Facts About Trish Stratus Only Hardcore Fans Will Know
Trish Stratus has found success both inside and outside the ring. Making her WWF debut in 2000, Trish started as a manager before quickly finding herself competing in a wrestling ring. Stratus began to show that, despite being a beautiful fitness model, she was as tough as they come between the ropes. Trish, her friend Lita, and a few other female wrestlers at the time helped bring more legitimacy to women's wrestling in the early 2000s.
Trish had her official final match from WWE at Unforgiven 2006. However, she did return for one more match alongside her friend Lita at the WWE Evolution pay-per-view in 2018. Since then, Trish has had sporadic appearances in the world of wrestling — competing more than 10 times since her official retirement — but she keeps herself plenty busy. Trish works hard running a yoga studio, appearing in television and movies, and helping out with a variety of charities worldwide. Trish has appeared in so many different types of entertainment outlets that it is no surprise that many facts about her career are unknown.
Trish originally wanted to be a doctor
Trish Stratus did not see herself becoming a wrestler when she grew up. Stratus went to York University, where, as a pre-med student, she studied biology and kinesiology. Along with a passion for science, she also loved playing sports in college. In fact, sports made Trish realize she loved helping people. In high school, Trish was a top athlete, so after practice she would run extra skills practice with kids who wanted to improve.
This "wanting to help people" mentality made Trish realize she wanted to go into a field where she could use her nurturing abilities. In an interview with Canadian Health & Lifestyle (via trishstratus.com), Trish talked about finding this path: "My nature is to help people out of their shell and get them inspired. As a doctor, I could help people get healthy." Of course, becoming a doctor did not become a reality. Due to an unforeseen strike on campus, Stratus never found her way into a doctor's office, but rather a wrestling ring instead.
A university faculty strike brought her to wrestling
In 1997, Trish Stratus was chipping away at her college education at York University in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. During this year, the faculty of York University were unhappy with their current lot in the higher education system. This led to a faculty walk out across the campus and halted Trish's progress toward a degree. Stratus did an interview with The Toronto Sun (via Slam!) where she talked about the feeling she had during this time, "I was studying biology and kinesiology in 1997 and, as many will remember, York went on strike that year and I had the 'Oh, my God, what do I do now?' feeling." She got an opportunity to go the route of a fitness model. This route led her to a Canadian TV show, "Off The Record," appearing with some wrestling special guests.
Trish's appearance on "Off The Record" led to the WWF noticing her and eventually signing her in November of 1999. She made her official television debut in March of 2000. It is hard to say whether Trish would have ever found herself in the wrestling business without a major faculty strike at York University, but Trish says it was the perfect fit. She was a tomboy growing up and would watch wrestling religiously, making Stratus a good fit for this newly discovered role.
Working as a gym receptionist led to her first big break
While in college, Trish worked as a receptionist at a local gym. Shortly after the York University staff went on strike, the publisher of Muscle Mag approached her while she was working at the gym. He asked Trish if she would be interested in doing a photo shoot for the magazine. Trish had never modeled before, but she was always up for a challenge. Over the next six months, Trish began a rigorous workout schedule to transform her body for the magazine shoot.
In an interview with The Toronto Sun (via Slam!) Stratus talked about how her studies in the classroom were relevant to her new fitness journey: "I got to use the theory I'd been learning about at university and apply it to myself. I took my body and moulded it." Trish began to appear on numerous fitness magazine covers and continued her workout regimen. After a lot of success in the fitness modeling world, Trish's studies to be a doctor were officially on the backburner.
Trish married her high school sweetheart
In high school, Trish Stratus met her future husband, Ron Fisico. In an interview with WWE.com, Trish talks fondly about Ron motivating her in the wrestling business: "He's the most supportive guy, and he's the reason why I stuck with the business for that long. He kept my head up, kept me grounded." The two were together for 14 years before they decided to officially tie the knot. On September 30th, 2006, the two had their grand wedding ceremony. The wedding was covered by the entertainment media in Canada and a few other WWE wrestlers were in attendance.
Trish Stratus had made a name for herself in the past appearing on multiple magazine covers and her wedding day was no different. Trish Stratus and her wedding gown were featured on Today's Bride magazine, one of Canada's top bridal publications. The newlyweds had planned to move into their new Toronto-area home and go on a romantic honeymoon. However, those plans changed when Trish Stratus received a call from Hollywood asking if she wanted to appear in a new CBS show.
Trish starred in the CBS show Armed & Famous
In 2006, the CBS network was beginning to hash out the idea of a show called "Armed & Famous," where celebrities would train to become reserve officers for the Muncie Indiana Police Force. Months prior to Trish's wedding, Paul Heyman had mentioned to CBS executives that Stratus would be a great fit for the show. Once the project got the green light, Trish was brought to Muncie, Indiana to start training, putting her post wedding plans on hold. Trish talked with WWE.com about how intense the first days of this new project was: "We did everything that real police officer training would consist of. We were sworn in, got badges, got guns, got uniformed up and went on this crazy schedule."
Trish Stratus, along with the other celebrities on the show, worked a grueling 6 pm to 2 am shift with the police force, and did producer interviews and taped segments outside of their shift time. Trish mentions that the tiring WWE schedule helped her train for the long schedule that "Armed & Famous" required from her. Unfortunately, "Armed & Famous" was cancelled after four episodes, but this adventure gave Trish Stratus her first taste of the Hollywood spotlight outside of wrestling.
Trish used to guest host on Live Audio Wrestling
Growing up near the Maple Leaf Garden in Toronto, Trish attended many wrestling shows because it was easily accessible. In an interview with The Layfield Report (via trishstratus.com), Trish mentions that wrestling is more mainstream now, but back in this time "watching wrestling wasn't too cool." Trish regularly listened to "Live Audio Wrestling" or "The LAW," a sports radio show with a group of guys who loved to talk about wrestling. Stratus would listen to "The LAW" every week, but it wasn't until she appeared on "Off The Record" that she found herself in the cohost seat.
After appearing on "Off The Record," internet rumors swirled about Vince McMahon potentially signing Stratus to a WWF contract. Trish says many different outlets reached out to her and she had nothing to tell them since the rumor wasn't true. She realized that these outlets could be used to promote her newest magazine cover for Muscle Mag, so she went on "The LAW." Trish immediately squashed the rumor and ended up chatting about wrestling for awhile. The hosts realized that Stratus knew a lot about the current product and said she could be a cohost whenever she wanted. Trish recalled her time as a cohost: "I mean, it was a show that was on at like 1:00 in the morning on this obscure radio station, but we loved it, and we had listeners, and it was a lot of fun."
Trish owns an award winning yoga studio
In 2006, Trish Stratus stopped being a full time fixture on WWE weekly television. Trish used this opportunity to explore different life ventures. In 2008, she opened her own yoga studio, Stratusphere Yoga. It is located in the heart of Vaughan, Ontario, and has the goal to spread the message of health and wellness to the area. The studio is host to multiple rooms serving different purposes — three practice rooms, a hot room, a cozy lounge, and a yoga library. In addition, there is a retail store where customers can buy Trish's official brand of "Stratusphere Living" products.
In 2009, Stratusphere Yoga won an award from Top Choice Awards for the "Top New Business," and Trish was named "Top Business Woman of the Year" in 2010. In 2013 Trish's studio won "Yoga Studio of the Year" from Top Choice Magazine and of course, it landed Trish Stratus on the cover. In 2011, Stratusphere Yoga gained worldwide popularity when the brand released its first DVD, allowing people outside of Vaughan to check out the program.
Trish declined the WrestleMania 25 Diva's Battle Royale invitation
WWE likes to bring the nostalgia during their WrestleMania broadcasts in one form or another. At WrestleMania 25, WWE hosted a Diva's Battle Royale, pitting current talent with female performers from wrestling's past. Trish Stratus was a huge staple of women's wrestling in the early 2000s, making her a front runner for a match like this. However, Trish was not part of the match when it was all said and done. After the event, Trish did an interview with SLAM! Wrestling, where she admitted that she had gotten an invite for the match, but declined due to a few reasons. Stratus mentions that she got the impression that WWE didn't really know what they wanted this match to be. This lack of direction was the major reason that Trish declined the match.
In addition, there were other underlying reasons that Trish discussed: "Actually, I wanted to stay home and watch WrestleMania for one time with my family. That was part of it." She added, "I had just made a return recently and I never want to wear out my welcome." Staying true to her word, Trish Stratus has taken her semi-retirement seriously, which is rare in wrestling — making any return or appearance from her an exciting moment.
Lita is the godmother of Trish's child
In April of 2013, two exciting things happened for Trish Stratus. First, she was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame as part of the class of 2013. Second, she announced that she was pregnant and having her baby in the fall as part of her Hall of Fame speech. The announcement went over with cheers from the audience in attendance.
Relatedly, Trish Stratus and Lita have a storied and memorable feud during their time in WWE and helped elevate women's wrestling. Trish and Lita are actually, great friends despite some past storylines telling otherwise. Due to their great friendship, Trish made Lita the godmother of her son. In an interview with WWE.com, Trish was asked if she thought all this wresting influence would bring her child into the ring one day, to which she responded, "Whatever he or she would like to do, I will support just as I was supported by my family."
Trish was the youngest woman inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame
The WWE Hall of Fame class of 2013 included one of the most influential women in wrestling, Trish Stratus. Prior to the event, Trish Stratus and Stephanie McMahon exchanged tweets, with Trish asking Stephanie to do the honors of inducting her into the Hall of Fame. Stephanie responded with, "@trishstratuscom: Yes!!! It would be my pleasure to induct one of the greatest Divas of all time in to the #WWEHOF #overwhelmed #honored"
When Trish Stratus was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2013, she was the youngest inductee to accept the honor. This went to show how much Trish had accomplished in the wrestling business in such a short amount of time.
It wasn't until 2017 when Beth Phoenix took the spot of being the new youngest inductee into the WWE Hall of Fame. Trish was 37 years old when she was inducted in 2013, getting narrowly beat by Phoenix, who was only 36 at the time.
Trish starred in the WWE film: Bail Enforcers
Trish Stratus got her first major role outside of the wrestling ring when she starred in the show "Armed & Famous" in 2006. It wasn't until five years later that Trish found herself in a different kind of spotlight once again. In April of 2011, Trish had a lot on her plate – she had recently made a return to the WWE and was starring on their reality TV show, "Tough Enough." In addition, Trish had a starring role in the WWE film, "Bail Enforcers," which was later released under the title, "Bounty Hunters."
The premise of the movie has a group of bounty hunters fighting off "underworld assassins" who have either skipped bail or had a bounty on their heads. Trish starred as one of the bounty hunters and the movie starts off in an appealing way with Trish kicking some serious assassin butt. Due to the generic plot and lack of exposure, the movie's audience reviews were less than stellar. Although "Bail Enforcers" looked like a B-movie at times, this was the first time that Trish Stratus had gotten her feet wet in the movie business, opening the door to her future acting roles in "Gridlocked" and "Christmas in the Rockies."
Charity work in a passion for Trish Stratus
Trish Stratus uses her yoga studio, Stratusphere Yoga, as an outlet to help people in her local community. However, Trish doesn't stop there. Over the years, Stratus has been heavily involved in a variety of major charities such as Ronald McDonald House and Dreams Take Flight. She has been a huge part of the Sports Celebrity Festival where she has been a vocal advocate for the Special Olympics, stating that "The Special Olympics are a great way to show the world how phenomenal these kids are. I'm honored to be a part of it."
On March 29th, 2009, Trish used her celebrity status to help raise money for Dignitas International, a global AIDS organization. Trish joined a celebrity relay team alongside "Bachelor" contestant Andy Baldwin to make this event a success. Trish Stratus continues to use her name recognition to help those in her community, along with any charity where she is passionate about the cause.
Trish drove herself to get emergency appendix surgery
Trish Stratus has proved time and time again that she is tough both inside and outside the ring. On September 18th, 2022, Stratus began to feel a nagging pain in her lower right side and assumed she was just having cramps. It ended up being a lot more serious than that. As the pain worsened, Trish drove herself to the nearby emergency room where she found out her appendix was about to burst. In an Instagram post, Trish nonchalantly talked about the potential ramifications if it had burst, saying it "can be really bad if it happens and like cause death and stuff so I'm really glad I went to check it out, you know to avoid the whole dying thing."
She advised her followers to "listen to your body" and admitted she consulted "Dr. Google" which told her that appendix pain would be more in her abdomen. This broad advice was why it took her so long to get it checked out. Trish capped off her Instagram post by mentioning the surgery was a success in a calm and collected manner, "Got 3 new scars to add to my body badges and one less organ ... recovery hasn't been too bad so far, definitely manageable. Just wanted to check in!"