Shawn Michaels posed for Playgirl in the 90s, with the photograph showing him completely nude except for the WWF Championship, making it one of the most famous wrestling images of all time. And now Natalia Markova, NWA Women’s World Champion and inaugural Oceanic Women’s Champion from the Chris Jericho Cruise, has paid homage to the WWE Hall of Famer, posting her own version on X.
36-year-old Markova broke into the business in her home country, Russia, in 2007, leading her to work in Japan in 2011. From there, she began competing in North America, featuring and briefly working as an enhancement talent for AEW. Yet, while this didn’t result in Tony Khan signing her, Billy Corgan saw her as perfect for his NWA promotion and brought her in to work with names including future TNA Hall of Famer Mickie James, Kamille, and Taya Valkyrie.
