WrestleChat

Seven-time WWE Women’s Champion Trish Stratus joined “The Rack” Thursday night she discussed her pending Hall of Fame induction, what will she be wearing to the ceremony, the poll from her website about her top 10 favorite outfits, who are some of the people she wished she could have faced, her feelings on the state of the current Divas division, her iconic match at WrestleMania 22 vs Mickie James, how does someone come down from the highs of WrestleMania, possibly getting a Mattel Trish Stratus Barbie, an update on her yoga studio, who would she like to see as the next female inductee to the Hall of Fame and more. Highlights from the interview are as follows:

Her reaction to entering the WWE Hall of Fame: “I’m super excited; oh my gosh. The call was like ‘Oh my God, seriously?!’ That was my first reaction. But I mean I’m actually honored; I know I keep saying this but I felt like ‘it feels like a little bit too soon’ but then I realized I have been retired for seven years. I don’t know, I think I have such an active role in the company at this moment that I don’t feel like I’ve been away from it for that long, you know? But I’m just, I’m thrilled, I’m very honored and when I heard the class this year, it’s just like wow; I’m just blown away. And as the fan, I feel like it’s amazing. I’m really looking forward to that weekend.”

Who is someone she wished she could have faced in the WWE today: “I feel like I’ve been saying it a lot but I mean the two women that really did some awesome stuff after I left was, well, one thing I say is I was so satisfied when I retired because I felt like I worked with just about everyone I wanted to work with, right? And then, all of a sudden, there was this wonderful burst of Nattie and Beth and it was the ‘Divas of Destruction’ and it was just this awesome stuff that they were doing and I’m like ‘I want a piece of that’. That is something I would like to go back to because it was good wrestling again. And Beth, thankfully, I had a chance to go back and wrestle with her, and you know Nattie is just, and we both say it, I would just love the opportunity to work with her, I think. And when I say work with her, I mean partner or even I would, it would be my pleasure to kick her butt. So, you know, we both being a Canadian mix of things and I just see some double Sharpshooter action; I just see some good stuff that would be really good. But you knows? It’s kind of like who is on my wish-list. “

Her thoughts on the current state of the Diva’s Division: “I think what is missing is I think everyone has the right tools. I think we’re seeing; listen, when you look at, and it’s funny, I fell in Kaitlyn because I loved her quirky attitude and she reminds me of me and I like that a lot, and there’s that afraid to not be silly and I just think that the fans don’t know that side of her, or know as much as we do on the inside, right? So, what I think is missing overall, and it’s something I’ve said for years, is the development of the characters.

So, everybody’s got the right tools, everybody has the skills to wrestle and definitely I think we have distinct personalities out there, even someone like Rosa Mendes. To me, the lost art is the valet to full-time wrestler transition and I think the more we see of Rosa in her valet role, it allows us to really get to know her and develop her character, right? And for her, and I hope she realizes, it’s one of the best places to be to really understand and to get wrestling. Like, I know when I was ringside watching the guys wrestle and watching every movement and what evokes and emotion and you kind of watch what works and what didn’t work, it made me when I got in the ring, it made able to draw on that, those experiences, and really bring that into the ring and be a better performer. So, I think everyone’s got the capabilities, certainly everyone’s been wrestling more and I think there’s some great wrestling technique going on now and characters for sure. I think now, we just have to sort of look at the division as a whole and it would be awesome to just think ‘Ok, how do we position each person a little differently and make these storylines?’ because everyone’s kind of wrestling with each other but there’s no storylines. And it’s like, what’s the direction, what’s the storyline, why are they wrestling, why do they hate each other? And I want it to be more than ‘You’re a girl’ and ‘I want the title’ it has to be more than just the title because obviously, that’s what we’re all going for, that’s the purpose of being in wrestling and why you compete in your division but there’s got to be an underlying storyline and that’s usually what stems from your characters. “

On the quality of matches given by Divas today: “That’s the thing, these girl’s matches are great; they’re actually having really good matches, to be honest. Tamina is fantastic in there, I mean and it’s like everyone happens to be under the radar because they’re like ‘Yeah, that was a good match’ but it’s true. It’s like, you need that storyline, there’s no way around it. You see they deliver the good, they just need something to fuel them in there, so when they’re there it’s like I care what that kick means, or why that cheat means so why I hate her for that cheat. So, that’s one thing missing, that’s for sure.”

Who would she like to see next inducted into the Hall of Fame, female wise: “I mean, I think Lita would be a great pick. She and I obviously sort of have this parallel our entire career. She’s a great friend of mine, I respect her and our career was a real special thing that we had; the relationship and our character’s relationship as well; I think she would be deserving. But, at the same time, you know it’s a long list. There’s some great women; I know one thing I kept hearing was Luna Vachon; why is Trish Stratus going in before Luna Vachon and I concur. You know, I think Luna, to me it would be great to see her go in but there’s so many women who’ve contributed to the overall of what women and how women are perceived in wrestling, but these women will all get in at some point. It’s not a matter of will they, it’s a matter of when.”

To listen to the audio interview, click here.