Trish Stratus – Emergence of a WWE Champion

Trish Stratus has achieved so much already in her relatively brief wrestling career as a seasoned and successful wrestler that it is easy to forget trish stratus’ early roots in the world of the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE).  Already an accomplished manager of such high profile wresters, Val Venis and tag team Test and Albert, as well as being the mistress of villain, Vince McMahon.  It was after Wrestlemania X-Seven, that Trish Stratus began focusing more on her wrestling career after a falling out with Vince McMahon. 

Right from the get-go, Trish Stratus had her eyes on the main prize, the Woman’s Wrestling Championship Belt, which was held by the massively built and intimidating Chyna.  However, a match between Chyna and Trish Stratus never came into fruition since Chyna was dumped from the WWE after the two sides failed to agree on terms for a new contract.  Consequently, the woman’s championship belt was free for the taking during the 2001 WWE Survivor Series.   

Since her renewed dedication to wrestling, Trish Stratus worked hard to becoming a technically efficient and effective wrestler.  Trish Stratus developed into a feared wrestler characterized with creativity and compact power that flowed through her powerful yet petite frame.  She innovated many wrestling maneuvers that would become her signature including the ‘Stratusphere’, an acrobatic scissors-move takedown from the tightropoes; the ‘Air Canada’, a flying flop executed by Trish Stratus on her standing opponent.  With victory in sight, Trish Stratus’ would then typically perform her famous finishing maneuver, the devastating “Stratusfaction”, where Stratus would apply a headlock on her opponent proceeded by slamming their faces onto the canvas mat after jumping of the tight ropes.    

Trish Stratus had a chance to demonstrate her portfolio of wrestling moves as she became one of the women who would vie for the vacant Woman’s Championship belt in one of the marquee matchups on the 2001 WWE Survivor Series – the Six-Pack.  Here, Trish Stratus would battle competitors, Jazz, Lita, Molly Holly, Jacqueline, and Ivory.  Trish Stratus emerged victorious as she became the Woman’s Champion of the WWE. 

Through the years, Trish Stratus would lose and regain her championship belt, fall in and out of storylines, turn bad than good than bad than good, all while never taking a hit on her popularity.  This is quite rare in the wrestling forum as a wrestler’s popularity is never sustained to a high degree.  Usually a wrestler will earn immense stardom as a newcomer since there is the whole novelty aspect, usually after the novelty wears off, they will never reached that same level of popularity.  Only certain wrestlers who are both gifted and have a entrancing personality will last the test of time.  Trish Stratus is one of those rare personalities.

Trish Stratus’ long list of accomplishments include being the WWE Women’s Champion an unprecedented six times.  She also was the WWE Hardcore Champion for a brief spell.  Her beauty bestowed her the dubious honor of being the WWE “Babe of the Year” from 2001 to 2003 (her rival Stacey Kiebler won this honor in 2004).  And her long-lasting impact on the WWE has been recognized as she was recently named the WWE Diva of Decade.