Wrestling
Chatting With Trish Stratus
By Retro Rob
Jul 21, 2002, 15:00

For those of you who don't know me...I write the Confidential recap and tape reviews around here. I was lucky enough to get the opportunity to speak with WWE Diva Trish Stratus.

Two years ago Trish Stratus came into the WWF as the manager of Test and Albert. She had no wrestling experience and was there just for eye candy. Since then she has been a two time WWE Women's champion, had an affair with Mr. McMahon and even kissed the Rock- In this exclusive interview Trish reflects on her WWE career.

Retro Rob: Let's start with were it all began. How did a Canadian supermodel end up in the WWF?

Trish Stratus: The directors cut - I was working for LAW in Toronto and got backstage at a WWF event up here. After speaking with JR he suggested that If I went to a school the WWF would take a look at me. I trained at Sullys in TO, the same place as Edge & Christian though they were obviously long gone. After training for over a year I had talks with ECW and WCW but settled on the WWF.

Retro Rob: You debuted in March of 2000 on HeAt at the Nassau Coliseum. I was actually there live that night when you scouted Test and Albert to form T & A. How was your first televised WWF appearance?

Trish Stratus: Very nerve racking - I just kept thinking that I better not screw up. It was also a dream come true to be out there.

Retro Rob: At Fully Loaded 2000 you wrestled for the first time on a PPV in a pretty good six-person tag match. What did both you and Lita do to prepare for that match?

Trish Stratus: I didn't have that much to do, more a case of remembering to be ready for my cues. It was a fun night and a pleasure to put Lita over.

Retro Rob: By the end of the year you had went from managing T & A and Val Venis to becoming Vince McMahon's "main squeeze". What did you think of that whole storyline and was it awkward to make out with Vince in front of his wife Linda?

Trish Stratus: I am very thankful for the exposure that storyline gave me. Everyone involved was relaxed and we all understood that it was working.

Retro Rob: A few months later your feud with Stephanie McMahon had it's first blow off match at No Way Out 2001. No one was really expecting it to be very good going into the show. The match ended up being spectacular and easily the best women's match since the Alundra Blayze days. What did you and Stephanie do to prepare for that match?

Trish Stratus: HHH actually helped put that match together. I think we surprised a lot of people with it. The build up was great which helped. Me and Steph went over the match before the PPV and touchwood everything went fine.

Retro Rob: Leading to WrestleMania X-7 there was a segment on Raw where you degraded yourself for Vince McMahon. Many people were offended or just plain disturbed by it. Did you have any qualms about going through with the angle?

Trish Stratus: I remember thinking that it might have been pushing the envelope a little but that is what we do. It was just work and Vince was very professional.

Retro Rob: At WrestleMania X-7 you turned on Vince McMahon and had a catfight with Stephanie. Judging by crowd reaction you were extremely over, yet the WWF didn't do anything with your character for months. Was there a reason for you being left in limbo?

Trish Stratus: There was no direct reason other than that was the blow off of the angle.

Retro Rob: You injured your ankle during the summer of 2001. When you returned several months later your wrestling skills vastly improved. What did you do while rehabbing your ankle that led to your amazing comeback?

Trish Stratus: I took my time and was very patient in my rehab, I was determined to be 100% when I returned. I did a lot of work with Dr Tom in CT while I was recovering, going through things I had learned and improving on others.

Retro Rob: On an episode of SmackDown! you teamed up with the Rock. He kissed you before the match, so who was the better kisser? Vince or the Rock?

Trish Stratus: Haha. Doing that segment with The Rock..let's say it was certainly a privilege.

Retro Rob: Jazz debuted at the Survivor Series 2001. The same night you won the Women's Title. This led to a great feud between the two of you. What was it like working with a really experienced wrestler like Jazz?

Trish Stratus: She is awesome. She has a great style and truly is a great worker. Fans used to come up to me and ask me if she was too stiff - she isn't she just makes it look that good, which to me is what makes her so great.

Retro Rob: It must have been great to wrestle in your hometown for WrestleMania X-8. Unfortunately your match followed the Rock-Hogan match, which pretty much took every bit of the energy the crowd had out of it. Did it bother you that your match had very little heat, or where you just happy to be there?

Trish Stratus: I think anything that followed Rock and Hogan would have been met with the same response. It was a phenomenal night.

Retro Rob: Now you are presently feuding with Molly. I personally think that portraying Molly as "over-weight" is not good thinking on the WWE's part. JR making various comments like, "She's had her share of Snickers," during her matches doesn't help either. Do you feel that this current storyline is tasteless and could negatively affect young girls who are watching?

Trish Stratus: I have no problems with the angle. I don't think it is coming across as cruel to Molly as her character is the "bad" one, so in a way she is getting her just desserts. I'm not so sure about affecting the female audience - I mean the funny thing is her butt isn't all that big.

Retro Rob: That's what I'm always thinking while watching...Who do you hang out with backstage? What is William Regal like?

Trish Stratus: I travel with Lillian Garcia where possible. I'm not one to go out partying and pretty much get along great with everyone. William Regal is a riot and very helpful. A true pro.

Retro Rob: Do you think that the Women's division will never get the respect that it deserves because of bra-n-panty, lingerie and pudding matches? Or are those matches necessary to get the crowd interested?

Trish Stratus: The womens division is not there to be on the same lines as other titles, to me at least. If we can put together a good match then that's great but the fact is that T&A is what sells.

Retro Rob: It was reported on WWE.com that HHH gave a "pep-talk" prior to Raw Monday afternoon. Since then there have been rumors circulating that some of the wrestlers didn't think he should be the guy telling them how to do their jobs. Can you tell us what the general reaction was in the back after that speech?

Trish Stratus: The internet has blown the whole thing out of proportion as usual. It was a very relaxed atmosphere and the comments HHH made were more suggestions than smart ass remarks that some would have people believe.

Retro Rob: Thats good to hear...What do you see Trish Stratus doing in the future?

Trish Stratus: Bringing the women's title back to Canada where it belongs and from there who knows.

Retro Rob: And finally, who has the better bulldog? Goldust or Trish Stratus?

Trish Stratus: Me of course as Stratusfaction is always 100% guaranteed.

Retro Rob: Thanks for taking a good 40 minutes out of your day off to talk with me. It was greatly appreciated. Do you have any closing words for your fans and an e-mail address they contact you with?

Trish Stratus: Thank you to everyone who supports me and it's always a pleasure meeting you guys. My Website has a ton of information about me and is well worth checking out!

Retro Rob: Thanks again Trish and good luck with you match against Molly Saturday night (House Show).
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Special thanks to Bob Barron from 411 Wrestling for helping me with the questions. You can read all of his tape reviews Here.

Be sure to check out Dames' NWA-TNA Recap tonight and his Vengeance review on Sunday. Dr. Tom will be in for SmackDown! tomorrow. And your's truly will be back with a Road Wild 1999 review on Friday as well as Confidential on Sunday. All of that can only be found here at The Smart Marks.

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Retro Rob



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