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| Me meeting Trish for the first time at Wrestlemania 30 Axxess |
Pro wrestling has been part of my life for so long. In fact, it's hard for me to think of a time when pro wrestling HASN'T been part of my life. I've been a fan since the days of the Monday Night War and Attitude Era (when it was WWF (now WWE), WCW, and ECW). I grew up a traditionalist, liking the faces (good guys) and hating the heels (bad guys). At the time, I didn't know it was scripted (I refuse to call it fake) at the time, and I didn't care. I just found it on TV and found myself enjoying it. I wish more fans would just sit back and enjoy it, but that's another story for another time. What I want to talk about...or more spefically WHO I want to talk about is a woman that I instantly became a fan of 20 years ago: a woman by the name of Trish Stratus.
On March 19,2000, on Sunday Night Heat, Test (R.I.P) faces off against Gangrel. No one remembers the match itself, but instead remembers who showed up DURING the match. Sporting a pink skirt, top, and cowboy hat with a black trench coat and black boots, Trish introduced herself to the wrestling world for the first time and grabbed people's attention without saying a word. She would leave with Test after his victory. Folks would see Trish again during Prince Albert's match with Joey Abs of the Mean Street Posse. She would have a different attire, sporting a blue top and skirt but have the same trenchcoat and boots but no cowboy hat. Again, she made her presence felt without saying a word as Prince Albert won despite the entire Mean Street Posse at ringside for backup. But can you blame them for being distracted by Trish's beauty, though?! NOPE! You catch her WWE debut here and see for yourself how her mere presence captivated the wrestling world (Credit to WWE.com for the video) https://www.wwe.com/videos/trish-stratus-debuts-sunday-night-heat-march-19-2000
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| Trish's debut looks (credit to WWE.com) |
At that point, Trish was the hottest woman I've ever seen in my life. Crazy beautiful and a body that video game creators WISHED they could create, you couldn't ask for anything better from a woman. And the thing is...she could have had a great career just by her looks alone. But the more I followed her career, it was clear as day she wants to be more than a woman with great looks. She wanted to be a respectable wrestler and performer in a world that was ruled by men. She evolved as a wrestler and performer and in turn, I evolved as a fan of hers. I watched a girl become a woman right before my eyes, and I was rooting for her to succeed. I got excited seeing her not just because of her beauty, but because I knew she was going to fight her heart out for the fans. She wanted the world to see her as a wrestler, and boy she did she succeed! A 7x WWE Women's Champion, a one-time WWE Hardcore champion, Diva of the Decade, youngest female WWE Hall-of-Fame ever, first female Cauliflower Alley Club Iron Mike Award winner, and future George/Lou Threz Professional Wrestling Hall-of-Famer (first female to receive the Lou Thesz Award, BTW). She helped changed the stigma regarding how women are looked at when it comes to being serious athletes.
She helped changed the world forever by challenging our viewpoints in many ways, and along the way she helped changed ME in how I viewed women in athletic settings, and for that I'm forever thankful for that. For what it's worth, if anyone asked me who I feel is the greatest female performer in wrestling history, I will gladly respond with the words TRISH STRATUS. Thank you for everything you have meant to women's wrestling, wrestling as a whole, and women in sports as a whole. The fight for respect for women in sports still continues but the battles are being won because you helped make it happen.
