Natalya Recalls The Morning She Was Told That Her Father Jim “The Anvil” Neidhart Passed Away

Natalya further opens up about the passing of her father.

On August 13th of this year, the wrestling world was hit with the news that former two-time WWF Tag Team Champion and Canadian Wrestling Hall Of Famer Jim “The Anvil” Neidhart passed away at the age of 63. The daughter of “The Anvil”, former SmackDown Live Women’s Champion Natalya was set to compete in singes action on RAW the day of her father’s passing. Natalya obviously was not in the state of mind to be anywhere but giving support and receiving support from her family.

It has been four months since Jim Neidhart passed away and on the tenth episode of the E! Network series Total Divas that aired this past Wednesday, footage of Natalya giving the eulogy at her father’s funeral was shown.

Natalya opened up more about Jim Neidhart’s passing in her latest column for the Calgary Sun. Nattie shared that her father was dealing with Alzheimer’s and she also recalled that August 13th morning when she received the saddening news from her sister about their father.

(Here are a few excerpts from Natalya’s column):

While filming season 8 of Total Divas, my mom Ellie and my sisters Muffy, Jenni and I decided it was time to share our story relating to my dad’s battle with Alzheimer’s. At the time of filming, my dad was still alive. We decided to share our family’s journey with his disease because we felt our story could help others who were going through the same thing. If we could help other people, then it was all worth it.

 Fast forward to Aug. 13, when I got a phone call from my sister Jenni. It was really early in the morning. She asked me where I was. She told me something had happened to our dad. She then said “daddy died,” and my whole world just stood still. Literally. I loved my dad so much. There was no way he could be gone. Nothing felt real at all. I didn’t know what to do. I had no idea how hard it would be to lose him.

My life has been filled with beautiful memories of my father. You often hear people talk about “daddy’s girl,” well that was me. My dad and I had such a special connection being WWE Superstars. More than that, we always had each other’s backs.

Life hasn’t been the same the last few months, but my dad’s passing has forced me to spend a lot of time re-living those wonderful times we shared. It has also made us realize that it’s time we talk about the disease that robbed my dad of so many of those moments. And it’s time we added our efforts in his name to bringing awareness and needed funding to research.

I have realized our story is more important than ever. My dad’s legacy was instrumental in the battle against Alzheimer’s and I realized that through his passing, he still had the ability to “pay it forward.” Not everyone who passes away gets this chance. This was such a gift and my dad, Jim Neidhart, still had the ability to help others.

Now, we carry on his work.

To read more of what Natalya wrote in her latest column that was dedicated to Jim “The Anvil” Neidhart, click here.