Torrie Wilson Looks Back On 'Cringe' Aspects Of WWE Career, Where She Drew The Line

At the height of her career with WWE, Torrie Wilson was considered to be the face of the Divas Division, carving out a place for women amongst the men of the promotion. However, at first, there was very little wrestling to be had, and while Wilson was never considered a performer, she was involved in several segments that the WWE Hall of Famer now looks back on and calls 'cringe.'

"I don't really have regrets in life, even the things I would really...not prefer to remember," Wilson said during an interview on "The Ariel Helwani Show" when asked if she actually regrets anything about WWE. "Outside of wrestling/inside of wrestling, it's all a lesson, you know? There are times that I look back and I think 'Gosh, it's so cringe...You know, the whole sex appeal stuff was so much, and at that age I was really trying to come to terms with being, like, this sex symbol."

Wilson then added that she always felt like the 'biggest dork in the room' despite how WWE portrayed her, which she added was a sentiment her ex-husband shared, though she also felt the role helped her become more confident with her sexuality.

In the past, Torrie Wilson has claimed that she usually experienced anxiety about putting herself out there as the face of the Divas Division, and further opened about her journey overcoming it in the interview. "There was a high to it when I came back out the curtain afterwards, but no matter what I was doing...being in a bikini was actually just as stressful as having a match, for me," she claimed, adding how the stress from bikini segments were a different kind of stress, as she felt that people were critiquing every little imperfection she had. "Thank God there was no cell phone coverage back then!"

"One of the biggest lessons that I learned from being in wrestling was that even if you're full of fear, if you just push through that, and do it anyway, you can do it!" Wilson added, noting how it's a common experience to just push things away when you're afraid, which was something she had to deal with even in WCW. "The opportunity to be in the wrestling world came, you know, out of just really luck for me, and I took that opportunity and just kind of ran with it." At the same time, Wilson admitted that she never thought she'd end up being as prominent in wrestling as she ended up being, but it ultimately became a fun addiction and a big fear to her despite the anxiety that came with it.

Torrie Wilson continued to open up about her ordeal with anxiety, and claimed that she often had to envision someone pushing her out of the curtain before she could actually step out. "I learned that you either got to own it, or you're gonna be meek and look weird and the fans are totally going to call you out on that," she said. However, there were some places where Wilson drew the line. "The Judgment Day pay-per-view bikini contest against Sable," she recalled. "Originally, Vince wanted me to do the hand-paint on my boobs like Sable had done in the past, and I didn't' feel comfortable doing that."

Wilson, however, suggested another angle that was hardly less risqué but still something she felt more comfortable with. "Looking back, I see myself – I've only seen myself in a thong bikini a few times out in front of the crowd – and those times really do kind of make me cringe," she further recalled. "Sometimes you can see kids in the crowd and it just feels like 'this is wrong!'"

If you use any quotes from this article, please credit "The Ariel Helwani Show" and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.