These days the women of WWE are tearing the house down in the ring and headlining big events including WrestleMania. Not to fill a quota but because they’ve earned the opportunity. However, before Rhea Ripley, Charlotte Flair, Bianca Belair, Bayley, and Becky Lynch, there were those who helped pave the way like Trish Stratus and Lita (Amy Dumas). Two women who fought and clawed for every bit of time in the ring.
Their heated rivalry captivated fans, forcing decision-makers to take notice. So much in fact that on December 6, 2004, Stratus and Lita were the main event of Raw. A trailblazing battle between these future Hall of Famers continues to be celebrated now 20 years later. Stratus and Lita are set to mark the milestone with a joint appearance at GalaxyCon.
In an early Trishmas present, we sat down with Stratus to reminisce about this history-making moment and some of her favorite past TV appearances.
WWE
Take me back to that night. How were you told you and Lita would be headlining Raw?
Trish Stratus: It was interesting because at first we weren’t talked to by anybody. We walked into the building. We walked in to see the card listed. We were like,” What?” We saw our names listed as number one, the main event. We literally thought the boys were hiding behind the curtain. We really thought we were being ribbed. We weren’t. It was a true thing. We walked in the hallways, and people were telling us congratulations. We got to thinking this was a really big deal. Then we talked to Vince [McMahon] about it. We knew it was a big opportunity, but at the time, we didn’t realize how big of an opportunity it was. Let alone the impact that night would have to the point we are talking about it 20 years later. We just knew that on that night we had to focus and take advantage of the opportunity and show we could handle it. That the women could hang with the men and close out the show like the guys do. I think we delivered.
Why do you think that night was chosen for you two to be highlighted?
I think because we had one of the hottest feuds. The Trish and Lita feud was hot. We were also in North Carolina, which was Lita and the Hardy Boys stomping grounds. It was almost like someone in a meeting said, “I think it would be cool if a woman could main event.” Where maybe they saw on paper this would be an ideal situation. It’s not how things are now. It’s not, “Let’s put the women on last.” It’s, “These are characters on the show. This storyline makes sense, and it would be at this point in the show.”
One of the things about the match I’ll remember was you wearing that face protector.
I was wearing this mask, and it was going on and on. It got to the point my mom was like, “Can you get rid of that mask? I never get to see you on TV.” She was done with the mask. We knew there had to be a special point to lose the mask. We wanted to make it meaningful and work it into the match somehow. That was definitely done.
A highlight that is always played from the match is Lita taking that scary dive from the ring to the outside. Did you worry she got hurt and the match was over at that point?
We didn’t know it got that kind of reaction. Lita to her credit has a very pliable body. She will say to this day, “It didn’t feel any different. A little impactful maybe.” She didn’t feel hurt. She wasn’t hurt. Maybe because of our yoga background. I’m not sure. She took that move and the crowd went, “Oh!” You know that different sound from the crowd like what are they gasping at? We didn’t know how bad it looked or what it could have been. Thank God for her yoga background and Lita’s pliable spine.
When you walked backstage after the match, what do you remember?
Standing ovation in gorilla position from Vince and all the boys and girls in the back. It was a very big moment for us. We delivered. For sure, people were questioning if we could handle this. The fact we did deliver was huge. It was big for us. It was big for the women knowing this could mean big things moving forward. There were women like Charlotte watching that night. She was in the crowd thinking maybe, “Wow, if they can do this. I can maybe do this.” Nattie has talked about being in the business for so long and being surrounded by it. She knew she was going to be a wrestler. However, she told me what we did in the ring inspired her. It was a relatable moment for the women to see the possibilities and opportunities out there.
Despite delivering, the women’s division didn’t see the opportunities we’re seeing today. Talk about the uphill battle it was for you, even after that match.
That match was almost a one-and-done. It wasn’t to say they wouldn’t do it again. It just was such a big moment it felt like they had to wait for all the right pieces to come together. They had this feud. We were in North Carolina. Lita was going to win the championship. I feel all those moments motivated them to do the match. I do believe there were people who weren’t exactly sold on the idea of taking the guys’ spot at the top. I say we saw a shift a little bit. I think we were a little more accepted in storylines. It was okay for us to be given the time we were given.
Little battles like at one point me and Victoria had this hardcore battle back and forth. We were thinking about doing a chair shot. We push back. “No way this is happening. Women can not do that.” We were telling them we were performers as well. We were willing to do it. We had to fight for it. Only in the wrestling world where I have to fight to be whacked in the back with a steel chair. It sounds ridiculous, but I did have to fight for it and boy was I excited when I got it. Another symbol we’re doing what the guys did when we had the hardcore match. We started to see little things.
Trish Stratus and Lita (WWE)
The winds of change were coming.
I would say it was a gradual shift. We got a chair shot. We got a hardcore match. We cage match with Victoria and Lita. We were getting these little things. It’s wild to me now that the main event is whoever deserves it. This isn’t just the women’s main event. It’s just two characters on the show. When I went back last year, it was kind of cool to see how different it is and less on that gender divide. For me to go back and do a cage match was so special to me because it was never a possibility back in the day. The fact I got to do that and tip my toes in the water of the foundation we helped build.
If you look at Trish vs. Lita today, given the reactions you were getting and the interest, it could have been a main event of a WrestleMania. Funny how time works.
Crazy, right? Exactly.
You got support from the men. You were sharing moments with top names like “Stone Cold” Steve Austin and The Rock. It seemed that wasn’t created by the locker room for the most part.
There was a lot of old-school thinking in the office still. The older school agents were still telling us things. I just remember the shift before where it was always catfights and slapping and hairpulling. I remember one-night telling Fit [Finlay], “I don’t want to do that.” I didn’t feel like doing the usual that night. I wanted to chop and not do a hair toss and instead do a suplex. “Guys don’t want to see women do that. Fans don’t want to see it,” they said. That’s what they thought the fans wanted and the role of the women.
Do your role. There was always a role for the women back in the day. I acknowledge that and also say playing the character that I did subscribe to that for sure. There is always room for growth. Over time, it slowly moved. It was once we proved ourselves. It was about reactions. I remember they used to survey the first couple of rows at live events and ask the fans to list their favorite matches from one to three. Vince came to me saying. “Well, they are listing you and Jazz as one of the top three matches on these live events.” He was legit shocked. He also said to keep up the good work. It took those little moments, the crowd reactions, and the ability to pull off a main event. It all culminated in what we would see today.
You and Lita were really lightning in a bottle. How would you describe the bond you share?
One of the main connections comes from our careers being parallel from the beginning. She was the new girl coming in, and I was the new girl coming in. Before we even started we connected on the phone. We talked to each other about when we were starting, where we were training, and all of that. We had the journey and feud right away. Sometimes we are on the same side. Sometimes we were on opposite sides. I think no matter what side we were on fans knew when Trish and Lita got in here they would see something special. There was this intangible quality. I want to say it was Rock and Austin-esque.
When you work together so closely, you have that bond. You’re on the road putting our bodies on the line and trusting each other day in and day out. Also, as a female in the business, having small victories together and fighting together. That bonded us big time to the point where we retired around the same time. We stayed friends post-wrestling and were best friends. There was the whole thing where I inducted her into the Hall of Fame and we had the “Team Bestie” tour. It was a chance to hang out together and also meet our fans. That’s why this event coming up is so fun. It was such a fun coincidence that GalaxyCon was literally on the day of the match anniversary.
Trish Stratus Mickie James (WWE)
WWE is gearing up to crown the first-ever women’s United States and Intercontinental champions. What do you make of all these developments?
I think it’s amazing. This is exactly what we wanted back in the day. We wanted the same opportunities and exposure as the men. Now this is a big step to have that level of competition. Having the titles means you’re going to have matches for those titles. There is room for multiple feuds over the titles and influx of characters. It creates opportunities for more characters on the show, who happen to be female.
Anyone you especially like watching today?
Nia Jax, I’m so happy she came back. She has a great presence. She has been owning it. I really enjoy watching her. I have this weird thing where I don’t think I could fully retire until I’m rag-dolled by her. Is that weird? Imagine that? Then I can retire [laughs].
Thanks for the lift. https://t.co/shIpXXNMul— Howie Mandel (@howiemandel) April 20, 2022
Outside the ring, you’ve also made your mark. You have been a judge on Canada’s Got Talent alongside the likes of Howie Mandel and Lilly Singh. Any fun Howie or Lilly stories?
Lilly is a big wrestling fan. She was definitely having fan-girl moments when I came on board. Howie is our anchor for the show. He is amazing. There was this running joke among all of us where they asked, “But can you pick me up?” Yes, I can. One day I literally carried Lilly across the stage. They were blown away by that. One day live on the show he was being Howie. Howie is hilarious. Sometimes he gets so in the zone and giddy. He is like a little kid. He is a comedian. When he gets into it, he’s into it. He was being very annoying and tried to judge one night. I literally said, “Howie, go sit down.” I pick him up. It was a moment. I carried him back to his seat. It was pretty special.
I thought it was fun seeing you appear on MADtv back in the day.
MADtv was a dream of mine. Everyone loves Saturday Night Live. I do enjoy that show, but I was a MADtv girl. There are characters and a team in general that was very strong. I got to be on it twice. That was exciting to me because you know me. I’m a little quirky. It was fun to put some character work into play. That was fun.
You’ve also done reality TV Armed & Famous. What do you remember from that experience?
Erik Estrada, La Toya Jackson, Jack Osbourne, Wee Man. We went to Muncie, Indiana, and fought crime. That is what we did. We were paired with a veteran officer and fought crime. It was wild and a lot of fun. It’s funny because I had just retired thinking I was just about to do the relaxation thing and got a cool opportunity. I’ve always said I’m always up for cool opportunities and thrive on a challenge. The lieutenant from Muncie and I are still friends. We email once in a while. He is a big wrestling fan. Jack and I keep in touch. I saw Erik at an event, so it was cool to reconnect with him. Wee Man was backstage at WrestleMania one year. It’s cool to have those experiences because you’re forever connected.
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Is there a competition show you haven’t done yet that you want to do?
I’ve always said I would be really good at Dancing with the Stars. If you give me something new, I’m pretty good at conquering it. I’m just saying I would be good at it. I have seen people in my circle fail as well.
Stacy Keibler set the bar there.
She sure did.
You also got to cross something off the bucket list by doing a Christmas movie, Christmas in Rockwell.
I did a cameo in one movie, and producers liked what I did and created the movie for me to be the lead. It was such a blast. I guess it goes back to my wrestling days when I was with this crew aiming to do the same thing together and working long hours to create this product to entertain people. A Christmas movie is so magical. Christmas movies are ones people say they don’t watch or like but do. A lot of people love them and kick off their Christmas with them. This gave me the chance to kick off their season of Trishmas.
Next year if we have a crystal ball, will we see Trish in a wrestling ring?
Possibly. I imagine at some point. I don’t know what I’ll be doing in a wrestling ring, but I can’t imagine I won’t be in a wrestling ring. It is my 25th anniversary after all. So, yeah.
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