NEIDHART: The time is right to tell my story

National Post

16 hours ago

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Last year when I signed a new contract with WWE, I realized that by the end of this contract, I will have spent over 20 years in WWE, uninterrupted. This is something that I understand is a rarity in professional sports, especially for a woman, and nonetheless in professional wrestling.
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I've had countless opportunities to show the world who I am. I've done interviews, podcasts, and everything in between. I've been in a lot of matches across Raw, SmackDown and NXT. Hell, I have a world record for most matches of any woman in WWE history, which means I wrestled a lot for a very long time. I did nine seasons of reality TV (Total Divas), where people got to see 'more of me.' And they did.
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Generally speaking, I feel the wrestling world could assume they know me, and most, if not all, of the wrestling community understands that I am part of the Hart family legacy, deeply rooted in professional wrestling.
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As I looked back, I realized that for nearly two decades, I've never really told anyone my story. But for the first time ever, I felt a strong urge to open up and share that side of me; the time was right, and I was ready.
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I had a lot of work to do and it wasn't going to be easy, but I was ready to dive in. I told myself I would need to be open and willing to share personal, challenging memories that, at many times, were very hard for me to write about and relive. In writing a book, I had to prepare myself for the possibility of being perceived differently, how others would interpret my story, the risk of offending someone or something in the grandiose world of professional wrestling. As we all know, you can't please everyone!
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I spent a good amount of time struggling with 'there's so much I want to get out to the world, how do I find the right words and define a clear message?' I had many sleepless nights and anxious mornings trying to narrow down the most important, funny, relatable and powerful moments of my life.
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Finally, I said to myself, 'f*** it.' This is my story — the truest version of me ever told. It needs to be unapologetic, raw, and real. It will be exactly that. As I was struggling to make my book perfect, the best advice I was given came from one of the best storytellers I know, Bret Hart. He said to me: 'Nattie, you can't go wrong if you write this book for yourself.' He was right.
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So my passion project took on a life of its own, and I uncovered memories and emotions that have been tucked away for years, if not decades. Many of these moments, especially from my time spent in WWE, had me laughing out loud as I wrote them, while also leaving me with a deep longing to step back in time and relive that beautiful chaos all over again.
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Revisiting my life forced me to confront some of my most vulnerable moments. I wanted the world to see my imperfections, mistakes and insecurities, while also highlighting my journey and my relationships with so many people I have loved before. I was able to touch on several beautiful but complex bonds I've had in my life, like the one I had with my dad. I wrote in my book: 'My heart broke open in South Carolina that day. I knew it was coming, but I wasn't ready. There was part of me that believed he was invincible. My dad — the man who loved me, protected me, scared me, frustrated me, shaped me — was gone. But I dried my tears and stowed away my grief. I needed to be strong.'