Natalya has revealed how WWE and Vince McMahon treated her husband, Tyson Kidd, after his career-ending injury.
Tyson Kidd sustained a spinal cord injury in 2015 after taking a Muscle Buster from Samoa Joe at a live event, which ended his in-ring career. Natalya went into detail about how WWE treated her husband after the career-ending injury in her new book, The Last Hart Beating.
Natalya revealed that Tyson Kidd never heard anything from WWE or Vince McMahon about any restitution for his injury for months.
“Back home, TJ was still recovering from his surgery, and even though it had been nine months since he was injured, he still hadn’t heard anything from WWE or Vince about any restitution for his injury.
“TJ was no longer able to wrestle and now had a spinal fusion at the very highest vertebrae in his neck, which allowed him only half the movement he had before. It was a serious condition TJ would have for the rest of his life.
“Some feelers were sent out to see if TJ would like to go to NXT and “help out,” but TJ didn’t want to be coaching people on how to achieve their dreams a month or two after losing his. The idea of that hurt him too much, and I completely understood why.”
Natalya Claimed WWE Was Trying To Pretend The Injury Never Happened
Natalya further claimed that WWE was trying to pretend the injury never happened. She stated that Tyson was waiting for a call or text from Vince McMahon, expecting a simple apology, but that it never came.
She wrote that while Tyson Kidd was healing physically, he wasn’t strong enough emotionally to stand up to anyone, especially Vince McMahon. Natalya also mentioned that Kidd didn’t want to sue WWE, but just wanted McMahon to address what happened to him. However, his lawyer told him that it would never happen, since it would technically mean WWE admitting fault.
“He agonized over it for months, because he didn’t want the tension between himself and WWE to escalate, and neither did I. It was the last thing in the world I wanted. But after eight months of radio silence from Vince, TJ eventually decided to send Vince a letter.
“In that correspondence, TJ said he wasn’t okay with what had happened, and listed the series of events that led to his injury, as well as the dire medical implications it would incur for the rest of his life.
“He stated in the letter that he wanted to put it all in writing in case Vince wasn’t aware of what had happened to him. TJ said that because of his injury, not only could he never wrestle again, he couldn’t even move his head, and Vince hadn’t reached out a single time to check if he was okay.
“After the letter was sent, TJ received some calls from WWE management asking about his going to NXT again. TJ felt like they were offering him a job just so he’d move on-that the company was relying on his love of the business, and his reputation of being a good soldier, to make this all go away without having to actually address it.”
Vince McMahon’s Lawyer Sent Them A Letter With A Completely Different Account Of What Happened To Tyson Kidd
Natalya stated that it was painful to watch Tyson Kidd grieve the loss of his dreams, and feared losing his purpose would do to him the same thing that happened to her father. So she finally got him to agree to come with her to WrestleMania to meet his friends, the people who actually loved and missed him.
However, when she finally saw some life come back into his eyes, a letter from Vince McMahon’s lawyer changed everything.
“Their account of what happened was completely different than TJ’s. They denied everything and finished by saying that if I talked about TJ’s injury at work or disparaged the company, they would trigger a clause in my contract and let me go.
Natalya continued that she was shocked at WWE’s response. She had hoped to have a smooth relationship with the company while also standing up for her husband, but after receiving the letter, she and Tyson Kidd decided to take things into their own hands.
“We were trying to be reasonable, but sometimes trying to reason with a machine just doesn’t work.
“I ended up going to WrestleMania on my own, and that whole week I was there, I smiled and pretended that we hadn’t gotten a legal letter from the company denying TJ’s account of what happened to him and threatening to fire me if I talked.
“After years of trying to do everything right, and being a rock-solid girl, I felt all of a sudden like I was walking around enemy territory.”
A Big Opportunity Made Natalya Feel That WWE Was Trying To Soften Things Up With Her
However, after WWE retired the term “Diva” and introduced the new WWE Women’s Championship at WrestleMania 32, with Charlotte Flair winning it, Natalya was told by WWE officials that she would be Flair’s first challenger.
She was unsure if Vince McMahon booked her in that spot to let her know he wasn’t mistreating her if things ended up in court. However, when she told Tyson Kidd, he told her that his situation with WWE and her career are different and that he didn’t want her to lose the opportunity because of him.
But Natalya shared that she had some “twisted feelings of guilt” knowing that Vince McMahon was featuring her in a prominent spot while ignoring her husband.
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