Natalya broke character today on social media to send a heartfelt message to a newly crowned WWE champion. The veteran reportedly signed a new deal with the promotion earlier this year.

Candice LeRae became the first WWE Women’s Speed Champion by defeating Damage CTRL’s Kairi Sane today on X (formerly known as Twitter). Following the victory, Natalya took to social media to send a heartfelt message to the first-ever WWE Women’s Speed Champion.

“Congratulations, Champ! I’m very happy for you, Candice. Hard earned,” she wrote.

Candice LeRae turned heel earlier this year and attacked Maxxine Dupri. She defeated the Alpha Academy member in a singles match on the April 29 edition of RAW. Natalya returned as a babyface on the September 9 edition of RAW to team up with Lyra Valkyria and Zelina Vega to defeat Pure Fusion Collective in a 6-woman tag team match.

Natalya recently disclosed how Women’s Tag Team Champion Jade Cargill earned her respect.

Jade Cargill and Bianca Belair defeated The Unholy Union at Bash in Berlin to capture the Women’s Tag Team Championship. The popular duo were not in action at WWE Bad Blood but did serve as the hosts for the Premium Live Event over the weekend.

Speaking with Sportskeeda Wrestling’s Emily Mae in an exclusive interview, the former champion praised Jade Cargill and predicted that the 32-year-old would blow everyone away. She noted that she was impressed with Cargill because she wanted to keep training while grieving the loss of her mother.

“Jade [Cargill] is gonna blow everybody away. I think she is really passionate about this. I think she is gonna be good, I think she is gonna be really good. What really impressed me with Jade is that when she approached me about coming to train with us in the dungeon, she had just lost her mom. And I just felt like that showed… She was going probably one of the most difficult things a person could go through, but she was still showing so much passion for this and wanting to do this, and so much focus and so much drive. It really made me respect her even more,” said Nattie. [From 01:10 onwards]

Natalya was also in action on this past Monday’s edition of WWE RAW. She teamed up with Lyra Valkyria, Zelina Vega, Kayden Carter, and Katana Chance to defeat Pure Fusion Collective and The Unholy Union in a 10-woman tag team match.