In a recent episode of his podcast, “Wrestling with Freddie,” ex-WWE writer, Freddie Prinze Jr., shared his viewpoint concerning the possible contract renewal for Natalya within WWE. He provided insight regarding Natalya’s potential exit from the organization.
Prinze Jr. expressed, “I have a feeling that Natalya is a WWE devotee through and through. Whether she pursues her wrestling career further or opts for a producer position, contributing to constructing matches for other wrestlers—considering her industry longevity—it appears she is destined for such a role. I can’t envision her parting ways with the business or wrestling somewhere else. I should note that I also held this viewpoint concerning Edge, and I was completely off the mark. However, I believe Natalya’s situation is different. I sincerely believe that she will stay put.”
In another recent episode of the “Gorilla Position” podcast, Nick Aldis probed into the importance of authenticity for Cody Rhodes while representing AEW. He cited a particularly interesting WWE SmackDown installment where AJ Styles indirectly referred to Cody’s past in ROH, NJPW, and hinted at his roots, although AEW wasn’t directly mentioned—this was in the run-up to their “I Quit” Match taking place at WWE Clash at the Castle: Scotland.
Aldis discussed the deliberate lack of distinct references to AEW in this televised segment.
He asserted, “I can’t say definitively, as I’m not privy to conversations at that caliber. I don’t believe it’s meant in bad faith, it seems more like WWE is consciously demonstrating that they are not actively engaging in the ‘war’ AEW declared. To me, this notion of a ‘war’ is somewhat trivial and AEW is being rather reckless in perpetuating it. If someone proceeds to declare war on you, it’s not customary to continuously name-drop that adversary. There have been periods of overt hostility from AEW’s end, thus, from the company’s perspective, poking the bear is not part of the strategy. However, acknowledging Cody’s legacy is intriguing and almost unavoidable because when he made his comeback, he portrayed a new character, the American Nightmare, who was significantly different from his previous persona. Pretending that this transformation occurred in a vacuum is illogical. To a large extent, Cody, being just himself, hugely acknowledges AEW. He masterfully designed that character and fronted a prominent organization where people could work, all of which is quite an accomplishment. It causes no damage to WWE to acknowledge this.”