Subhojeet Mukherjee on October 24, 2024
Natalya has been a key figure in WWE’s women’s division since her debut in 2008, and recently renewed her contract with the company. She has dealt with a lot of struggles in her life and that includes battling with legal blindness for years.
On the September 9 episode of Monday Night RAW, Sonya Deville, Zoey Stark, and Shayna Baszler faced Zelina Vega and Lyra Valkyria in a match. Natalya was revealed as Vega and Valkyria’s mystery partner, as she made her return after a long time, much to the delight of fans.
While speaking with The Takedown On SI, Natalya Neidhart opened up about her struggles with vision impairment throughout her wrestling career. She revealed that she was born with astigmatism and was legally blind in her left eye, a condition she had kept secret from most people, even within WWE.
“I don’t think even really anybody in WWE knew about it because I kept it pretty secretive. I was born with astigmatism… I was legally blind in my left eye.”
Neidhart first shared her growing concern about her vision in a deleted scene from Total Divas back in 2015, where she noticed her left eye’s condition worsening. For years, she sought help from doctors and specialists, but because of the shape of her eye, she didn’t qualify for common procedures like LASIK or lens implants at the time. Eventually, she resorted to using a contact lens, but even that proved difficult, causing her to see double at times. Frustrated, she decided to stop wearing the lens and rely solely on her right eye during matches.
“They didn’t have the technology to fix it. (I) Didn’t qualify for LASIK because of how my eye was shaped. At that time, the procedure that they had for (a) lens implant, because of the shape of my eye, I didn’t qualify for it.
I was like screw it. I’m not going to wear the contact lens. I’m literally just going to take it out and just let my right eye do all the work.”
Despite this major challenge, Neidhart continued to wrestle at the highest level, representing the Hart family’s legacy in WWE. However, by the summer of 2024, her left eye had deteriorated significantly. During her hiatus from WWE, she found new hope when she discovered that Newsom Eye in Tampa had developed the technology needed to fix her vision.
Neidhart underwent EVO ICL implant surgery, a less invasive and reversible procedure, which restored her vision. She also had surgery on her right eye to ensure both eyes were perfectly aligned. Now, with her vision fully corrected, Neidhart is able to continue her career without the struggles that had affected her for years.
“I had a little time off this summer in between my contract re-signing. And I was like, if I had this time off, I’m going to ask WWE if I can get this fixed because I went and found an eye doctor,” Neidhart said. “Newsom Eye in Tampa. They had the technology that they didn’t have before.
They even strengthened my right eye,” Neidhart said. “I had surgery in my right eye to get (it) even stronger so that my right eye (and) my left eye are totally in sync with each other.”
Natalya last competed during the October 7th edition of Monday Night RAW. Nonetheless, fans are simply glad that The Queen of Harts can wrestle with perfect vision now and that is all that matters in the end.
Do you have more respect for Natalya after all she went through? Share your thoughts in the comments section below!
October 24, 2024 9:17 am
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