Kevin’s Random Reviews: Trish And Lita – Evolutionary Part One

Trish and Lita: Evolutionary
WWE Network Collection | Part One

For this review, I’m trying something a bit different. Instead of a show, I’m going to look at the WWE Network Collection on Trish Stratus and Lita. Other collections will follow in the future. For these reviews, I’ll be focusing on the matches and just noting the segments shown, not reviewing those. Also, because there are nearly twenty matches, I’m splitting it into two reviews.

Introduction Lita | Sunday Night Heat; 2/13/00
The Collection opened with Lita’s debut as Essa Rios’ valet. Rios beat Gillberg for the Light Heavyweight Title in under a minute with a moonsault. Lita made an impact by following with a moonsault of her own. This was a good introduction for her, though it probably would’ve meant more on Raw or Smackdown

WWE Gets Stratusfied | Heat; 3/19/00
While Test and Gangrel wrestled, Trish made her debut by walking to the stage and looking amazing. Test won the match and locked eyes with Trish afterwards. Later in the show, Trish returned to watch Albert against Joey Abs. Boy, she picked some rough matches. Albert won because the Mean Street Posse was distracted by Trish. This set up the team of T&A.

An Extreme Encounter | Smackdown; 6/22/00
The Hardy Boyz and Lita vs. T&A and Trish Stratus
I wish this six-person tag from Fully Loaded was on here. That ruled. This was more historic as it marked the first meeting between Trish and Lita. I’m glad Lita’s time with Essa Rios was mostly skipped over here. This got off to a fast start, with Lita chasing Trish around the ring, while the men handled the work inside. Trish’s first official action was slapping Jeff Hardy, before knocking Lita off the apron. The Hardys rallied and Lita hit a Twist of Fate on Trish to a pop. Trish was stacked on Test for a Swanton, which was cool. Lita hit the moonsault but there was no ref. Albert proceeded to Baldo Bomb her and put Trish on top for the win at 4:32. That was short, but fun with a hot crowd. [**¾]

Teaming with Headliners | Raw; 7/31/00
Lita and The Rock vs. Triple H and Trish Stratus
Ah, the HHH/Stephanie/Trish/Angle era. This honestly main evented in the Georgie Dome. Yea, the place where WrestleMania XXVII was held housed a main event involving two women who had been with the company for about six months. HHH and Rock started hot. Trish came in, so Rock tagged to Lita, who kicked her ass. Lita does well until HHH gets in a cheap shot, allowing Trish to hit a bulldog. Rock interrupted the Pedigree and got the tag shortly after. He and HHH relived their old wars. Trish claws at Rock’s eyes to interrupt the spinebuster. She set herself up perfectly to get squashed by a catapult spot. Rock planted her with a spinebuster and tagged Lita, who won with the moonsault in 6:07. Again, a lot of fun. The fans were way into this main event. Trish was green as hell, but did very well. Post-match, Rock hit HHH with a chair and he fell onto Trish in the 69 position. [**¾]

Lita’s Golden Opportunity | Raw; 8/21/00
WWF Women’s Championship: Stephanie McMahon [c] w/ Kurt Angle and Triple H vs. Lita
Less than a month after closing Raw with Rock and HHH, Lita was now in the main event against Stephanie McMahon, with Rock as the special referee. In previous shots, Lita was screwed. Stephanie threw some awful looking punches and took a terrible rana bump. Angle distracted Rock to set up a HHH cheap shot. The Hardy Boyz arrived to even the odds. Steph then busted out a monkey flip and a DDT. THE QUEENDOM WHERE THE KINGS BOW DOWN! As Lita got going, Angle cheated, so he and HHH brawled with the Hardys. Rock caught Kurt trying to give Steph the title, so he brought him in for a whooping. HHH came in but accidentally got hit with the title by Kurt. Rock took Kurt out with a Rock Bottom, then hit Steph with a spinebuster when she tried hitting him with the title. Rock signaled for Lita to go up. She did and won the title with a moonsault at 5:06. With Steph’s limitations, they used a lot of smoke and mirrors and it worked. This was a case where overbooking worked in favor of a match. Lita wins her first Women’s Championship. [**½]

McMahon Family Affair | No Way Out; 2/25/01
Stephanie McMahon vs. Trish Stratus
When Trish began having an affair with Mr. McMahon, it spawned a feud between her and Stephanie. Neither girl was very experienced by this point, yet the storyline led to a hot crowd. The girls went right at each other with some brawling. Trish hit the bulldog and DDT for two, in between some stiffer shots than I would’ve ever expected. They fought outside, where water got thrown on Trish for a visual that the puppy craving fans loved. Stephanie busted out a goddamn powerbomb. She then pulled Trish’s shorts down and spanked her, to another huge pop. William Regal came out and put Trish on top of Stephanie for a cover. He then put Steph’s foot on the bottom rope, because he didn’t know what the right move was (Vince threatened him to make the right call earlier). Trish got in his face, so he dropped her with a neckbreaker and Stephanie picked up the victory at 8:29. Way better than it had any right to be. They didn’t try to do anything they couldn’t. It was a fight between two girls who played to their strengths and worked hard. [***]

United We Stand | Invasion; 7/22/01
Bra and Panties Match: Lita and Trish Stratus vs. Stacy Keibler and Torrie Wilson
I won’t lie, I watched this match a lot growing up. Trish and Lita represented the WWF, while Stacy and Torrie were part of WCW. This was the first match in the collection to get video package treatment. Mick Foley assigned himself as the guest referee. “Thongs are legal,” – Jim Ross; 2001. Lots of slapping and hair pulling with some moves thrown in here or there. Stacy lost her shirt first, with Lita losing hers next thanks to a tandem effort from the WCW girls. Trish lost her shirt, but then removed Torrie’s pants as we got some of the best camerawork in WWE history. Trish and Lita used Poetry in Motion and a moonsault as they finished stripping their opponents to win in 5:04. Torrie and Stacy were horrible, but they tried and I’ll give them points for effort. The fans loved it and it was fun. [*¾] 

Trish’s Golden Opportunity | Survivor Series; 11/18/01
WWE Women’s Championship: Ivory vs. Jacqueline vs. Jazz vs. Lita vs. Mighty Molly vs. Trish Stratus
After Chyna departed from the WWE as Women’s Champion, a new champion was needed. Jazz was a surprise final entrant, making her debut to not much of a reaction. Heyman did his best to put her over on commentary. She attacked Lita as soon as she hit the ring. Two ladies were legal at a time. Everyone got some shine, with Trish easily getting the biggest pop. It kind of became Alliance vs. WWF as Lita, Trish and Jackie worked together for a bit. Molly hit the Molly Go Round, then Lita came close to winning with the moonsault. After some of the girls were involved in an awful botch, Trish was left alone with Ivory. She nailed Stratusfaction to capture her first title at 4:21. Sloppy and kind of a mess. It was important, as it was reign #1 for the women with the most in history. [*]

Lita Challenges Trish | Raw; 11/19/01
WWE Women’s Championship: Trish Stratus [c] vs. Lita w/ Matt Hardy
A night after winning her title, we get the first straight Trish/Lita match in this collection. It got off to a rough start, as Trish did an ugly wrist lock. The sloppiness continued with almost every move. Trish missed an elbow, then shoved Lita off the top to the outside. Matt helped her up and took an accidental baseball slide from Trish. Matt physically put Lita back in the ring and Trish beat her via backslide in 2:45. That sucked. I like both women, but this had to be their worst work. No fluidity and it was sloppy. [¼*]

In Action on the Grandest Stage | WrestleMania X8; 3/17/02
WWE Women’s Championship: Jazz [c] vs. Lita vs. Trish Stratus
Trish played to her hometown crowd with maple leaf themed attire. Jazz spent a good chunk of the match throwing both women around. Her and Lita got some one on one shine while Trish was hurt outside. Trish got two on a nice reverse DDT. She and Lita took out Jazz before going at one another. Trish took a horrible back body drop bump, before a botched Twist of Fate spot. Lita continued to be sloppy, completely overshooting her moonsault. Lita countered Stratusfaction by sending Trish to the corner. Trish’s leg got caught in the ropes in what looked to be an incredibly painful moment. Jazz planted Lita with an avalanche fisherman buster to retain at 6:16. There was potential here. The crowd was kind of into it, Jazz was a good powerhouse and Trish did fine. Lita was not on her game and the fans didn’t care for Jazz retaining. [**¾]

Trish Gets Hardcore | Survivor Series 11/17/02
WWE Women’s Championship Hardcore Match: Trish Stratus [c] vs. Victoria
The story here was that Victoria was jealous that Trish, a fellow former fitness model, got opportunities that she didn’t. There were some strong moments in this match. Victoria attacked Trish during her introduction and was first to bring in weapons, playing up her psycho side. There was a laugh as the women were given a broom and ironing board as weapons. Trish whipped Victoria with a kendo stick, before getting absolutely wrecked with a trash can lid. They flubbed the finish a bit, before Victoria won the title at 7:01 with a snap suplex. There were a few botches that kept it from being truly great. However, This was brutal as the women didn’t hold back at all. It solidified that Trish was no longer just a pretty face and established Victoria with her first title win. [***¼]

Trish Triumphs in Triple Threat | WrestleMania XIX; 3/30/03
WWE Women’s Championship: Victoria [c] w/ Stevie Richards vs. Jazz vs. Trish Stratus
Mania got a women’s Triple Threat for the second straight year. Victoria should make for a better match than Lita. Jazz attacked early and they all ended up brawling outside. Victoria and Jazz took turns with leg drops on Trish, before teaming up to beat her up. Once that partnership ended, Trish hit a shit looking backstabber, but at least ended it with a good looking bridge. They built to a few near falls that were broken up by the other participant. The finishing stretch saw Victoria miss a moonsault and Richards get involved. Trish took him out with Stratusfaction, before countering the Widow’s Peak and scoring with the Chick Kick to win the title at 7:17. I was wrong. I thought Victoria would’ve made for a better match, but this didn’t click the way I hoped. [**¼]

Lita Returns!!! | Raw; 9/15/03
No Holds Barred Handicap Match: Gail Kim and Molly Holly vs. Trish Stratus
Knowing she was at a disadvantage, Trish came out the blocks with offense. She busted out a flying headscissors and the handstand rana. Of course, the numbers game proved to be too much and she found herself in trouble. Kim got two on a middle rope leg drop. Trish got her own near fall with a lame spinebuster, while commentary focused on the World Title picture. Molly got the win with the Molly Go Round at 4:04. Not much to write home about here. The reason this was included was the post-match angle. Gail and Molly beat on Trish some more, until Lita made her return from a broken neck to save her buddy. She looked really tall and planted Gail with a powerbomb. For some reason, Lita also removed her top. [*¼]

6.0

The final score: review Average

The 411

Some might find it surprising, but Trish had the two strongest matches on this first half. Her matches with Stephanie and Victoria were both the highlights. Lita had some big moments, but not many highlights in the ring. The best thing about this was watching Trish develop from nothing in the ring in 2000, to understanding how to work to her strengths in 2001 to having quality matches in 2002. I look forward to part two.