WWE fans were left wondering what happened after Natalya no-sold a Liv Morgan finishing move at last weekend’s live event.
No-selling is a bit of a taboo subject in the wrestling world. Essentially, a “no-sell” is when a wrestler fails to or refuses to react to his opponent’s move. They may do this as a humorous reaction or potentially as a sign of disrespect.
Throughout wrestling history, some of the greats have no-sold some of their fellow star’s moves. For example, at the 1991 WWE Survivor Series, Hulk Hogan got straight back up from The Undertaker’s “tombstone” move. This finisher was typically impossible to recover from – until Hogan got up like nothing happened.
In recent years, one wrestler, in particular, drew criticism for his no-selling. This was Austin Aries, who no-sold the finish of his Bound for Glory 2018 IMPACT world championship match against Johnny Impact.
As soon as the referee confirmed his defeat, Aries sprang back up from the canvas and berated officials, commentators, and anyone in sight. It was his last match with IMPACT Wrestling as a result.
Now, WWE fans have accused Natalya of acting in a similar manner to Aries during her match against Liv Morgan.
Natalya no-sells Liv Morgan finish
The incident occurred at the end of WWE’s live event in Sacramento on Saturday night.
Morgan was attempting to defend her SmackDown women’s championship in a triple threat match against Natalya and Ronda Rousey. Previously, Morgan had claimed the title with a win over Rousey at Money in the Bank.
Both Morgan and Natalya dispatched the injured former champion quickly, setting up a head-to-head battle. And it was Liv who got the better of her opponent, retaining the SmackDown women’s belt with victory.
However, the win was overshadowed by Natalya’s actions. Morgan successfully pinned her opponent in order to claim victory. But Natalya did not sell the win on behalf of the champion at all. Instead, she rushed back off the canvas and angrily gestured towards Morgan.
Natalya also exchanged words with Liv Morgan before making a hasty exit from the ring. Her unusual actions prompted both questions and criticism from fans. Because of this, the Queen of Harts addressed the incident on Twitter.
Natalya breaks silence on Twitter
In a now-deleted tweet, the 40-year-old star gave a brief explanation of what she said to her rival: “I’m breaking character right now, but I actually said THANK YOU. If you must know.”
Unfortunately, this reasoning did not make sense to many WWE fans on social media, who still questioned Natalya’s motives.
“Ok, that still does not make a ton of sense,” wrote one Reddit user. “Why no-sell Liv’s finisher just to do that?”
Similarly, another fan questioned the logic behind Natalya’s explanation. “You no-sold the finish and then said, “thank you”? That makes absolutely no sense,” the fan wrote on Reddit.
In contrast, some remarked that it may have been a case of a bathroom emergency.
“She missed a bit from the tweet,” wrote one tongue-in-cheek Redditor. “What she meant to say was ‘I actually said thank you because I was bursting for a pee.’”
The fact that the Queen of Harts deleted the tweet after further adds intrigue to the drama. Perhaps a new storyline is on the cards.
Featured image credit: WWE
