Returning to the UK for its explosive fifth season on Sunday January 24 at 6pm, Total Divas will reunite The Bella Twins, Eva Marie, Paige, Natalya, Rosa Mendes and Alicia Fox, whilst adding new Diva Mandy into the mix - a former contestant on Tough Enough.
We got the opportunity to chat to Natalya at the back-end of 2015 all about the new season, what she thinks about new Diva Mandy and much more - read on to find out what she had to say...
You've helped build and define the modern-day WWE Divas division and of course Total Divas on E! - how does it feel to look back and see all you've achieved so far?
Well, thank you very much. It's nice sometimes to get a little credit! (laughs) I think we all like to pat ourselves on the back, but it's good because for me, it's been a privilege to be a part of the Divas division for... I've been on the main roster, in April for eight years. But it's cool because I've seen all these different faces and I've gotten to do all these really interesting things with WWE that have far beyond exceeded my expectations.
Then doing Total Divas was really life-changing. First of all I never thought I would be on a reality show, then to be a part of a reality show, it's been more fun than I can even describe, being able to take my family and my friends, my husband on that journey of being open and sharing our life, and hoping that people learn from us and from our trials and triumphs. I've been lucky at WWE to reach a lot of my wildest dreams.
I really love the family aspect to the show, is that something we'll see more of?
Oh yeah, big time. Actually, season five you're gonna see a huge family aspect for us. Family's really the most important part of my life. As much as I love wrestling and as much as I love my job at WWE, I really believe in my family first and foremost because without them I wouldn't be here. They keep me balanced and I focus a lot on them coming up and we spend a lot of time together. Obviously with TJ's injury and all we kind of realised that, what you have at the end of the day, all you have is relationships with family, whether it's blood family, whether it's people that you consider your family, your relationships are what you have. They're the biggest, most important aspect of your life.
Aside from the family elements to the show, what else should viewers expect from season 5 and new Diva Mandy?
You're gonna see a lot. Obviously there's never a shortage of drama! (laughs) We never have a problem with that for some reason. Another cool aspect for the show is, you have Rosa joining the cast, coming back actually. Everybody knows she's going to be expecting a baby so she's got some huge life changes, and that's cool that WWE is embracing her pregnancy so much, it's very symbolic of how much the company supports women in every role.
Then you have a new cast member in Mandy. She was in Tough Enough, WWE's reality show and now she's part of our cast. She actually surprises me in a lot of ways, that I was like, 'OK this is pretty cool'. There's some drama with her because she and Paige have history with Tough Enough.
So you've got Mandy, then you've got the Bellas. When Nikki and Brie get together, anything and everything can happen. They laugh, they cry, they fight, literally, physically duke it out. As I said just be expecting anything.
For me we have an episode this season where my family goes on vacation. Now I realise the reason why we never, ever, ever took family vacations! This episode, it shows all of that. So, just be prepared for that one!
Fans love also seeing your dad Jim Neidhart on the show, does he enjoy being a part of Total Divas?
He loves being on the show. He doesn't even realise the things that he says and does. He forgets that he's mic'd or he's on camera, he'll just start doing crazy things. They love him because he does certain things.
One little teaser, we were on the family vacation, I wanted to make it perfect for everyone so I hired a masseuse to come to the house, because everybody likes a massage. My dad saw my mom getting a massage from this masseuse, and the guy was in his 60s, he wasn't like Fabio or anything. My dad lost it. He saw the guy massaging my mom's thigh, because mom had a tight lower back. I thought my dad was gonna have a match in the back! (laughs) So it was really funny!
What do you think about the Divas Division at the moment, with the Championship on Charlotte and the recent Revolution?
All the Divas want to be the Divas Champion. I really didn't come in with a team, I gave Charlotte and Becky a little help and they helped me out too, but, ultimately I'd like to one day face Charlotte again for the championship. Charlotte and I are good friends. We obviously built that bond through our match at NXT when we had that match that everybody remembers from Takeover. So it'd be a very interesting feud, to see our history, our family's history, and just how we both have had to blaze our own trails in our families.
Nothing for me, I don't know about Charlotte, I can't speak for her because I'm not her, but I'll tell you one thing, nothing I've ever had has ever been handed to me. It's been a tough road to get to WWE. I think that she feels she's earned her spot as well and I'll give that to her, she's worked really, really hard. As I said I think the outcome would be very different if she and I were to face off in a big showdown, and maybe my time to be the Divas Champion would result from feuding with her. That would be my ultimate dream. It'd be incredible.
I'm actually so excited to work with Sasha Banks, Becky Lynch... Sasha, Becky and Charlotte really add to our Divas division, so to have the three of them up on the main roster? To me, all the Divas are just chomping at the bit to have these fresh matches and to work with them. It's really, really cool.
Total Divas Season 5 launches Sunday 24th January at 6pm on E!
Tagged in WWE