2004-2005: The Heel Years
by Melanie
By 2004, fans had grown tired of seeing the infallible Trish Stratus overcome obstacle after obstacle from bigger, badder foes and while, yes, she did it oh so well, fans yearned for a change. And boy, did they get one.
Trish sealed her heel turn at WrestleMania 20 with a kiss. The lucky man on the receiving end of said smooch? Christian. Insert a big, burly bodyguard by the name of Tyson Tomko and a new heel faction was born. Gone was the sweet, sexy girl next door. Here was Trish as we’d never seen her before — quick-witted, caustic, vicious and deviously delicious.
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Following a detour feud with Chris Jericho, Trish soon found herself back in the mix of the women’s division, winning her fifth Women’s Championship and putting a target on her back once again. Only, this time, Trish wasn’t the plucky underdog who would fight back when antagonized, she was the aggressor and wasn’t shy to cut down her rivals — including Nidia, Lita and Christy Hemme — with either her words or her Chick Kick.
It was during this era that Trish truly blossomed and fans began to realize that this buxom blonde wasn’t just another pretty face, or a flash in the pan, but actually, she was the total package. Trish showed off skill-sets we hadn’t really seen her utilize before, including her immense comedic timing and ability to cut a hell of a promo. It’s no surprise, then, that we would see her on the microphone or backstage on a near-weekly basis at this time.
Trish also re-ignited her feud with her long-time rival/friend, Lita, delivering classic promos such as crashing a pregnant Lita’s wedding to Kane and branding her the “Walking Kiss of Death”. The emotionally charged storyline, in which Lita had suffered a miscarriage, led to the most memorable match of either Diva’s career, a main event bout on Raw in December 2004, where Lita finally defeated her nemesis.
But don’t ever count out this Canadian beauty. Just a month later she would regain her Women’s Championship for a sixth time and hold on to it for well over a year.
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Stratus also came full circle in another aspect — no longer was she the underdog babyface against Jazz or Victoria, she was the one going to war with an underdog babyface, in the form of 2004 Diva Search winner Christy Hemme. Trish emerged victorious in their match at WrestleMania 21, on the very stage that a year prior she had made the risky move of turning heel. A year later, it was clear to see that the move had paid off and added new life to the future Hall of Famer’s career.
Sadly, a back injury would soon put Trish out of action and little did we know that when she returned several months later, it would be the beginning of the end of a storybook career.
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