not worrying about pleasing everyone. I'm worrying about me.

[Cody Rhodes]

I love that you said you're a people pleaser. I feel like everyone in our locker room and in the previous locker rooms and in the previous administration, WWE knows if we ask Natty to do something, Natty's ready. And not only ready, but no complaints, good to go as soon as the red light goes on. That's one that is guaranteed. A lot of that comes from being a people pleaser. A lot of that comes from we had this conversation when we were younger and amidst the struggles of booking and creative. I remember thinking, I wish I could care less. And it was actually you. I don't know if you remember this, but you were saying that's the difficulty in caring the most, is that this hurts you the most when it doesn't work. And this also, if you don't care that much, it doesn't even excite you that much. Versus if you or I, who wanted it so bad and loved it so much, when we got close and then we got pulled away or when we got a taste of something, it could hurt us far more than it could hurt somebody who had that ability to care less. Here's what I've come to find out. You know, you've crossed the bridge, written this book, and as TJ has pointed out, you only have you to please. I'm going through phases Of I tried to do a mean version of me where I was. I'm going to be mean to everybody. I'm going to start. You know what? I'm going to start being mean. Didn't click. I'm going to start showing up late somehow with still five minutes early. I haven't got. I'm in a version now. I'm wearing suspenders today and I'm. My suspenders me. I don't know what it's going to be. But here's what ultimately comes from all my phases. My ver. I was Cuban Cody for a minute. I was Cecilian Cody when I went and made a pizza at a local spot in Brooklyn. Shout out to them. But I. All these things. What I come to find out is I just reformed back to who I was the moment I walked in the doors here where it's. I'm still early. I'm still. Oh, yeah, I got whatever you need. Sure. And just as we've seen, I feel like in the end, not that this is the end, I. I think that's the way to be. That's. That's who I'd want on my team. It's. You know, that's. You may not even get along or personalities might even clash, but if you're somebody that you can guarantee is going to show up and deliver, that's special.

[Natalya Neidhart]

Because you're so consistent. You're such a consistent person.

[Cody Rhodes]

I'm a consistent.

[Natalya Neidhart]

Yes.

[Cody Rhodes]

Oh, good. All right.

[Natalya Neidhart]

Yeah. You're a consistent person, though.

[Cody Rhodes]

I don't know.

[Natalya Neidhart]

Yeah, well, it's gonna get wild. You're a good dresser too. But it's.

[Cody Rhodes]

It's.

[Natalya Neidhart]

Would you like our. I feel like we're both a little bougie like you like your high end stuff.

[Cody Rhodes]

Yeah. It's gotten bad.

[Natalya Neidhart]

I know. I can. I can tell.

[Cody Rhodes]

Yeah. It's gotten. Well, you were the first time I saw somebody with our Louis Vuitton scarf.

[Natalya Neidhart]

I love Louis.

[Cody Rhodes]

Yeah. And then I just. Here's. Here's where I've got. I bought a bunch of stuff at duty free coming back from Perth. And you know what? I decided I go, I need a bag. I gotta put this stuff in a bag. So that's pretty easy. You go to the Adidas store, the foot. There's a bazillion stores in this mall in Doha that could just give you a bag. Actually even just a normal wh Smith or what, a normal convenience store. You know where I went?

[Natalya Neidhart]

Louis.

[Cody Rhodes]

Louis Vuitton.

[Natalya Neidhart]

I love it.

[Cody Rhodes]

I like that bag right in the middle of the store.

[Natalya Neidhart]

I love it.

[Cody Rhodes]

Yeah, right.

[Natalya Neidhart]

It's just. I say to tj, I'm like, I don't. I don't really. Cause I don't really love jewelry. I'm not a jewelry person. But like I said to tj, I'm like, for birthdays and Christmas, you know, I love my Louis shoes and I love a Louis scarf. So you don't have to buy me jewelry because you know I'm gonna lose it. And I don't really wear it that much. Cause I'm always wrestling. I don't even. I mean, I hate to say this as a confession right now. I don't even really know where my wedding ring is at.

[Cody Rhodes]

Whoa.

[Natalya Neidhart]

Like, I'm like, let's find it, guys.

[Cody Rhodes]

Let's find it.

[Natalya Neidhart]

It's somewhere in our house.

[Cody Rhodes]

Yeah, we're gonna find it.

[Natalya Neidhart]

But I was. We were painting something on the patio and it down somewhere and it's in a cupboard or a drawer or something. But this is why I tell tj, don't buy me expensive jewelry.

[Cody Rhodes]

Yeah.

[Natalya Neidhart]

Because I. I'm always. I'm either. I'm at the gym, I'm working out, I'm weightlifting, I'm at the dungeon, I'm training. Like, I'm like, don't buy me expensive stuff. But tj, the wedding ring is somewhere in the house.

[Cody Rhodes]

It's in the house.

[Natalya Neidhart]

It's in the house. It's not like it's. It's not in the litter box, but it's in the house.

[Cody Rhodes]

It's in the house.

[Natalya Neidhart]

But. But I. I love my Louie. So it's. It's my little gift. And whenever I go to Louis, whenever I go to Louie and buy myself something, I always think about how much it would have cost me when I worked at the restaurant. Cause I wrote about working. I was a waitress before I ever got hired by wwe. I was a waitress for many, many years. And so anytime I buy anything expensive, I'm like, how many shifts would that have been? I still think about that because I'm always like, you know what it's like when people think you grew up in this big wrestling family. But in your experience, when you were young, when the business was good, your dad was doing okay, right?

[Cody Rhodes]

Yeah.

[Natalya Neidhart]

But when the business wasn't good and things weren't good, it's like kind of feast or famine. And so that was another really cool experience in writing the book where I was able to share with people some of those things that. It's not like a sob story where it's like, woe is me. Look at the hard time I had. But a lot of people didn't realize that like when I was a kid, my dad was in his heyday in WWE and he was winning the tag team titles and this and that. Things were great. But when things weren't great, we had those ups and downs and struggles. So when I was able to get my own first real job, yeah, I always just had this incredible work ethic because I wanted to know that no one would ever pull the rug out from under me. Cuz the wrestling business is very volatile. My grandfather was a promoter, so in Stampede Wrestling. Same thing with the, with his kids. When Stampede Wrestling was great and Harley Race was their champion and everything was great, business was booming.

[Cody Rhodes]

Yeah.

[Natalya Neidhart]

But when somebody would get hurt or somebody would take off or the, you know, there'd be issues or altercations and they would have, they wouldn't even be able to keep their power on.

[Cody Rhodes]

Yeah.

[Natalya Neidhart]

So that's the one thing that like I was really. It was cool being able to explore that because so many people think, oh, they grow up in these big families and they're, they're famous and you know, they're, they're rich and they have all this money and they don't realize that like growing up it was always boom or bust. Yeah, it was always. I've heard Stephanie talk about that too. It's like, yeah, there's some things that have definitely helped us like that have been like, yeah, it's cool to be Bret Hart's niece, but like it's also not been. It's definitely come with its own set of challenges being from this big family.

[Cody Rhodes]

Some people don't know this story when I was 17, that the power went out at my house at like 10pm at night and my sister was home from college and we both knew it's because we hadn't paid the bill. Now we got the power back on quickly and none of it was ever discussed, but it was one of those really terrifying moments because you mentioned boom or bust. I think sometimes wrestlers do boom or bust to themselves. Like, I'm almost now regretting that I went in and bought this bag because it's not about the money and the nice things. You like them. And there may be a representation of, oh, I was here in my life.

[Natalya Neidhart]

Right.

[Cody Rhodes]

But really the thing that satiates you and fills you up the most isn't something that money can buy. It's, you know, the person you spend your life with. And then of course, the job you spend Your life with. Which is you've chosen professional wrestling, which is the number one currency for us, which is a very bizarre addiction. But you could have worse. Where do you think? Cause you mentioned your work ethic. Where do you think it emanates from? Your mother or your father?

[Natalya Neidhart]

Both.

[Cody Rhodes]

Yeah.

[Natalya Neidhart]

Because my dad, you know, people. And I loved writing about my dad. I dedicate the book to my dad. Like, he's a very big character in the book. And both of them, though, because my mom taught me to not take shit from anyone.

[Cody Rhodes]

Yeah.

[Natalya Neidhart]

She was the main person that told me to always stand up for myself and never, ever let anyone walk all over you.

[Cody Rhodes]

Yeah.

[Natalya Neidhart]

She's taught me the most about perseverance. But my dad, when my dad was 18 years old, he was the number one shot putter in the United States.

[Cody Rhodes]

Nice.

[Natalya Neidhart]

And he was ranked number five in the world. So he was like, nil before there was nil. And then my dad was. My dad played professional football. My dad started playing football when he was 11 years old. And so my dad actually played three professional sports. He played football. He was a shot world class shot putter. And then he, of course, came to wwe. So my dad was very, very disciplined growing up. And we explore this quite a bit in the book. My dad was gone for, like, 300 days a year in his heyday, so there was a lot of times that I didn't, like, always see my dad. And when he'd come home, it was just this whirlwind of, like, excitement where, like, I knew he had gone on a journey because he brought back, you know, a toiletry kit from the Keo Plaza from Tokyo. You know what I mean? Or he would always bring these little trinkets back from all over the world. And that would kind of give me a glimpse into my dad living a much bigger life than all of us were living because he would just, you know, they were back in the heyday at the Heart Foundation. They were always traveling around, but it was just there was lots of highs and lows and highs and lows and highs and lows a lot. And we talk about that in the book in great detail. But my dad had a very strong work ethic. He liked working hard. He liked training hard. My dad was one of the strongest guys in the NFL. Like in the book. Let me pull it up real quick.

[Cody Rhodes]

I got a question about your dad and the shot put while we're at it. And this is because we're surrounded by history and there are historians in this room with us who do you Think would have a better shot put? Your dad or Carrie Von Erich?

[Natalya Neidhart]

My dad, yeah. My dad's record has not been broken in the state of California.

[Cody Rhodes]

I love this. All right.

[Natalya Neidhart]

I'm competitive with my dad. Can I just read to you real quick? So I have in the book, I have my dad's resume in the book and I put it in the book because this is the resume that he presented my grandfather when he was trying to get into Stampede Wrestling.

[Cody Rhodes]

Yeah.

[Natalya Neidhart]

So my dad, he went to UCLA from 1973 through 1977. Shot put. In 1975, he was ranked number five in the world, number one in the USA. Professional football, professional wrestling. He started professional wrestling 1978. His bench press, these are the records that he, he got these records in one day. 570 pound bench.

[Cody Rhodes]

Nice. No shirt either.

[Natalya Neidhart]

Probably no shirt, probably fanny pack and spandex. Squat was 689.

[Cody Rhodes]

Yeah.

[Natalya Neidhart]

Power clean was 405. Incline bench 485. Power snatch 300 and could run a 40 yard dash in 4.7 seconds. He was a monster. He was. And by the way, he's a 300 pound guy.

[Cody Rhodes]

He's a monster, guys.

[Natalya Neidhart]

Yeah. And one and a half mile run in 11 minutes and 50 seconds. And this was all recorded. And like he was just a beast.

[Cody Rhodes]

That's why he's the anvil.

[Natalya Neidhart]

He was. So my grandfather, Stu Hart, when my grandfather met my dad, he was just like, he couldn't believe it. He was like this guy like is just everything that a wrestling promoter, he sees him, he's charismatic, he's big, he's jacked, he's, you know, and my grandfather loved athletes. Like he was big on like, I can mold them, I can make them like everything.

[Cody Rhodes]

Well, to the point about Stu loving athletes and to him being such a real athlete, there's. Your dad's one of those names that if you hear and you hear about the locker room or you hear about the camaraderie, there's other different athletes that have checked this box where there's just a general respect and not just a respect for what they did and their career and their tenure. There was a respect the first day they walked in the locker room. A lot of amateur wrestlers have that same respect. Yeah, we can teach them about pro wrestling and things of that nature. But. But your dad was legit.

[Natalya Neidhart]

Legit.

[Cody Rhodes]

So when you find someone who's legit, you can't, you can't. Young boy, someone who's that legit, you can teach him a little something here and there. But Again, legit. And that's. It's really amazing that that's part of the resume to being a performer and a storyteller is. Look at all this legit stuff.

[Natalya Neidhart]

Yes.

[Cody Rhodes]

Because it's.

[Natalya Neidhart]

It.

[Cody Rhodes]

It comes in incredibly valuable in terms of one of the things that Cena. I always look at Cena's career, and I try to steal as much as I can. And one of the things that he did really well that I am trying to improve on myself is feats of strength. Feats of strength. He'd have this unbelievable. Because he truly was, you know, hard knocks. He's training with Rob. That's where that stuff actually comes in handy. Be able to do something that someone sitting in the seat can't do and gets excited about, invigorated, about Anvil being one of those. I ask you about the work ethic because my work ethic comes from my mother. And I don't want to pat myself on the back for my work ethic, but I do think that probably my biggest strength in the history of my time in pro wrestling is my work ethic, not talent. My. Hey, I'll be there. Yeah, I don't get any of it from my dad. My dad, I don't know if he had a work ethic. He might have. He worked always and he. But my mom is a workhorse. I mean, I lost my first job at Einstein's Bagels because I'm a teenager, and you lose jobs and you're irresponsible and you're a teenager, and it's the only time. God bless Shelley Rubio, but she called me a lazy piece of shit. And I never. She never talked to me that way. I've never been talked to since that way from her because I realized that's something that matters to her. Is my son working.

[Natalya Neidhart]

He's working hard.

[Cody Rhodes]

He can't be my son if he's gonna not show up on time. And I never. From her, man, I just. She was. That was her whole thing. She went back to be a nurse when we were in high school, and it really wasn't for the money or. I don't know. But, yeah, the work ethic comes from her. I didn't get it from dream.

[Natalya Neidhart]

And your mom is so. Your mom is such a strong woman. Like, she just has that. Like, she's little.

[Cody Rhodes]

She's ferocious.

[Natalya Neidhart]

She's little. But it kind of reminds me of my mom. Like, my mom, I wrote about.

[Cody Rhodes]

I wrote about Dynamite, you know, just.

[Natalya Neidhart]

Little five foot two, little red hen. But, yeah, when My dad, you know, was. Was going through some hard times and lost his job. My mom, actually. My mom, you know, she was. She went to school. She went to art college for. She was a sculptor. And so she was. She was an artist. She was an amazing artist. But, like, when you're trying to raise a family, there's not a lot of jobs that you can do art with. You know what I mean? And so when my dad lost his job, my mom actually, to make ends meet, she got a job working at Costco and selling hot dogs. She was a hot dog vendor.

[Cody Rhodes]

And so ain't nothing wrong with Costco.

[Natalya Neidhart]

No. And I love. Listen, I love a Costco hot dog. But my point is, is that she wasn't afraid during some hard times. When my dad had, like, been struggling in wwe, my mom wasn't afraid to roll up her sleeves and get to work and to protect her family. And so that was like, I think something that she had that grit in her from, like, my grandfather.

[Cody Rhodes]

Yeah.

[Natalya Neidhart]

And so, you know, we, like. I like being able to share those moments because, again, it's cool for people. Hey, like, you see us on the outside and you see, you know, or both of us. They have a nice house or they have a nice car, they're wearing nice clothes, and it's like. But everything I have, I built from the ground up.

[Cody Rhodes]

Yeah.

[Natalya Neidhart]

And I love that. I wouldn't trade any of it because it's. It's made everything so worth it. Even my first. And I've talked about this before in interviews in the past, but even my first pay, my first paycheck in WWE, my first contract was for $24,000 a year.

[Cody Rhodes]

So not even the 500 a week.

[Natalya Neidhart]

It was 500.

[Cody Rhodes]

Was 500 a week. Did I just do the math wrong?

[Natalya Neidhart]

It was 500 a week.

[Cody Rhodes]

Yeah.

[Natalya Neidhart]

I think that math is close to being right.

[Cody Rhodes]

Yeah. I don't know. But some people had to take off their tax for immigration purposes.

[Natalya Neidhart]

TJ's was 21,000.

[Cody Rhodes]

I always heard that TJ was the lowest paid because they do this visa.

[Natalya Neidhart]

Yeah. TJ was the lowest paid, I think, in developmental crazy. But I was getting, you know, around 500 a week. And I thought it was great. I was thrilled, I was excited, I was ecstatic. It's just drives you. It creates a hunger inside of you where you're like. My favorite times, like, some of my favorite times ever were in developmental, working with Dr. Tom, working with Steve Kern, working with Dusty. Those were like, some of the times of my life. I met the Bella twins for the first time.

[Cody Rhodes]

I remember Randy came down to OVW and he told everybody there he was doing a match at Six Flags and he told everybody he didn't have much to say, but they gathered us up for his speech. He just said, make sure you're having fun, because the moment you go on the road, it's still fun, but it's a very different type of fun. And it's a business. So this group, you'll never forget who you trained with. That funny moment when you were watching ples or Pay per views on your couch, thinking about when that will be me or when your friend got called up and you got to see it firsthand and you knew how real it was. Yeah, that time period is so much fun.

[Natalya Neidhart]

So much fun. I loved it. And we were not making. You know, we weren't making any money, but like, we. I didn't give a. I didn't give a shit at all. I loved. I loved.

[Cody Rhodes]

Do you know what I did with my money?

[Natalya Neidhart]

Spent it.

[Cody Rhodes]

Yeah. But I'm gonna walk you through it. I got 500 a week. And we'd film TV on Wednesday, which was. I think I also got paid Wednesday morning. Like, I got a direct deposit. We'd film OVW TV on Wednesday. And then after the show, I would try to take Everybody out on $500 to a establishment you can look it up to understand what it is called PTS in Louisville. And I would then end up with no money at the end of the. That would. But it was okay.

[Natalya Neidhart]

You were always so generous.

[Cody Rhodes]

It was ok. Had a house like I had a place. And you just go to. It's not like I'm going anywhere. I'm just going to tv. And, you know, then I. I mentioned multiple mentions of hot dogs on this show because I would eat hot dogs from 4400 Shepherdsville Road, Danny Davis's, his concession stand. I would just grab a hot dog while I was there training, which he didn't love because that was part of the concessions. But that's a big thing about. What do you want to talk about? Everyone should understand. We're all about Louis Vuittons, Cadillacs, but we're also about hot dogs. Yeah, we're about, like Costco hot dogs.

[Natalya Neidhart]

Still my favorite.

[Cody Rhodes]

We're splitting it. We're about. Yeah, we're about it in this book. Are you talking at all about what. I feel like everybody's talking about it lately. And I wanted to bring it up because a. I watched it and kind of brought a tear to my eye. Oh, man, I don't want it to now, but it kind of did. And I thought good for her was the low key legend stuff.

[Natalya Neidhart]

Thank you.

[Cody Rhodes]

Holy smokes.

[Natalya Neidhart]

Thank you.

[Cody Rhodes]

What a way to take the feed. Take the feed, take the news feed. Just own it. In a hard world of just every day there's something new, something viral, something happening in the overall wrestling pantheon. So just to take it and present in the way you did, hats off to you. It was special.

[Natalya Neidhart]

Yeah. Thank you so much. When I was about halfway through the book, I realized that I was, like living a lot of my life over the last probably two decades of this tightly woven childhood trauma where I was just trying so hard to be what I thought everybody wanted me to be. And I didn't. I just. I kept on thinking, like, even when I was trying to get to WWE or I was trying to, you know, trying to make characters work, I was like, what is, you know, what would they like? Or what would the audience like? Or what would this, My opponent like? What would make the girls happy in the locker room? Maybe this will make them happy. This will make them like me more. This will make them.

[Cody Rhodes]

Yeah.

[Natalya Neidhart]

About halfway through the book, I was like, I had this epiphany that I needed to just, like, take a chance on myself.

[Cody Rhodes]

Yeah.

[Natalya Neidhart]

And it's funny because I was saying to TJ the other day about you, I said, you're a really big inspiration for me because you had so much courage to take a chance on yourself and your dreams and to do shit that was crazy. I mean, some of the. If you watch. If people go back and watch and look up some of your indie stuff, you did some crazy stuff.

[Cody Rhodes]

Yeah.

[Natalya Neidhart]

I mean, physically crazy stuff where it was in front of nobody. I'm not sure if there was much money involved or anything.

[Cody Rhodes]

No.

[Natalya Neidhart]

And you were putting yourself out there and reinventing yourself in a way that was. You just took this crazy chance on yourself. And so the low key legend character, it came from the book. It came from me reaching a point in the book. And that's why the book has got so much range in it. It's very funny, but it's also very deep. And there's a book, very deep story in it where I just kind of reached a breaking point personally where I was like, are you gonna spend the rest of your career just trying to be what you think everybody wants you to be, or are you gonna take a chance and be who you really are?

[Cody Rhodes]

Yeah.

[Natalya Neidhart]

And it was so easy for me to dive into that role because that role really stemmed from the work that I did in the dungeon when I was first learning how to train. My first, everything was in the, it was in the dungeon. My first lockup, my first, like, you know, drop kick, my first bump. Everything was in the dungeon. And I always KN. That girl when I first started, she was just gritty. She had that stu. Heart grit.

[Cody Rhodes]

Yeah.

[Natalya Neidhart]

And one day, it was like a couple weeks before WrestleMania, I was feeling a little frustrated. I felt like I was lost. Like, I was like, where, where do I fit in? Because I knew that, I knew that creatively, you know, Hunter wanted to find something. He wanted to find something for me where he wanted it to be meaningful. We had talked about finding something meaningful, but sometimes that takes time to find that.

[Cody Rhodes]

Sometimes it takes too much time.

[Natalya Neidhart]

And so I just decided, you know what, you got to, basically, you can't just wait, Natty. You got to take the bull by the horns. So I, I got to talking and talked to Josh Barnett and said Bloodsport was what I did in the dungeon. Yeah, the dungeon was Bloodsport before Bloodsport was Bloodsport. And Josh, Josh and I have trained together. I know Josh very well. Josh believed in me and said, absolutely, let's do it. I love that. Walked up to Hunter. He was doing a rehearsal at Raw. Everybody and their brother was trying to talk to him. He made time for me. He literally just was like, he just talked to me and I said, hey, like, and it's so. He's, trust me, like, you know better than anyone, he's somebody that, like, he, he's approachable, but everybody's trying to get to him, especially when they need an answer or something about TV or something that night that's going on live in two hours.

[Cody Rhodes]

Also, other people ruin the approach. You might have something super authentic and sincere and three yahoos have gone up to him and pitch them. Winning the title and really self serving and, and not even done in a tactful way. Just super. Ugh. And by the time you get to him, you've got a worn out.

[Natalya Neidhart]

Yeah. And he's like, yeah, totally. And so he stopped. He made the time for me. He listened to me and he said, I said, I would love to do Bloodsport. And it's during, like, it's during Mania weekend. He said, sure. He goes, I love it, let's do it. Absolutely.

[Cody Rhodes]

I love that.

[Natalya Neidhart]

And I, because I had anxiety that morning, I was saying to tj, I was like, what if he, you know, doesn't want me to? Or what if they don't Let me. Or what if they. It's again, it's what if. What if what? Like, no. It was just taking a chance on myself. He said yes. And then I was like, now I'm gonna get to work and I'm gonna make this. I'm gonna blow this up so that, like, this is what I want to do. And I'm not gonna ask. I'm gonna show them. Which is what? Like, Chelsea. Chelsea Green is a perfect example of somebody that she. She doesn't just write down an idea, she shows them. She physically presents it. So being able to do that low key legend character at Bloodsport, I treated it like an audition. It was trending for two days. It went viral. People loved it. And I think the girl that I wrestled, Miu Yamashita, she's one of the best female wrestlers that's not signed by wwe, but she's one of the best in the world. She.

[Cody Rhodes]

But you were. She's one of the best in the world. She's amazing. So incredible. Shout out to her, but don't sell yourself short.

[Natalya Neidhart]

Thanks, Cody.

[Cody Rhodes]

I know this from personal experience. The rub is twofold. You're getting the street rub. Street's not the way to put it, but you know what I mean. There's this underground.

[Natalya Neidhart]

Yes, underground.

[Cody Rhodes]

You're also giving a mainstream rub. You're getting people who would never look are looking. And that's why it takes two. It takes two. I made the mistake a long time ago of overly being grateful and thankful and hey, it was him. It was him. It was us. Yeah, it was us.

[Natalya Neidhart]

We made magic together.

[Cody Rhodes]

Exactly. It takes two. There's two names on the marquee. It's why we do this random WRESTLER Shake hands 50,000 times. Because I need you, you need me. That's how it works.

[Natalya Neidhart]

Yeah.

[Cody Rhodes]

Don't have to love each other.

[Natalya Neidhart]

She was phenomenal. But you're right. The magic was in us working together.

[Cody Rhodes]

Is she gonna come work here?

[Natalya Neidhart]

She better.

[Cody Rhodes]

Yeah.

[Natalya Neidhart]

Miu. Miu Yamashita.

[Cody Rhodes]

I'm scared.

[Natalya Neidhart]

She's a badass, but I still whipped her ass.

[Cody Rhodes]

Yeah.

[Natalya Neidhart]

So love this.

[Cody Rhodes]

Love this.

[Natalya Neidhart]

So I said to tj, I go, I want to make sure that everybody knows that that performance at Bloodsport was not a fluke. So I went to Triple H, I said, can I do nwa? I want to work for Billy Corgan, and Billy's a very close friend of mine. And I said to Billy, I said, give me your best girl. And I want to work a match with her. I want to build a program with her. He gave me Kenzie Paige. And I said to tj, I said, my match with Kenzie, I'm going to show everybody that the match with MIU was not a fluke. Kenzie and I at nwa, we sold out the ECW Arena. The match was amazing. It was so much fun. I said to TJ afterwards, I go, I want to make sure that everybody knows that that match with Kenzie and that match with MEW was not a fluke.

[Cody Rhodes]

Sure.

[Natalya Neidhart]

I asked Hunter if I could work for Booker T. And so I wrestled a girl.

[Cody Rhodes]

T. Book. Yeah, yeah, Little T Book.

[Natalya Neidhart]

So I asked Booker T. I said, who's your best girl? Who's the girl that's gonna push me to my limits? Who's your best girl? And he said, promise Braxton. So I said, give me promise. I had this phenomenal match with Promise. And then I asked Josh, I said, I want to. I want to wrestle. I want to do BloodSport during SummerSlam. Give me your best girl. He gave me Masha. Like, so. So my thing was, is it was about proving that I could do this. It wasn't a fluke.

[Cody Rhodes]

Yeah.

[Natalya Neidhart]

I did it over and over and over and over again because I, like you, took a chance on myself. I didn't just rely on Natalia. The thing about Natalia, and I've said this before, but she's. She's very safe. She's very consistent. She's very solid.

[Cody Rhodes]

Safe presentation is guaranteed.

[Natalya Neidhart]

Consistent, safe, solid.

[Cody Rhodes]

You know what you're getting, what it looks like.

[Natalya Neidhart]

And she's. I mean, listen, I've worked through. I wrestled on a broken ankle. I wrestled Naomi in London with a completely broken ankle because I was booked on the show. And I just. I'm a person of my word.

[Cody Rhodes]

I like that toxic mentality.

[Natalya Neidhart]

I just.

[Cody Rhodes]

I love it.

[Natalya Neidhart]

I. Yeah, I broke my ankle during rehearsal. I did a baseball slide through Naomi's leg.

[Cody Rhodes]

Like, I. I remember this, actually.

[Natalya Neidhart]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I broke my ankle during the day. And they told me. Everybody was like, you're, you know, you don't. You know, you can. We can pull you from the match. I was. This is me being selfish. I was booked to win. And I was like, I'm not giving up my win.

[Cody Rhodes]

Yeah, right.

[Natalya Neidhart]

I'm not giving up my win. So I told everybody I was fine, and they were like, no, no, no. We just need to let you sit it out. You're not fine. You're limping. I wrestled that night. It was a three minute match. I walked out like Undertaker.

[Cody Rhodes]

Yeah.

[Natalya Neidhart]

I walked out so slow. You would have thought I was Undertaker's daughter for how slow I was walking. I wrestled Naomi with a completely broken ankle and I was like, I am not giving up my win. This is a sold out Arena. There's 20,000 people here. I'm doing my match. And that's Natalia. She's rock solid and I love that. But she's also safe. She wants to make everyone happy. I want to make the girl's happy. And it's not a bad thing by any means. I love being consistent and reliable and everything else. But I also know that if you keep doing the same things you've always done, you're gonna get the same result. If I want a different result, I've gotta dive into something else. So I loved like you did, you know, you took a chance on yourself and it paid off.

[Cody Rhodes]

You hear that?

[Natalya Neidhart]

That's not just a Toyota truck. That's the sound of no crowds, no.

[Cody Rhodes]

Alerts, no distractions, and no telling what you'll find next. You know, like a detour. So why would you ever take a tour when you could take a detour? Toyota trucks. Why choose a sleep number? Smart bed. Can I make my sight softer? Can I make my sight firmer? Can we sleep cooler?

[Natalya Neidhart]

Sleep number does that cools up to.

[Cody Rhodes]

Eight times faster and lets you choose your ideal comfort on either side.

[Natalya Neidhart]

Your sleep number setting.

[Cody Rhodes]

Enjoy personalized comfort for better sleep night after night. And now max out your savings. The more you buy, the more you save on beds, bases and more. Plus, get free home delivery on any smart bed with base limited time.

[Natalya Neidhart]

Check it out at a sleep number.

[Cody Rhodes]

Store near you [e-mail] today. The chance thing is really unique in a sense that you can ask for permission on a lot of stuff. And it's almost like we don't hear when people say, yeah, sure, or they give you the only green light you need is the faintest color of green light.

[Natalya Neidhart]

That's all.

[Cody Rhodes]

And you don't need to double back on it and go, how am I doing? Is it okay? No, you just go. Yeah, just go. Until somebody oh, hey, this isn't. No, no, we can't do this. Just go. And I feel one of the bigger mistakes that all wrestlers make and we are all guilty of this. And I this is not to knock any positions of where the, where the office is compared to where the talent are and things of that nature. A mistake wrestlers make all the time is they forget how much power is actually within the wrestling talent. How much power is within the human, the wrestler. I don't know if it's the way we're wired or if it's the fact that the checks come from. I don't know what it is, but at a certain point for me, and maybe it's something you discovered with the Loki legend or even long before that, a certain point for me, I just stopped giving it power. I have a massive respect and a massive understanding of the infrastructure, particularly with my executive experience now of, like, my. I totally understand and respect it, but at the end of the day, this show is based upon, you know, I'm looking at Brett and Anvil behind you on that painting. I'm looking at all this. There's. There. There isn't a wing here for Meet executives. And that's not to knock them at all, but I feel like one of the things that gets stripped away is you almost get scared. And. I don't know, at a certain point, I just. Nothing has. Nothing scares me anymore, except maybe Brock Lesnar, but nothing beside, you know, like, nothing. And that's a good place to be. It's a dangerous place to be because then you find out, like, hey, you know, there. There are things, there are borders, there are, you know, guidelines. But I'm just. I was so excited to see it.

[Natalya Neidhart]

Thank you.

[Cody Rhodes]

I was so excited to see it. Thank you. Will we see more?

[Natalya Neidhart]

Yes.

[Cody Rhodes]

There we go.

[Natalya Neidhart]

Yeah, you will. And I'm manifesting all of it, and I'm grabbing it by the horns and I'm running hard with it because I would rather. And this is the big thing. And I saw Dwayne Johnson talking about this when he was doing. He was doing press for a smashing machine.

[Cody Rhodes]

Yeah.

[Natalya Neidhart]

He said, you know, he was like, I just wanted to take a chance on something and I wanted to do a project for me.

[Cody Rhodes]

Yeah.

[Natalya Neidhart]

And he's like, I just. Just try it. Just. Just do. And by the way, that movie, he's. He's. I've ever seen him, he goes to a place where it was like. Like, I've never seen. Like, you'd never see him crying and sobbing.

[Cody Rhodes]

The way that I saw it, it's outstanding.

[Natalya Neidhart]

He should. Jarring win an Oscar for it because you just don't. Especially with somebody that physically, like, you see how he looks physically. And then you see him, like. I got emotional watching it because, you know, especially for guys that were trying to make, you know, pave the way for MMA in those early days, there wasn't much money involved in it at all. And you see him just beside himself with the loss, and he's crying and his relationship was falling apart. But you see him like, it's like for him, it was a role that he needed to do for himself. I saw that. I felt he took that part for himself. For him, sure.

[Cody Rhodes]

Did you also get a sense of. Because second and third generations, they have twin magic to a degree. We think about each other. It's a strange thing. We shouldn't think about each other, but we do. You'll hear about, oh, such and such. His son getting into it. Oh, her on nxt. That's. You think about each other. I almost wish there was like this collective group chat to get with everybody. And I also know that not everyone will make it because maybe their love is different, maybe their priorities are different. I'll round this out in terms of about taking a chance with you. Talking to me now is very motivating because I feel like lately I've been the safest version of me ever. I've been completely buttoned up. And having children is like Donkey and Shrek at the end of the movie where it's like, oh man, I gotta get a job. That's a whole bit like. That's the first thing I thought was, oh, I gotta really. These days are behind me of just kind of wild swings and things of that nature. But that's still. It's still wired in my frame that I gotta. You have to do that. Otherwise you're not able to live with your resume, you're not able to live with your work, your body of work. If this really wasn't how you wanted to go about doing it, taking a chance on yourself.

[Natalya Neidhart]

Yeah.

[Cody Rhodes]

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[Natalya Neidhart]

Well, the new dungeon is. It's crazy because there's nothing like it in the world. There's nothing like it in the world.

[Cody Rhodes]

I know firsthand. Cause you took care of two members of my family, correct?

[Natalya Neidhart]

Yes.

[Cody Rhodes]

How'd they do?

[Natalya Neidhart]

Yes. So what are their real names? Because I couldn't. They have stage names.

[Cody Rhodes]

Dylan and Dalton.

[Natalya Neidhart]

Dylan and Dalton, but Dylan and Dalton. So Dylan and Dalton came to Our. Well, listen, the dungeon is like. The way I look at it is.

[Cody Rhodes]

I was sending them to you.

[Natalya Neidhart]

You gotta know somebody that knows somebody that can get them in.

[Cody Rhodes]

I needed them to come to you. And I think Dustin, who. Dustin primarily trained them. I mean, Dustin is their TR and their uncle, and he's been everything for them. One.

[Natalya Neidhart]

One of them reminded me of you, and the other one reminded me of Dusty.

[Cody Rhodes]

So Dylan reminded you of Dusty, the youngest one.

[Natalya Neidhart]

So. So they were. You asked us if they could come in. They were the. They were there early, they stayed late, they worked their asses off.

[Cody Rhodes]

There you go.

[Natalya Neidhart]

And by the way, our. Our dungeon is meant to be very hard. It's.

[Cody Rhodes]

Oh, I've seen it.

[Natalya Neidhart]

It's. It's not fancy. And I don't want. Like, listen, TJ and I, if we wanted to do fancy, we could do a little fancy. I don't want it fancy. I want it to be. It to be real. It's. It's a room that's only big enough to hold the ring.

[Cody Rhodes]

Yeah.

[Natalya Neidhart]

And there's a bathroom, and there is no air conditioning.

[Cody Rhodes]

That's how it should be.

[Natalya Neidhart]

And we don't want air conditioning because. Well, I'll tell you why we don't have air conditioning, because Angelo Dawkins won't let us get air conditioning.

[Cody Rhodes]

Got sweat.

[Natalya Neidhart]

He's got a sweat.

[Cody Rhodes]

Got a sweat. Yes, I get that right away.

[Natalya Neidhart]

We just. You go in there and you work your ass off. So Dylan and Dalton came in and they were ready to work. You could. I could tell at first they were. We did a. We did a few days with them.

[Cody Rhodes]

Yeah.

[Natalya Neidhart]

And they were. They worked so hard. But TJ goes. TJ's like. This is like watching Cody and Dusty wrestle because they were.

[Cody Rhodes]

They.

[Natalya Neidhart]

You could. This is the power of genetics, I'm telling you. This is the power of genetics. So I was watching them throw punches like. Like, it was. Like. It was crazy. It was uncanny. We have all the footage. I keep all the footage. Anybody that ever trains with us, I always keep the footage, because sometimes there's magic that happens in there. Ilya. Ilya Dragunov, he's been training with us.

[Cody Rhodes]

Cheers to him, by the way. New United States Champion.

[Natalya Neidhart]

Yes.

[Cody Rhodes]

Welcome back. Cheers. Cheers.

[Natalya Neidhart]

Ilya came in and blew everybody's minds in the dungeon. He started basically acting like it was WrestleMania in the dungeon.

[Cody Rhodes]

I love that.

[Natalya Neidhart]

And that's what your nephew. Their nephews, right?

[Cody Rhodes]

Yeah.

[Natalya Neidhart]

They were wrestling. I told tj, I go. Dylan and Dalton were wrestling like it was WrestleMania, you know? Even though I know they're not established, they're still getting their feet wet. They're still for how green they are. They work their asses off.

[Cody Rhodes]

I'm excited at this because. Because I put the initials of all of the nephews and grandkids, Dusty's grandchildren, I put everyone on my boots for WrestleMania 40. The initials are on the inside of the boot. I genuinely thought in that moment none of them are gonna enter the wrestling space. It wasn't because I didn't think they could. I just thought it ended with me. I mean, finish the story. I thought it ended with me. And then I see how far it's progressing.

[Natalya Neidhart]

Oh, they're gonna wrestle.

[Cody Rhodes]

Yeah. And how it's advancing.

[Natalya Neidhart]

They're definitely gonna wrestle.

[Cody Rhodes]

And it's not even. And it's very exciting. The idea that they're into this and they can do something. And I always tell them the biggest thing for them, I want them to know is just make sure you're in love with this. And I was so glad they went to you. And the reason I was so glad they went to you is not just because of the grittiness, not just because of the education you and TJ are providing. But you have to break out of the road stuff. I love a Barry Windham match more than anybody. But there's one guy in this room, Ben Brown, who knows who Barry windham is. Maybe two. Right. It's not. It's 20, 25. And they're talking to me about these Berry tags. You need to go. Go somewhere that's completely. Stu Hart's gonna train very different.

[Natalya Neidhart]

Yeah.

[Cody Rhodes]

Than Vern Gagna train. Vern Gany is gonna train very different than Bill Watts train.

[Natalya Neidhart]

Yeah.

[Cody Rhodes]

And all that training still has trickled down. Dusty trains the way he was taught by Joe Blanchard. Like. Or he did train. Dustin trains. Because Skandar Akbar. We're all products. Al Snow got me. You're. I just wanted them to experience something very new. And there was. And gritty and hard working and a place that really wouldn't. They could have been welcomed there and been warmly received, but they would have known right away if they were cutting it or not. Exactly.

[Natalya Neidhart]

They had to work hard. And that's the thing about our ring, is that. That's why I hate to say this, but it's invite only. And the reason.

[Cody Rhodes]

It's like the Magic Castle.

[Natalya Neidhart]

The reason why. The reason why is because TJ and I, we want to have it emulate what my grandfather had in the original dungeon.

[Cody Rhodes]

Yeah.

[Natalya Neidhart]

My grandfather, Sue. He Never took a dollar from anyone. But he wanted to train with the very best in the world. And some of the very best pro wrestlers that ever, like Gorilla Monsoon, trained in the dungeon. My grandfather wanted. He wanted to train with the best. And if he didn't like you and he didn't feel that you respected the industry, he didn't want to take your money because he didn't want to see you again.

[Cody Rhodes]

Would Stu. Stu famous for. Would he stretch everybody or. I always was of the thought that Stu stretched the ones who didn't have it. Or. Or was it everybody?

[Natalya Neidhart]

Everyone.

[Cody Rhodes]

Okay. Everybody was getting stretched. And that's the thing.

[Natalya Neidhart]

Why grandfather didn't take money is because he wanted to beat everyone up.

[Cody Rhodes]

Right? Okay. So everybody's getting stretched. The good, the bad.

[Natalya Neidhart]

My dad.

[Cody Rhodes]

Everybody's getting stretched.

[Natalya Neidhart]

My dad was the strong, like, one of the strongest men in the NFL. And my grandfather was beating him senseless. Like. Like.

[Cody Rhodes]

Like you hear stories of people screaming through the vent in the house.

[Natalya Neidhart]

Well. Cause. But he wasn't hurt. It wasn't like he was putting them in submission wrestling holes.

[Cody Rhodes]

Gotta know it hurts.

[Natalya Neidhart]

And so the thing with DJ and beat anyone up like that in the dungeon, but we want to work with people that have passion. So with Dylan and Dalton, they have passion. They understand that they need work. But you know what I liked about them more than anything? What? Etiquette.

[Cody Rhodes]

Oh, that.

[Natalya Neidhart]

Their etiquette was great.

[Cody Rhodes]

It's like, give me some of the wrestling etiquette.

[Natalya Neidhart]

Yeah, like, wrestling etiquette. It's life etiquette.

[Cody Rhodes]

It's like a lot of thank yous.

[Natalya Neidhart]

Like, thank you, you know, thank you and appreciation and. And here's my thing. If you're going to be. If you're going to be five minutes late, 30 minutes late, an hour late, two hours late, shoot me a text, let me know.

[Cody Rhodes]

Oh, yeah, I heard. Yeah, no, for sure.

[Natalya Neidhart]

Like, let me know. Hey. Like, I'm gonna be like, I'm gonna miss half the practice, but it's because, you know, there was a crazy accident on the highway or. Yeah. And I'm always like, Dr. Tom used to always talk to us about that. He'd say, don't bullshit, don't lie. Just tell me what's going on, and we're good. And so the boys had great etiquette. They were the first ones at practice. They were the last ones to leave. And any. Anything that they were asked to do, even if it's. If it was stuff that they weren't really sure that they could do, they still Tried it. And then the next time they came in, everything that we had worked on the day before, they had processed it and did it. So they just, they had really good wrestling etiquette and they were grateful. And then afterwards they like sent TJ and I this really nice card. And like, it was just so sweet. They were just so sweet.

[Cody Rhodes]

Good boys.

[Natalya Neidhart]

But they worked hard. If they didn't work hard, we wouldn't give a shit about the greeting card afterwards. They gotta, they gotta work hard.

[Cody Rhodes]

Yeah, that makes total sense.

[Natalya Neidhart]

But we, yeah, we love, we love having them. So tell them they're welco, welcome back.

[Cody Rhodes]

I've gone the conversation mainly not talking a lot about TJ because I spent a chunk of time talking about TJ once before on this pod. I think when I was talking to Nikki. And I think TJ just needs to come on the pod because there's so.

[Natalya Neidhart]

Much TJ needs to be on this for sure.

[Cody Rhodes]

There's so much to talk about, so many funny stories that have happened, but also this unique like minded parallel path in life that led me back to being just in his presence and being around him often. Although he's doing his own thing and working. TJ leading the charge, helping develop the women's division. You being the tenured elder statesman. We don't like to use the word elder, but wrestling the statesman of stateswoman of the locker room, your power couple, ripple through the waves of pro wrestling. Tell me about it.

[Natalya Neidhart]

I mean, it's funny because the older I get, the more I feel, the happier I am. And I used to sometimes get scared of getting older because I was like, what if people think I'm too old and I just can't do this anymore. The older I get now, the more I feel like I just feel so excited about my career. I feel so excited about where the company's going. I feel so excited about the people that I'm working with. The locker room. I love the girls in the locker room. Like Bailey, I love being in a locker room with her. There's so many.

[Cody Rhodes]

Well, you mentioned always wanting to make the girls in the locker room happy.

[Natalya Neidhart]

Yeah.

[Cody Rhodes]

Yes, right.

[Natalya Neidhart]

And I think like, it's just, again, it's just that recovering people pleaser thing. But like, I understand what I went through. When you're trying to put a match together and you're just trying to stand out and you're just trying to like make your mark and you're just like, we all get in our own heads. And so I want to make sure that every girl that I Work with. I worked with Ivy Nile the other day, and she was.

[Cody Rhodes]

So you worked dark with her?

[Natalya Neidhart]

I did, yeah.

[Cody Rhodes]

I saw that on the T. I.

[Natalya Neidhart]

Said to tj, she's so good. She's so underrated. But I really wanted to make sure that Ivy, like, got a lot of. Because I was like, I'm already established. But she need. We need to show the audience who she is also, because I'm gonna beat her at the end.

[Cody Rhodes]

There it is.

[Natalya Neidhart]

But she was amazing. But TJ is such a big part of our women's division, and I think that, like, I just think, yes, you need to get him on here, because he's. He doesn't do a lot of interviews. TJ Does. I know.

[Cody Rhodes]

That's why it's special.

[Natalya Neidhart]

He's actually very shy, tj when you get to know him and he's comfortable with you, he's a little asshole. Yeah, but we'll beep that out. But he's actually, like, very introverted. He doesn't open up to everyone. It takes a minute to get. He's like a cat. But the girls. He's such an important part of our women's division because he always finds a way to help every woman shine. And he's. You know, he just. He sees something in everyone because he was also an underdog for most of his career, so he doesn't want to leave anyone out. He's like, okay, if this is the girl that we're trying to get over right now, the agenda is like, just, let's get her over. He's like, how can we get her over but still help this person? And the girls see that, and they recognize that, and there's a level of trust there.

[Cody Rhodes]

I do want to thank you for. I can thank you for a million things, but one of them that's pretty special to me is I really appreciate taking care of little Brody.

[Natalya Neidhart]

I love Brody, and I love Nolan. And, you know, when and when their dad passed away, I know that you were there during that time and that you have taken on a role for them that is. You know, when you're a little boy growing up and you don't have a dad, I know that, like, you're a very big part of their life, and it's fun. I see it all the time with Brody, because Brody, you're like his North Star. You're his, like. You know, it's funny. Cause Brody sent me this text one day, and he goes, we train with Brody. And by the way, Brody couldn't just come unless he Proved himself.

[Cody Rhodes]

No, I know.

[Natalya Neidhart]

I said to Brody, I said, you gotta. I said, you gotta prove yourself.

[Cody Rhodes]

Yeah.

[Natalya Neidhart]

I can't. I can't just let everybody come into our ring unless you show me that, you know, Brody proved himself. He earned his spot. But Brody sent me this text, and he goes, natty, I'm so sorry. I can't come to practice today. Cody's surprising us. He's taking us to Disney World. Oh, yeah.

[Cody Rhodes]

Gotta get him out there.

[Natalya Neidhart]

He was. It's like. And TJ Said to me, he goes, cody's, like the busiest guy in the whole company right now. He was. At the time we were like. I think. I think we were getting ready to go on a European tour or something like that. And he goes, cody is like, the busiest guy in the world, but, like, he's making time for people in ways you're showing up for people, especially for Brody. You know, losing your dad at 10 years old in such a tragic way where, like, it was very hard for those kids when.

[Cody Rhodes]

When Big Rig passed away, one of the things that I. I was really. I was. It was nice to see the wrestling community come out, support probably one of the most loved guys in the history of any locker room. What worried me was what happens the next day.

[Natalya Neidhart]

Right.

[Cody Rhodes]

You know, and the next day after that, and just. He found a good spot with you guys. Yeah, he's. And he's. He's hardworking. And Nolan's such a beautiful kid. They're just. They're good. So when I see him there, because I get the clips and you've sent me the clips, and he's training so hard and. And that whatever he's going through, he's just. It's special. So I just. I really.

[Natalya Neidhart]

Thank you.

[Cody Rhodes]

No, no, thank you. Because that's. You've made that a special place.

[Natalya Neidhart]

You know, it's a safe zone.

[Cody Rhodes]

Yeah.

[Natalya Neidhart]

And I. I'm really careful with Brody. Cause he is still just a kid. But, like, I think they're just. They're great kids, and we love them. And, you know, it's funny. Cause TJ and I, we. We will wrap this up. TJ and I don't really want to have kids at all. We're. We're not. We've kind of made. I just. I've never. I took care of my dad. My dad was like my child. My dad was my child. So I've never wanted to have kids. But I see. TJ and TJ and I are fine with that. But the way he is with Nolan, TJ and Nolan are like peas in a pod.

[Cody Rhodes]

No, they're buds.

[Natalya Neidhart]

They're best friends. They're like the same person. So the way TJ is with Brody and Nolan, it's like, okay, we're not gonna have kids, but Brody and Nolan are gonna be like our, like, step kids or our surrogate kids.

[Cody Rhodes]

We made Brody Leilani's godfather, and he asked me the funniest question. He asked me, should he watch the Godfather? I'm so sorry, little B, if I'm putting you on blast. But I told him, no, it's not applicable to. You don't need to. But yeah, he's.

[Natalya Neidhart]

They're just such sweet kids.

[Cody Rhodes]

Yeah. I said, you gotta, like, come to the christening and a couple things, but I think you don't need to. To hold meetings and murder anybody or anything or do crime. I like to think of myself with Wheatley American Vodka. We dub ourselves the American Dream Team. I've changed my team pretty regularly. Wheatley's always part of it. If you had a team going into zombie apocalypse, War Games, think four, think five. But we've had plenty. Who is on your American Dream Team? Or in this case, American Canadian Dream Team.

[Natalya Neidhart]

Team four. Now, does it have to be wrestlers?

[Cody Rhodes]

No. It can be whoever for.

[Natalya Neidhart]

So how many do I get to pick? 4h.

[Cody Rhodes]

4 is a good 4 to 5 we like, but we've had whole teams.

[Natalya Neidhart]

Picked, and it could be men and women.

[Cody Rhodes]

Yeah. Golden State warriors were on somebody, so he.

[Natalya Neidhart]

Well, TJ loves Steph Curry, so can I say.

[Cody Rhodes]

Yeah, Steph Curry's in.

[Natalya Neidhart]

I think Steph Curry. I mean, TJ also loves mj. Can I say mj. Does he have to be actively participating?

[Cody Rhodes]

No. No.

[Natalya Neidhart]

Okay, we'll say mj. Can I say a couple wrestlers?

[Cody Rhodes]

Yeah. I mean, you can. It's your team.

[Natalya Neidhart]

My team. I'll say Bianca Belair. Great one, because Bianca is just rock solid as a human being, and she's an awesome performer. I love her.

[Cody Rhodes]

Yep.

[Natalya Neidhart]

And Beth Phoenix, Glamazon.

[Cody Rhodes]

We went this whole podcast without mentioning her. Got her right in there.

[Natalya Neidhart]

Glamazon. If I was gonna be on a stranded on a desert island, I would have her on my team.

[Cody Rhodes]

With the Glamazon.

[Natalya Neidhart]

Yes.

[Cody Rhodes]

It's a pretty good team.

[Natalya Neidhart]

She's a badass, and she will fight through anything. So I know it's a weird, motley crew of people, but you have Steph.

[Cody Rhodes]

Curry, Michael Jordan, Bianca Belair. Bianca Belair and the Amazon. I think it's a great team. That's amazing. Well, thank you.

[Natalya Neidhart]

Thank you, Cody, and we'll have the.

[Cody Rhodes]

TJ on here and hopefully you'll be back. And please, everyone, buy the book. Buy it. The last heart beating. Natty's a published author. If you buy it and show me you bought it, I'll follow you back on X. So you gotta show me authentically that you bought it. Enjoy the book.

[Natalya Neidhart]

Cody's gonna follow you guys.

[Cody Rhodes]

I'm following you back.

[Natalya Neidhart]

Thank you, Cody.

[Cody Rhodes]

That's happening. Thank you.

[Natalya Neidhart]

Thank you so much.

[Cody Rhodes]

Thank you. Thank you. Here on what do youo Want to Talk About? We have a special game. Natty, of course, had to go and make a flight, but we're still going to make her answer the question. The famous Wheatley jingle. Vodka soda with Wheatley. Wheatley so good, I drink it. This song right here is for the red, white and blue. You got good taste and you drink like it too. Wheatley is so good I drink it neatly. Wheatley American vodka. Wheatley so good you drink it sweetly.

[Natalya Neidhart]

Because this girl has a sweet tooth.