Trish Stratus & Chris Jericho Once Pitched WWE Storyline So They Could Work Together

To WWE Hall of Famer Trish Stratus, what makes pro wrestling such a neat experience is putting together a compelling storyline that remains talked about for years. And for many of her storylines in the women's division, that wish was granted. Wanting to push the envelope further, Stratus ventured into intergender wrestling territory, and for the first time in WWE history, Stratus and real-life friend former WWE talent Chris Jericho, put their heads together and came up with the 2003 "Battle of the Sexes," a rivalry that featured them, as well as former talents Christian and Lita. Stratus describes the origin story behind this feud.

"Let's talk about the...Battle of the Sexes...That was contrived by us...We were just friends backstage, right, so, we were like, 'How do we work together? How can we do that?' And so, we had to put something together that would make sense for these characters to then come together," the former seven-time Women's Champion told Toronto Sun. "It made sense. And the next thing you know, we put this cool storyline [together] that to this day, is talked about."

Following Jericho and Christian's on-screen comments on trying to pursue the girls on account of winning a bet, Stratus and Lita told the guys to put their money where their lewd mouths were, and challenged them to an intergender tag team match. At Armageddon 2003, this first-ever encounter occurred. To their credit, Stratus and Lita put up a great fight; however, all it took was a pinfall from Christian onto Stratus to end their highly anticipated match. Though most thought that the rivalry had ended there, it had only just begun, with the foursome facing love, heartbreak, deceit, and violence on each other for an additional year.

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit "Toronto Sun's No Holds Barred" with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.