Tiffany Stratton Recalls Her WWE Origin

Way before WWE was running on "Tiffy Time," Tiffany Stratton was soaring with the greatest of ease as a gymnast. However, it was one future opponent of hers that would inspire her desire to eventually become a WWE Superstar.

"I was a gymnast my entire life. But I had saw a '[WWE] SmackDown,' I believe it was on TV. I was with my family...It was Charlotte Flair on the screen, and my mother was like, 'I think you'd be so good at that. Look, you're doing everything she's doing like on the trampoline. Like, you could easily do that in the ring,'" the current Women's United States Champion recounted on "A Shot of Brandi" with Brandi Rhodes. "And I'm like, 'Yeah, whatever mom.' And then, time passes, I quit gymnastics. I go into CrossFit, 'cause I felt like I needed to fulfill that competitive side of me...It was super fun and I got super jacked and super strong...And then I decided to try out wrestling."

It was during the COVID-19 pandemic when Stratton took a shine towards the squared circle, as she noted the rise of its popularity was increasing rapidly online. That said, she was determined to submit her credentials (countless times, she added) to the WWE. With no immediate responses, Stratton refused to give up on his newfound dream. So, with the help of her mom, she was able to get in contact with a well-admired family in the wrestling business and Minnesota residents like herself, the Gagne's.

"My mother had a contact with Greg Gagne...and I'm sure at first he was like, 'Who is this really weird girl? Like why is she texting me about her daughter?' Stratton chuckled. "And then, he kind of got on the phone with us, and then agreed to train me. Then I trained at Mr. Kennedy's pro wrestling school in Minneapolis. And then, I finally got invited to the tryout and COVID happened...And then, I go to the tryout. They fly us all out there. And then, they tell us we have to get flown home the same day because they gotta host '[WWE] Raw' and 'SmackDown' the same day there at the Performance Center."

Then, on August 30, 2021, towards the tail end of COVID, Stratton would officially become the newest member of the WWE roster. Starting off on the now defunct "WWE 205 Live," her career propelled faster than the hands on any clock could keep up with, as she became the NXT Women's Champion, the 2024 Women's Money in the Bank recipient, the former Women's Champion (the longest one-time reign in company history at 302 days), and now, the Women's United States Champion, in her first reign.

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit "A Shot of Brandi w/Brandi Rhodes" with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.