2005-2006: The Last Hurrah
by Katelyn
Trish Stratus kicked off 2005 with a bang – literally. She Chick Kicked her way to a sixth WWE Women’s Championship reign at New Year’s Revolution, defeating long-time archenemy Lita.
Unfortunately for Trish, her progression as a heel and leader of the women’s division was halted by injury – a herniated disc in her back that put her out of action for roughly five months. She seemingly had a change of heart whilst recuperating, ditching her bitchy ways and returning in early September 2005 to align herself with Ashley Massaro, whom had found herself mercilessly bullied by mean girls Torrie Wilson, Candice Michelle and Victoria ever since her Diva Search win. Even with Trish’s return, they were still outnumbered by Vince’s Devils… that is, until the debut of a woman named Mickie James, a woman who claimed to be Trish’s “biggest fan”.
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This debut changed the landscape of the Divas division at the time.
The storyline, and later, feud, between Trish and Mickie is arguably one of the best that the WWE has ever provided for their women, largely in part due to the sheer amount of dedication given to it. It was a slow-burn, developed over months and months of television. Trish, perhaps somewhat naively, befriended Mickie without knowing exactly what lay ahead. Mickie was a big fan of hers, becoming obsessed with her idol to the point of creepiness. During their friendship, Mickie would cross many boundaries: interrupting Trish’s shower time, stealing a kiss from her under mistletoe and attacking her friend Ashley in psychotic, jealous fits. ??The storyline allowed for the two women to showcase not only their wrestling ability, but their acting ability as well. It became increasingly more polarizing, with fans clamoring for Mickie’s eventual heel turn, waiting with baited breath for the moment to come. It finally did on an episode of Saturday Night’s Main Event, and the two would face off in a fantastic match at WrestleMania 22, with Mickie defeating Trish and gaining the Women’s Championship she so coveted. ??During their rematch at Backlash, Trish would sadly suffer a dislocated shoulder and was forced back onto the shelf for six weeks. Behind closed doors, these injuries and a strong desire to enjoy life and pursue other interests outside of wrestling were slowly catching up with her.
Upon making a comeback, she began a romantic relationship with Carlito, taking on such teams as Melina and Johnny Nitro and Edge and Lita. It wasn’t long before she and Lita were renewing their many years long rivalry, with Lita spilling the beans to WWE.com that Trish was soon to hang up her boots and retire. The announcement caught many by surprise, but whether they experienced shock or sadness upon hearing the news of Trish’s impending retirement, the common denominators in all reflections on Trish Stratus were that of admiration and respect.
There wasn’t any challenge that Trish didn’t take on and she always strived to push herself to the absolute limit. Whether you loved her or hated her, she is undeniably one of the most decorated women in wrestling history.
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She would cut herself another slice of wrestling history on September 17, 2006 at Unforgiven, when she forced Lita to tap out to fellow Canadian Bret Hart’s signature submission move, the Sharpshooter, in front of her hometown crowd of Toronto, Canada. In doing so, she won the Women’s Championship a record-breaking seventh time (holding the title for a whopping 878 days across all of her title reigns) and went out at the top of her game.
It was a genuine, well-deserved, fairy-tale ending for a woman who forced the WWE to take notice of their female competitors and helped lead to a renewed interest in their division.
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