2001-2004: The Underdog Years
by Erin
The night: April 1st, 2001. The place: Houston, Texas. WrestleMania 17 had filled the Reliant Astrodome to the brim, and WWE CEO Vince McMahon was battling his own son Shane in one of the night’s highest profile matches.
Both of the men were down when Trish Stratus made her entrance, pushing a wheelchair-bound and over-medicated Linda McMahon down the mile-long entrance ramp. She parked Linda at ringside and went to check on Vince, showing concern for the man with whom she had been having an open affair.
Suddenly, her mask of concern turned into a grimace, and she slapped Vince across the face with such force that he fell over. In that moment, one of the biggest heels in the WWE became a fan favorite.
While that fact may say more about the audience’s feelings toward Vince McMahon than it does about Trish, it was clear that the fans had been wanting to like her for some time. As the storyline heaped humiliation after humiliation on Trish, it seemed inevitable that she would eventually get her retribution, and the fans were eager to see it happen.
Get retribution Trish did, and with that a new status as a WWE Diva. Soon she was wrestling regularly and garnering enormous pops from the audience. Amidst a team-up with on again, off again rival Lita at the Invasion pay-per-view, Trish was forced to prove herself not only as a competitor, but as a reliable, trustworthy person. Her profile as a babyface grew, and it would be mere months before she nabbed the greatest prize.
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At Survivor Series 2001, Trish bested not one, but five more experienced and accomplished Divas to win the vacated Women’s Championship. However, even with the title around her waist, Trish was still considered the division’s underdog. But like any small, underestimated pooch, when cornered, she grew teeth.
Adopting a tenacity and resilience that would become her trademark as a babyface, Trish fought off the likes of Jacqueline and Jazz to hold onto her title before finally (but still valiantly) losing the belt to Jazz early the next year. Even without the title, her profile grew, and by the time she fought both Lita and Jazz in a Triple Threat match for the Women’s Title at WrestleMania 18, she was a veritable star.
Trish would regain and lose the Women’s Title twice in that year, feuding first with Molly Holly and then the debuting Victoria, who brought out a side of Trish that no one had seen before. This Trish was vicious, getting into scraps with Victoria that only ended when she was dragged away by officials. It saw Trish competing in more physically demanding bouts, from Chicago Street Fights to Hardcore matches. Now, not only was Trish a legitimate competitor in the ring, she was also a tough cookie.
At WrestleMania 19, Trish again competed in a Triple Threat match with the title on the line. This time, though, she emerged from the biggest event of the year with the title around her waist, winning the belt in impressive fashion. Trish was now emerging from her underdog shadow. She was still less experienced than most of her fellow Divas, but she was certainly no longer underestimated.
As the face of the Divas Division and a fan favorite, Trish naturally had many Divas who were itching to take her out. When the duo of Molly Holly and Gail Kim had their sights set on Trish in late 2003, they had no qualms about double-teaming her on a regular basis. A momentous return by Lita more than evened the odds, and the two became allies. While this fan-approved alliance should have solidified her place as one of the most infallible good guys, it actually was the beginning of the end as far as “Trish, the babyface underdog” was concerned.
A storyline that paired Trish romantically with Chris Jericho gave her the chance to take on a more dramatic role, reluctantly falling for Jericho before being betrayed. She and Lita would compete in a match that was the first of its kind, teaming up to take on Chris Jericho and Christian in the “Battle of the Sexes”. Though not victorious, Trish was placed on a level most Divas never reached: not only was she in a fully fleshed-out feud with top WWE Superstars, she was competing against them in the ring.
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WrestleMania 20 saw Trish come full circle. Again, it was a slap that changed everything. This time, though, it was a slap of betrayal; she turned on Chris Jericho and in an instant was a villainous, making out with Christian as a heartbroken Jericho looked on. This kickstarted a new era in her career, and with it came a new Trish Stratus: she was now a sarcastic, egomaniacal heel.
In the three years between those two fateful WrestleManias, Trish became the Diva that would set the standard for the women to come. She would win four of what would soon be seven Women’s Title reigns. She grew as a wrestler, as a character and as a figure within the company. In a word, she became a star.
Many call those years the “Golden Era” of the WWE’s Divas Division. It is the firm belief of this writer that, without Trish, the era would have been mere silver or bronze: admirable, but not nearly as valuable.
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