Trish Stratus Discusses The Importance Of Fit Finlay In Changing Perceptions Of Women's Wrestling

Trish Stratus started her WWE career as a valet and was later one of the Divas that trained under Fit Finlay when he was assigned to be the agent of WWE's women's division. Never a fan of catfights, Stratus wanted to do more, and along with Finlay, took it as a challenge to make the catfights be more than what was expected. 

"So we were like, 'Yeah they want us to have a catfight, maybe we're not going to pull the hair and slap, maybe we'll chop and punch instead,'" stated Stratus on the "Getting Over" podcast.

Believed to have been a rib from someone in the company, Finlay was determined to make the women respected as wrestlers and athletes rather than just eye candy. "The lucky thing for us, at the time, we were so under the radar, really no one was paying attention to us," Stratus said. "So we took it upon ourselves to use that to our advantage and just start having these legit matches and start putting together some good stuff that fans suddenly went from chanting, ”We want puppies' to 'holy s***, this is real action.'"

The turning point, according to Stratus, was a conversation she had with Vince McMahon during a WWE live event. At the time, Stratus was working a program with Jazz, and the company would poll the first few rows of fans by asking them to list their top three matches. Stratus recalled McMahon pulling her aside and saying, "So you and Jazz have been listed as the top three matches for many weeks in a row. Keep it up." 

If you use any quotes from this article, please credit "Getting Over" podcast with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.