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WWE Hall of Famer Trish Stratus recently talked to Huffington Post’s Pollo Del Mar while promoting her new film “Gridlocked”, which will finally premiere this weekend at the Fantastic Fest in Austin, Texas.
Trish stars as Gina, the lone female among law enforcement agents working to secure a police training facility under attack from a band of mercenaries. Stratus talks about her character Gina, how she drew from her experience as a wrestler, how her generation changed the fans’ perception of women’s wrestling, and much more. The full interview is at this link. Below are some highlights:
On her Gridlocked character vs WWE:
Trish says the environment her character is in the movie is reminiscent of her days in the WWE. She plays a female who’s trying to make her mark in a male-dominated world. She’s proven herself through her work and earned her spot in the boy’s club. The former Diva’s champion says Gina is as close it can get to the Trish Stratus character. A strong-willed female who kicks some serious ass.
“I play a female who’s trying to make her mark in a male-dominated world. She’s proven herself, and through her work, she’s earned her spot in the boy’s club. The environment she is in is very much like with my wrestling days, very much like my [WWE] Trish Stratus character. [laughs] A strong-willed female who kicks some serious ass — sounds familiar, right?”
On when fans started to her and other Divas as more than eye candies:
Trish remembers an instance when she and Victoria coming back to the dressing room one night and were excited the crowd resorted to ‘Holy shit’ chants, rather than ‘puppies’. She believes it was a sign that they were giving the fans a brand of action not expected from the women. It compelled the fans to take women’s matches seriously.
“I remember Victoria and I coming back to the dressing room one night and were excited that we had ‘Holy shit’ chants, rather than chants for ‘puppies’, a sign that the fans were taking our matches seriously and we were giving them action not expected from the women.”
On the WWE Divas division during her prime:
Giving credit to her female colleagues she was working with at that time, Trish says the women she she was working with at that time were just phenomenal. She feels privileged that she had the chance to develop the crowd’s interest in women’s wrestling organically. She says it gave her the chance to reeducate the fans on what to expect from women in the ring and were appreciated for the athleticism they brought into their performances.
“We had the chance to develop the crowd’s interest in women’s wrestling organically. The women I was working with at the time were just phenomenal. During that time, we had to reeducate the fans on what to expect from women in the ring. It was a very special time where we were appreciated for the athleticism we brought to our performances.”
