Trish Stratus Reflects on Having to Follow The Rock vs. Hulk Hogan at WrestleMania X8

WWE Hall of Famer Trish Stratus recently reflected on the night when she was tasked with following the Icon vs. Icon match between Hulk Hogan and The Rock at WrestleMania X8.

The Rock vs. “Hollywood” Hulk Hogan is regarded as one of the greatest matches in WrestleMania history, largely due to the red-hot reception from the crowd at the SkyDome in Toronto.  However, that match did not headline the event. In fact, it was the third-to-last match on the card, followed by a Triple Threat Match between Jazz, Lita, and Toronto’s own Trish Stratus for the WWF Women’s Championship.

Trish appeared on INSIGHT with Chris Van Vliet, where she was asked about her mindset watching that match backstage, knowing she and her opponents would have to follow Hogan vs. The Rock.

Trish admitted that while the position on the card wasn’t ideal, she believes the Toronto crowd was pretty much involved in the match and was pleased with the way it played out. Stratus also explained why her not winning the title that night made sense. Below are the highlights:

Trish Stratus on her WrestleMania X8 match taking place immediately after The Rock vs. Hulk Hogan

“We were in Gorilla going, ‘We gotta follow that? We might as well just not even go out.’ But no, you guys gave us some love. We got the crowd reaction. We got that. I mean, just to see that match from that position and watch them come through the curtain afterwards, and watching the reaction, seeing the boys react, everyone-it was iconic and definitely a memory as a wrestling fan. I’m like, sh*t, that was cool. But for positioning, nah, don’t want that position, thanks. But I think we nailed it. I think we did really well that night, and I think the crowd was into it. The Toronto crowd. I mean, for me, if you think about it, that was 2002.”
Stratus explains why her not winning the Women’s Championship at WrestleMania X8 made sense

“So I’d only debuted two years before that. I was just blessed and honored to be in a Women’s Championship match. I mean, two years ago I would have never thought I’m going to be in front of 68,000 people at the SkyDome performing and hopefully winning the Women’s Championship in my hometown. I didn’t win it that night. It’s fine, though, but it wasn’t my time. Everyone’s like, ‘Oh, you should have won that night.’ I’m like, ‘No, it wasn’t the right time.’ It’s like the Chelsea Green win. To me, I always say sometimes there’s just the right win. It’s an organic win. It was the right moment. It wasn’t positioned like, ‘She’s the hometown girl; Let’s let her win,’ and I think those are really special. So that wasn’t the moment. Eventually, it was my moment.”