10 Most Surprising WWE Veterans

Like Curtis Axel, Natalya partly owes her long association with WWE (more than 11 years now) to her famous wrestling family, which allowed her to be signed early in her career instead of spending a lifetime climbing up the indie ranks.

There can be little doubt that she's earned her spot as one of the company's leading female wrestlers, however, having consistently put in solid performances in the ring despite occasionally being lumbered with dead-end storylines.

Here, we refer specifically to that time in 2012 when writers attempted to repackage her as a wrestler with flatulence issues. In similar circumstances, a lot of other employees might've walked, but she tried (and, admittedly, ultimately failed) to make the best of it.

Fast forward to present day and she is now being taken seriously once again as an in-ring competitor, evidenced by her holding the SmackDown Women's Championship for almost three months last year before getting beat by Charlotte.