Natalya’s absence from WWE RAW fuels contract speculations

Natalya Neidhart’s absence from WWE RAW tonight fueled a new wave of speculations about the status of her contract with the company. The athlete is one of the most prominent faces in the locker room, and has not been seen backstage for a while now.
However, her not being present at the show doesn’t mean she’s not agreeing to the new contract. Natalya is the only female wrestler to have the longest tenure with the company.She joined WWE in 2007 and continues to be a part of the roster in 2024.

No, there are no reports of Natalya leaving WWE at this point in time. Although her contract expires sometime in Summer this year, it’s unlikely that she’ll be leaving the Stamford-based promotion anytime soon.
However, the free agent market is quite promising and with AEW currently on the rise, it would be wrong to assume that she’s not considering the options that are available to her. That aside, Mercedes Mone’, has also made some references to Natalya in some of her promos, indicating that the Jacksonville-based promotion is interested in signing her.
Her not signing the contract can be attributed to former Executive Vice President of Talent Dan Ventrelle, whom many superstars weren’t exactly fond of. Back when Ventrelle was employed by the company, wrestlers were often allowed to wait till their contract was nearing an end or even till it expired before they were offered a new contract.
Considering her stature, WWE would not want to let go of Natalya at any point, and would like to have the future Hall of Famer on their roster. But with other companies showing interest in acquiring the star, retaining her might be a difficult job to begin with.
While it can’t be said that Natalya was in two minds about her contract, since the beginning of 2024, she hasn’t been on a lot of television. Most of her matches have either happened at live events, or during dark segments.
For the uninitiated, dark segments are usually held after a televised event and are not broadcasted to the public by the company. You might be able to see snippets and clips of these if someone present at the venue records and uploads it online, but that’s about it.
Apart from dark matches, Natalya has also been associated with the Queen of the Ring and a few high profile matches in NXT. But none of these can confirm her current status with the company.
With Money in the Bank coming scheduled for July 7, 2024, information about Natalya’s contract should be available soon, and if she’s present at the PPV then there’s a high chance that she’s renewed her contract with WWE.
Also Read: Money in the Bank 2024 predictions