Kemo
08-24-2022, 12:37 AM
Trish Stratus is regarded as one of the WWE Superstars of all time. Despite her accomplishments, she hasn’t lost sight of her humble beginnings in the business.
Earlier this month, Stratus became the first woman to accept the Lou Thesz Award as part of her induction into the Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame. The success didn’t come overnight. It was a long road to the top for the 7-time Women’s champion.
Stratus recently sat down with DS Shin for Ring The Belle and revealed she was initially hesitant to present herself as a WWE Superstar.
Trish Stratus made her WWE debut in 2000 during the Attitude Era. She started off as a heel manager for T&A (Test and Albert) and Val Venis. It wasn’t long before she was competing in matches. By early 2001, still in her rookie year, Stratus was thrust into the spotlight and featured in a prominent storyline with former WWE boss, Vince McMahon.
Stratus tells Ring the Bell that she initially felt insecure about her role in WWE. She didn’t take the traditional path to the world’s most prominent wrestling organization. As a former fitness model, she bypassed the independent minor leagues. Had she earn the right to call herself a wrestler?
“In the beginning, we would be at the airport, [somebody would] be like, ‘Are you a wrestler?’ and I wouldn’t say yes because I felt like I didn’t deserve it, even though I was wrestling, but it was almost like I don’t want the boys to hear me saying ‘Yeah I’m wrestler’ and then going ‘You’re not a wrestler. Who do you think you are?’
Even though I’m doing the same road schedule as them, I was working every weekend. I was having matches, but it just felt like [I didn’t belong]. I don’t know, it took me a long time to be like ‘I’m a worker. It’s like, respectful of the business.
[I wondered ] ‘Do I deserve to be called a wrestler?’ I mean , I didn’t come up the traditional way. I didn’t come up in the in the minor leagues or so to speak, indies and stuff.”
The humility served Trish Stratus well. She found her way in WWE, to say the least. After several WrestleMania appearances and rivalries that are still spoken about until this day, she retired as Women’s champion in 2007.
She was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2013 and has competed several times since then, including a ‘dream match’ against Charlotte Flair at SummerSlam 2019.
Stratus was back on Raw this week in her hometown of Toronto and teased that we may not have seen the last of her in the ring.
Earlier this month, Stratus became the first woman to accept the Lou Thesz Award as part of her induction into the Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame. The success didn’t come overnight. It was a long road to the top for the 7-time Women’s champion.
Stratus recently sat down with DS Shin for Ring The Belle and revealed she was initially hesitant to present herself as a WWE Superstar.
Trish Stratus made her WWE debut in 2000 during the Attitude Era. She started off as a heel manager for T&A (Test and Albert) and Val Venis. It wasn’t long before she was competing in matches. By early 2001, still in her rookie year, Stratus was thrust into the spotlight and featured in a prominent storyline with former WWE boss, Vince McMahon.
Stratus tells Ring the Bell that she initially felt insecure about her role in WWE. She didn’t take the traditional path to the world’s most prominent wrestling organization. As a former fitness model, she bypassed the independent minor leagues. Had she earn the right to call herself a wrestler?
“In the beginning, we would be at the airport, [somebody would] be like, ‘Are you a wrestler?’ and I wouldn’t say yes because I felt like I didn’t deserve it, even though I was wrestling, but it was almost like I don’t want the boys to hear me saying ‘Yeah I’m wrestler’ and then going ‘You’re not a wrestler. Who do you think you are?’
Even though I’m doing the same road schedule as them, I was working every weekend. I was having matches, but it just felt like [I didn’t belong]. I don’t know, it took me a long time to be like ‘I’m a worker. It’s like, respectful of the business.
[I wondered ] ‘Do I deserve to be called a wrestler?’ I mean , I didn’t come up the traditional way. I didn’t come up in the in the minor leagues or so to speak, indies and stuff.”
The humility served Trish Stratus well. She found her way in WWE, to say the least. After several WrestleMania appearances and rivalries that are still spoken about until this day, she retired as Women’s champion in 2007.
She was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2013 and has competed several times since then, including a ‘dream match’ against Charlotte Flair at SummerSlam 2019.
Stratus was back on Raw this week in her hometown of Toronto and teased that we may not have seen the last of her in the ring.