WINC Watchlist: Trish Stratus' Greatest Matches

To this day, Trish Stratus is widely regarded as one of the most influential women's stars in professional wrestling history, as she played a major role in the WWE women's division being taken more seriously. Throughout the mid-2000s, Stratus proved that she could be just as athletic and skilled as the men on the roster, and eventually earned the opportunity to be featured in major storylines and marquee matches, instead of allowing management to continue to book her in "Bra and Panties" bouts or undermining feuds. Eventually, Stratus' hard work paid off, with her efforts during the Ruthless Aggression Era paving the way for the current generation of women's wrestlers, who now main event weekly shows and Premium Live Events on a regular basis.

Seven WWE Women's Championships later, Stratus would be inducted into the WWE Hall Of Fame in 2013, and would return to the company five years later for a short stint before her most recent run from 2023-2025. As we continue to honor Women's History Month, the following are our picks for the five best matches of Stratus' career, all of which impressed in the ring but had an impact on the industry as a whole.

The first-ever women's match to main event "WWE Raw" couldn't have featured two better competitors than Stratus and Lita, who were determined to deliver in the spot they were given on the night of December 6, 2004. Coming into the match, Stratus had just eclipsed 170 days as WWE Women's Champion as one of the company's top heels, and in just seven minutes, she was able to give Lita the most memorable win of her career.

Knowing they only had limited time to work with, both Stratus and Lita focused on executing fast-paced action while not shying away from putting together a hard-hitting matchup. Due to the hot start, the audience in attendance were invested from the opening bell, and they only continued to get louder with every near fall and counter, with many wanting to see Lita dethrone Stratus. That said, the unforgettable moment of Lita being crowned the new WWE Women's Champion doesn't happen without Stratus' excellent character work as a heel, having purposely shown her frustration in being unable to outsmart her opponent.  

Whether it's the incredible atmosphere, Stratus' iconic pink striped attire, or Lita's final Moonsault before winning the title, the first women's main event on "Raw" continues to be remembered for being a true representation of what women could accomplish when given an opportunity to shine when the lights are the brightest.

Although Stratus versus Mickie James at WrestleMania 22 isn't best known for its in-ring quality, it's easily become one of the most memorable women's matches at "The Grandest Stage Of Them All," but also an important championship bout in the history of women's wrestling.

WrestleMania 22 was the conclusion to a terrific storyline that unfolded between both women, with James bursting onto the scene as the newest member of the women's division, but being an obsessed Stratus superfan. Eventually, the two would become friends, but James' obsession with Stratus went too far, especially when she started to be affectionate towards her, leading Trish to put an end to their friendship. Shortly thereafter, James' character took a dark turn, having become Stratus' stalker and psychologically tormenting her for weeks until WrestleMania, where she ultimately defeated her idol for the WWE Women's Championship.

To this day, nobody can forget the crazed look on James' face at the top of the entrance ramp after winning the gold, along with Jim Ross iconically yelling "The nutjob has won the title" at the end of the match. Most importantly, James was surprisingly cheered by the Chicago crowd despite being the heel in the match, which is an indicator of how well the story was told between both competitors, the strength of Mickie in her role, and Stratus' ability to build a new star. 

Following their historic "Raw" main event in 2004, Stratus and Lita mostly continued to feud against each other in tag team action, but they had another opportunity to go one-on-one with each other two years later at Unforgiven 2006 in Trish's hometown of Toronto, Canada, which was originally billed as her retirement match.

This time around, the roles were reversed as Lita entered the match as the heel, while the Stratus walked into Toronto with "Thank You Trish" chants ringing throughout the Air Canada Centre. Additionally, both women were given more time to work with compared to many of their previous battles, and they used it to showcase the chemistry they've had for years in order to capitalize on the drama of Stratus' retirement. With it being public knowledge that Stratus was leaving WWE after Unforgiven, many questioned if she would lose her last match, but the Canadian icon would instead tap out Lita using the Sharpshooter, which created one of the best moments of her career when the Toronto crowd erupted as she locked in the submission move and won the title.

The match marked Stratus' seventh WWE Women's Championship victory, which broke her own previous record of six title reigns and was the most of any women's competitor in WWE until Charlotte Flair surpassed that total 13 years later. 

When Stratus returned to professional wrestling in 2019, her clash with Flair at SummerSlam was not only going to be her first singles match in eight years, but was intended to be her official retirement match, with a major event once again taking place in her hometown of Toronto, Canada. As we know, Stratus would return to WWE four years later for a longer part-time run, but it doesn't stop her match with Flair at SummerSlam from being one of the most impressive performances of her career.

For somebody who hadn't wrestled a singles match in almost a decade, Stratus was surprisingly quick, was willing to take bumps, pulled out her signature moves, and ultimately proved she could hang with "The Queen." It also doesn't hurt that she was working with Flair, who was still in the prime of her career and did a stellar job making sure Stratus looked strong in her return to the ring. Specifically, Flair brilliantly sold her own move, the Figure Eight, as well as Stratusfaction, which led the Toronto native to look as threatening as she was in the mid 2000s.

After a series of back-and-forth chops and near falls, Flair would secure the victory by tapping out Stratus in the Figure Eight, and though she didn't permanently retire, Trish was met with a thunderous ovation from the audience in attendance after the match, which is still one of the most unforgettable moments from the event today.

Stratus' nearly six-month-long feud with Becky Lynch in 2023 concluded at Payback, where the Canadian star would step inside a Steel Cage at 47 years old. After defeating Damage CTRL together at WrestleMania 39, Lynch and Stratus had an opportunity to win the WWE Women's Tag Team Championships on the "Raw" that followed the event, but failed to secure the win against Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez. Immediately after the match, Stratus turned heel and betrayed Lynch, which set up a summer feud between both women.

Stratus initially overcame Lynch at Night Of Champions, but their rivalry reached a boiling point once Payback arrived in September, and the strong build to the match resulted in one of the best outings of Trish's career. Although their first singles match together was respectable, Stratus truly turned back the clock at Payback, having been able to keep up with Lynch in the cage, and was unafraid to take some risks. Along with hitting a Bulldog from the top rope and kicking out of a suplex off the top of the cage, Stratus would survive Lynch's offence before eating a Manhandle Slam after 20 minutes of drama.

Stratus returned as a babyface at the beginning of 2025 and teamed with Tiffany Stratton at the Elimination Chamber before going one-on-one with her at Evolution. However, neither match came close to the work she did with Lynch in the summer of 2023, with Payback being the highlight of the last six years of her WWE career.