Trish Stratus Career
Trish Stratus : Trish Stratus's Career
Trish
Stratus was born in Richmond Hill, Ontario. In 1997, Trish Stratus
was a student at York University in Toronto, working towards a B.Sc. in
Biology and Kinesiology with the intention of applying to medical
school. During the winter of 1997, the faculty association engaged in a
strike action that lasted for over two months at the end of second
semester. Trish Stratus was forced to find work while waiting out the
labour dispute. After accepting a job at a local gym, Trish Stratus
found herself responding to the urging of her peers there to become a
fitness model for Muscle Magazine.
Around this time, Trish Stratus co-hosted a Canadian professional
wrestling talk show called Live Audio Wrestling with "Big Daddy" Donnie
Abreu and "Gentleman" Jeff Marek. This caught the attention of the WWF,
whose agents told Trish Stratus that if she felt she had more to offer
than her looks alone, Trish Stratus should start training for a
wrestling career. Soon afterward, Trish Stratus began training at the
gym of Ron Hutchinson, the same facility where Superstars like Edge and
Christian had also trained for the ring. The WWF again had contacted her
in late-1999, and this time, Trish Stratus was ready to start her career
as a pro wrestler under the stage name, Trish Stratus, having been a fan
since her childhood and idolized Hulk Hogan.
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Trish Stratus' first
WWF appearance took place on the March 19, 2000 episode of Sunday Night
HEAT. Trish Stratus appeared on the runway, scouting certain WWF
Superstars, in particular Test and Prince Albert. Not long after, Trish
Stratus began her first role in the company, managing Test and Albert in
the tag team T and A. It was during her stint managing T and A when
Trish Stratus had her first taste of punishment in the ring, being
driven through a table by The Dudley Boyz. Trish Stratus had been
taunting The Dudley Boyz for weeks, in particular Bubba Ray Dudley who
was notorious for his fondness for putting females through tables such
as Terri Runnels and Mae Young.
More and more, Trish Stratus found herself getting physically involved
in the action, taking her bumps from Superstars like The Big Show and
Chyna, and even suffering a stinkface from Rikishi. It was not long
before Trish Stratus began competing in actual matches, one of the
earliest examples being a six-person tag team match at Fully Loaded on
July 23, as Trish Stratus teamed with T & A to face The Hardy Boyz and
Lita. Although Trish Stratus and her team lost the bout, she was not
about to leave that night without making her mark, and proceeded to whip
Lita with a leather strap before exiting the ring. Trish Stratus later
managed Val Venis to win the Intercontinental Championship, but seemed
to be outgrowing managing, as she had bigger aspirations on her mind.
These aspirations included challenging for the WWF Women's Championship
on a number of occasions against Lita and Ivory, although none of these
attempts proved successful. T&A disbanded by the end of 2000, with Trish
Stratus briefly managing Albert solely. However, that role was soon
scrapped in favor of her becoming involved with the McMahons.
In early 2001, Trish Stratus became involved in a storyline with WWF
Chairman Vince McMahon, during a time when Vince's wife Linda was
"institutionalized" following a demand Vince had made for a divorce
during a live show in Madison Square Garden in December 2000. Vince and
Trish Stratus's relationship increasingly angered the boss's daughter,
Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley and at No Way Out on February 25, Trish
Stratus and Stephanie squared off, with "The Billion-Dollar Princess"
scoring a tainted win via the interference of William Regal. This match
is considered to be one of the best of Trish's early wrestling career,
as this was the first time Trish Stratus had displayed any form of
capability in the ring. It was also a highly anticipated match, as the
rivalry between the two ladies had been going on for quite some time. In
the midst of a tag team match that pitted Vince and Trish Stratus
against Regal and Stephanie, Trish Stratus found herself the victim of a
grand set-up by Vince, Stephanie and Regal. Regal executed the Regal
Cutter on Trish Stratus, and Stephanie then dumped mud over Stratus's
body. Vince stood over Trish Stratus, and he told her she was a toy that
he had grown tired of playing with.
The following week on RAW,
Trish Stratus actually gave Vince an apology for the disruption she felt
she had caused in his life. Vince then humiliated Trish Stratus further,
forcing Stratus to strip down to her bra and thong, get on all fours,
and bark like a dog. It ended up being part of a plan Trish Stratus had
set into motion to embarrass Vince, and at WrestleMania X-Seven a month
later, it all became clear. During a Street Fight between Vince and his
son, then-World Championship Wrestling (WCW) "owner" Shane McMahon,
Trish Stratus rolled out a seemingly catatonic Linda McMahon in a
wheelchair to the ring. When the action was taken to the floor, Trish
Stratus walked up to Vince and slapped his mouth before chasing
Stephanie from ringside. Shortly thereafter, Linda stood up out of her
wheelchair and kicked Vince in the groin, enabling Shane to gain control
of the match and eventually pin his father.
After Trish Stratus's situation with the McMahon family ended, Stratus
began focusing on wrestling full-time. On the April 23 edition of "Raw,"
Trish Stratus was backstage promoting the "Divas in Hedonism" video when
she ran into Mr.McMahon. McMahon then placed her in a match against
Ivory in which if she lost, Trish Stratus would be forced to join the
Right to Censor. However, Trish Stratus displayed some improved in-ring
ability, managing to pin Ivory following a modified bulldog. Trish
Stratus was later involved in The Rock & Vince feud which led to a match
pitting Trish Stratus and The Rock against Vince and Kurt Angle. The
most noticeable point of the match was when The Rock tagged in Trish
Stratus and she viciously attacked Vince delivering a Low Blow and
pinning Vince himself.
During the WCW/ECW Invasion storyline, Trish Stratus and Lita attempted
to put their past behind them and began focusing on taking out alliance
girls, Stacy Keibler and Torrie Wilson. At the InVasion pay-per-view,
the two WWF divas faced off against the WCW Divas in the 1st ever Bra
and Panties Tag Team Match, with Trish Stratus & Lita coming out on top.
The following night on Raw, however, Trish Stratus suffered an injury in
her "Paddle on a Pole" match against Torrie Wilson. Trish Stratus
underwent ankle surgery later in the summer. It would be at least four
months before Trish Stratus would fully heal and be able to continue her
pursuit of wrestling glory. As she rehabilitated, Trish Stratus kept
herself visible by co-hosting Excess on TNN. When Trish Stratus was not
doing the show, Trish Stratus continued training and rehabilitation,
preparing herself for her comeback in the ring. Trish Stratus received
extensive ring training from Dave Finlay, a former WCW Television
Champion. Finlay's schoolings served Trish Stratus well; by the time she
returned to the ring, Trish Stratus was better prepared for combat than
ever.