Natalya reveals how Chris Benoit helped her get hired by WWE

Natalya has opened up about how Chris Benoit helped her and her husband, Tyson Kidd, get hired by the WWE at a time when it was difficult getting into the company being a Hart.

Natalya on the recent Edge and Christian's podcast, E&C's Pod Of Awesomeness, said her uncle Bret Hart could not help her because he was not in talking terms with Vince McMahon-run federation. The Hitman had a bitter fallout with McMahon for the Montreal Screwjob at the 1997 Survivor Series, just before leaving the WWE for WCW.

"I don't know if you want to include this or not, I was lucky enough that there were people in the industry at this time, when I got hired, Bret still wasn't talking to WWE. They weren't on good terms or they just weren't talking at all," she said on the podcast as transcribed.

"And everybody knows the history between Bret and WWE, and the Montreal Screwjob, so it was a tricky time for the Harts to get hired, so Chris Benoit was a good family friend and our family helped him break into the industry."

"So Chris Benoit actually is one of the people that helped me get hired and he really pulled for myself and TJ and he put pressure on Johnny [Ace] and said, 'I want to help these two people get hired.' So I really feel like it was Chris helped us get hired."

On the show, she also revealed her favourite opponent as Charlotte.

"One of my favorite, favorite, favorite opponents is Charlotte Flair," she said. "It's just a magical chemistry that we have with each other."

"When I first met Charlotte Flair, one of the things I loved about her was how vulnerable she was. We had a very emotional conversation and she told me how she still didn't believe in herself." Natalya continued.

"I love working with Charlotte. I know I can go in the ring and get the job done. She can go in there. She hits hard. I hit hard. It's very, very, very physical to a point where I feel like we're almost in a relationship and I mean that in the best way, a.k.a., the German suplex. But I love working with Charlotte. We just have this unspoken [bond]. We don't have to talk. It's just this connection that we have."