SI: Stratusfaction Guaranteed

Courtesy Sports Illustrated / By Justin Barrasso

Trish Stratus is the greatest wrestler in the history of women's wrestling, and she believes that Sasha Banks is the future of the division.

"Sasha, to me, is a star," said Stratus. "There are a lot of comparisons, but I don't think we are that similar, actually, at all. But she's the star of the division, and she's the one. She really knows her character, she owns her character, and she's so solid in the ring."

WWE has redefined and rebranded its women's division in hopes that another Stratus will be unearthed–which, as fans of the business know quite well, is no easy task.

"The 'Revolution' began with us," said Stratus, who was a seven-time WWE women's champion. "It was a change in the way women were perceived in the business."

Stratus actually main-evented Raw with Amy "Lita" Dumas on December 6, 2004, which marked only the third time that a women's match closed out one of WWE's premiere shows.

"We got to the building that day, and there was a board with all of the matches written on it," said Stratus. "Amy and I were riding together, and we thought the board wasn't complete or that they hadn't written the main event yet. Then one of the agents – Fit Finlay – said to us, 'Are you ready for this?' Then upper management started coming over and saying congrats, and I was like, 'Holy sh--, this is a big moment.'

“I didn’t care what I was wearing, it was all about the match and telling the right story. There was a moment in my career where I wasn’t sexy any more–I was going out to wrestle. There was a shift in my career where it was all about the wrestling.”

Despite the notion that Vince McMahon is not a supporter of women’s wrestling, Stratus explained that McMahon views his talent in a different perspective.

“Vince is behind any character that draws interest on his show,” said Stratus. “Does it draw ratings, interest, and evoke emotion? We did at the time.”

Changing the way women were perceived in wrestling, Stratus revealed, took a team effort.

“That was all the girls involved, the writers, and Fit Finlay,” said Stratus. “Finlay was there to help me and guide me. He is the one who brought the Trish Stratus character alive. He saw it in me and brought it out of me. He knew I had it in me, and every match I wanted to do better than the last one. I was fighting for him, and he was my coach.”

The former sex symbol is now 40 years old, but remains as beautiful as ever. Stratus is keeping active with an upcoming movie role in Gridlocked and her own product line, which includes Stratusphere Yoga.

“The role for Gridlocked came through Adam [Copeland, WWE’s Edge],” explained Stratus. “I had a role in [the 2011 film] Bounty Hunters to play a kicka-- character and in some fight scenes, but I didn’t even have an agent. Adam was getting into acting and he said I should go for it, and he introduced me to his agent.”

Stratus’s love affair with yoga began serendipitously after suffering a herniated disc in 2005.

“I actually used yoga to rehabilitate an injury when I thought my career may have been in jeopardy when I had a herniated disc in my back. I was champion at the time, and WWE kept asking, ‘Can you have surgery so you can come back and wrestle?’ I just didn’t want to go under the knife if I didn’t have to.”

Stratus found yoga, which helped her completely rehab her back.

“I never had surgery and fully recovered, to the point where there is no herniated disc in my back any more,” said Stratus. “I was more athletic in the second half of my career, and fell in love with yoga.

“I traveled around learning all these teachings from around the world. I opened a studio in Toronto–Stratusphere Yoga Studio–and the evolution has happened organically.”

Stratusphere Yoga is designed for both women and men, and Stratus is grateful for the opportunities outside of wrestling.

“The opportunities I’m finding are so diverse,” said Stratus. “I’m getting the opportunity to do so many different things. I created a product line, I opened a studio. I love to be constantly challenged. Knowing how Vince works and how meticulous, hands on, and passionate he is about things, I took that from the WWE and I’m applying it to my business.”

Stratus’ meteoric rise in wrestling–from beginner in 1999 to the greatest of all time by 2007–did not occur by accident.

“People think, ‘Trish Stratus rose so quickly up the ranks,’ but don’t forget–I was working side-by-side with Vince McMahon,” explained Stratus. “I had to raise my game. He’s the boss, he’s right there and I’m doing the scene with him, so I had to elevate my game.

Stratus’ schedule–which includes roles as mother, wife and entrepreneur–has no room for a return to wrestling, though she has considered it.

“Could I physically go back and do what I did before?” asked Stratus. “At this point, yes, I can do that. But I’d only go back if it was worth it and if it was a challenge for me. Something that’s different and unique, like playing a heel again, which would be super cool. I’ve gone back as a babyface, so it would have to be something challenging and something that would elevate either the division or a talent. Not just me for my own sh--s and giggles to raise my brand. It would be good if there was a moment to elevate a character. I’d love to work with Ronda Rousey, but I don’t know if she’d be up for that.”

Stratus and Lita were integral pieces of the “Attitude Era,” and were treated like equals by peers such as “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Triple H, Chris Jericho, and the Undertaker.

“Me and Amy were part of the boys,” said Stratus. “We hung out with them, we joked with them, and we were very much on the same level with him. We knew it was a special time.”

Stratus’ work with Lita remains legendary, and she remains grateful that the two entered the WWE at nearly the same time.

“We had that spark, that chemistry,” said Stratus. “Like Rock-Austin, we had that from beginning to end. I was lucky to have that kind of rival in the business.”

source: si.com