On the October 25 episode of SmackDown, Natalya competed against Bella in a losing effort to be the captain of the SmackDown women's team at the Survivor Series pay-per-view. At Survivor Series, she replaced Bella in the traditional elimination tag team match against Team Raw after Bella was mysteriously attacked backstage, where Natalya's team was defeated. At the TLC pay-per-view, Carmella revealed that Natalya was Bella's attacker at Survivor Series, which Natalya later denied. After weeks of denying these accusations, on the December 20 episode of SmackDown, Natalya attacked Carmella and admitted to being Bella's attacker, revealing her pent-up jealousy of Bella's success over the years. Natalya and Bella were set to compete in a match on the January 10, 2017, episode of SmackDown, but the match never officially started due a brawl between the two, where referees came in to break them up. At the Royal Rumble pay-per-view on January 29, Natalya competed in a six-woman tag team match alongside Bliss and Mickie James against Bella, Naomi, and Lynch, where her team was defeated after Naomi pinned Bliss. On February 12 at the Elimination Chamber pay-per-view, Natalya faced Bella in singles competition, which ended in a double count-out. The feud culminated in a Falls Count Anywhere match on the February 21 episode of SmackDown, where Natalya defeated Bella after an interference from Maryse. On June 18 at Money in the Bank, Natalya competed in the inaugural women's Money in the Bank ladder match, which was won by Carmella following an interference by James Ellsworth.