Giphy
By Joshua Axelrod
Trish Stratus and Becky Lynch’s rivalry was forged in steel and will end surrounded by it.
The World Wrestling Entertainment stars first crossed paths in 2019 during a tag-team match in Pittsburgh, where Lynch and Charlotte Flair, who Stratus was feuding with at the time, went up against Stratus and Natalya Neidhart on “Monday Night Raw.” Stratus returned to full-time wrestling duties in February for the first time since her 2006 retirement, and it didn’t take long for friction to form between her and Lynch.
After six months of heated exchanges — and an August match that ended in a double count-out — Stratus and Lynch will settle their differences Saturday in a steel cage match as part of “Payback,” the first WWE premium live event to take place in Pittsburgh since 2018. Western Pennsylvanians will either be able to watch “Payback” live at PPG Paints Arena or stream it via Peacock.
Stratus told the Post-Gazette last week that she’s a little nervous going into her first-ever steel cage match, but she’s ready to “finally put an end to all the time [Lynch has] wasted in my life.”
“It’s a challenge,” Stratus said. “Am I a little scared of it? Yup. But that’s what drives me. ... I’m going to prove to Becky that I’m the greatest of this generation by beating the greatest of her generation.”
Getting to fight Lynch in a steel cage match is a big deal for Stratus, who said that “women didn’t have steel cage matches” and “were sort of a sideshow” back when she first joined the WWE 23 years ago. The matchup with Lynch feels like “Jordan versus LeBron or Tyson versus Ali,” she said, as two powerful women representing different eras of WWE’s growth duke it out to “see who ends up on top.”
“We’ve had a good little run and it’s been really fun,” she said. “But it’s been a little long. I’m ready to move on, do other things and cross paths with other people.”
Stratus wants to hear Pittsburghers shower her with the loudest “‘Thank you, Trish!” chants she has heard since returning to WWE in a full-time capacity. Though the Toronto native doesn’t have any direct Pittsburgh ties, Stratus is hoping that she’ll soon get to remember the Steel City as the place “that I proved to everyone that I was the greatest of all time” by taking down Lynch.
No matter what happens on Saturday, Pittsburgh is now going “to be part of my legacy in a way,” as Stratus put it. “Payback” may also be Pittsburghers’ final chance to catch her wrestling prowess on display in their city before she exits the ring for good.
“This is probably the last time you’re going to see Trish Stratus performing live,” she said. “Come out and see me kick some butt!”
source: post-gazette.com
Trish Stratus and Becky Lynch’s rivalry was forged in steel and will end surrounded by it.
The World Wrestling Entertainment stars first crossed paths in 2019 during a tag-team match in Pittsburgh, where Lynch and Charlotte Flair, who Stratus was feuding with at the time, went up against Stratus and Natalya Neidhart on “Monday Night Raw.” Stratus returned to full-time wrestling duties in February for the first time since her 2006 retirement, and it didn’t take long for friction to form between her and Lynch.
After six months of heated exchanges — and an August match that ended in a double count-out — Stratus and Lynch will settle their differences Saturday in a steel cage match as part of “Payback,” the first WWE premium live event to take place in Pittsburgh since 2018. Western Pennsylvanians will either be able to watch “Payback” live at PPG Paints Arena or stream it via Peacock.
Stratus told the Post-Gazette last week that she’s a little nervous going into her first-ever steel cage match, but she’s ready to “finally put an end to all the time [Lynch has] wasted in my life.”
“It’s a challenge,” Stratus said. “Am I a little scared of it? Yup. But that’s what drives me. ... I’m going to prove to Becky that I’m the greatest of this generation by beating the greatest of her generation.”
Getting to fight Lynch in a steel cage match is a big deal for Stratus, who said that “women didn’t have steel cage matches” and “were sort of a sideshow” back when she first joined the WWE 23 years ago. The matchup with Lynch feels like “Jordan versus LeBron or Tyson versus Ali,” she said, as two powerful women representing different eras of WWE’s growth duke it out to “see who ends up on top.”
“We’ve had a good little run and it’s been really fun,” she said. “But it’s been a little long. I’m ready to move on, do other things and cross paths with other people.”
Stratus wants to hear Pittsburghers shower her with the loudest “‘Thank you, Trish!” chants she has heard since returning to WWE in a full-time capacity. Though the Toronto native doesn’t have any direct Pittsburgh ties, Stratus is hoping that she’ll soon get to remember the Steel City as the place “that I proved to everyone that I was the greatest of all time” by taking down Lynch.
No matter what happens on Saturday, Pittsburgh is now going “to be part of my legacy in a way,” as Stratus put it. “Payback” may also be Pittsburghers’ final chance to catch her wrestling prowess on display in their city before she exits the ring for good.
“This is probably the last time you’re going to see Trish Stratus performing live,” she said. “Come out and see me kick some butt!”
source: post-gazette.com
You Might Also Like
comments powered by Disqus
