Trish Stratus Reflects On Changing WWE’s Approach to Women’s Matches

Trish Stratus recently discussed how she helped change WWE’s approach to women’s matches during a recent podcast appearance. Stratus appeared on the Bellas Podcast and you can see some highlights below, per Wrestling Inc:

On changing WWE’s approach to women’s matches: “Of course, it’s collaborative efforts for sure. But I mean, it really was, it was a lane of groundwork. And from the beginning it was, it was everything from re-educating fans on what to expect from the female performer. It was the acceptance of the fans. It was the acceptance of the producers backstage for them to go ‘Okay, maybe we can give them this.’ You know, I remember one time, to have a hardcore match was like, was a big deal mostly because ‘I don’t think that they can handle it.’ ‘Well, why can’t we handle it, if they can handle it? We can handle it too.’”

On doing things that women didn’t traditionally do in matches: “I remember one time I took a chair shot from Victoria and it was like a really, like, let’s just put it this way. Some people were really unhappy that that happened. But why? The guys take chair shots all the time. I wanted it, I consent to this. So yeah, it’s just, what a journey and just so many, so many players along the way to help make it happen. You know you look at Jazz, you look at Victoria, and Molly Holly and Mickie James. So it’s cool to watch. And then you know you hear people talking about ‘this inspired me. This event inspired me.’ It’s touching. That’s honestly what you set out to do in your world.”