Trish Stratus

Biography

Patricia Anne Stratigeas (; born December 18, 1975), better known by the ring name Trish Stratus, is a Canadian professional wrestler, yoga instructor, actress and former fitness model. She is signed to WWE. Stratus's 448-day reign as WWF/WWE Women's Champion stands as the longest reign of any women's world champion in the 21st century. Initially studying at York University to become a doctor, Stratus began her career as a fitness model. She began working for the World Wrestling Federation (WWF; later renamed to World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE)) in 2000. Early in her career, she was mostly involved in sexually themed storylines, such as managing the team T & A and a kayfabe affair with WWE owner Vince McMahon. As Stratus's popularity increased due to receiving more in-ring experience, she was made a one-time WWE Hardcore Champion, three-time "WWE Babe of the Year", and was proclaimed "Diva of the Decade". After nearly seven years in WWE, Stratus retired from professional wrestling on a full-time basis at WWE Unforgiven on September 17, 2006, after winning her record seventh WWE Women's Championship. She became an inductee of the 2013 WWE Hall of Fame. Following her initial retirement from full-time performing, she has since made part-time WWE appearances. On Raw, she made sporadic tag-team match appearances between 2008 and 2011, including a mixed six-person tag team match at WrestleMania XXVII. In 2018, she returned to WWE to participate in the promotion's first Women's Royal Rumble and later competed at the all-female Evolution event in October of that year. She then wrestled Charlotte Flair in her first singles match on pay-per-view since her initial full-time retirement at SummerSlam 2019. In 2023, Stratus appeared in a six-woman tag team match at WrestleMania 39, after which she returned as a full-time member of the roster up until September of that year. She then took a hiatus and returned in February 2025 at the Royal Rumble. Aside from professional wrestling, Stratus has appeared on a number of magazine covers and has been involved in charity work. She appeared as a judge on WWE Tough Enough in 2011, where she also had her first role in film as the main character in Bail Enforcers. She has also hosted several award and television shows and formerly owned a yoga studio. From 2022 to 2024, Stratus was featured as a judge on Canada's Got Talent.

== Early life == Stratus was born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and attended Bayview Secondary School in Richmond Hill, Ontario. Stratigeas is of Greek and Polish descent and is the eldest daughter of John and Alice Stratigeas. Her younger sisters are named Christie and Melissa. She enrolled at York University, where she studied biology and kinesiology and played soccer and field hockey. Due to a faculty strike in 1997, she was forced to change her plans. She was working as a receptionist at a local gym when she was approached by the publisher of MuscleMag International to do a test shoot for the magazine. She later appeared on the cover of the May 1998 issue and was signed to a two-year contract. For the next six months, she worked on her body and appeared on numerous magazine covers. During this time, she joined Big Daddy Donnie and Jeff Marek as the third host of Live Audio Wrestling on Toronto Sports Radio, The FAN 590. Stratus had been a fan of wrestling since childhood and was especially fond of wrestlers Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage, among others. Her modelling work caught the attention of the World Wrestling Federation (WWF). In November 1999, she was signed to a multi-year contract with the company, who sent her to Sully's Gym where she was trained by Ron Hutchison.

== Professional wrestling career ==

=== World Wrestling Entertainment/WWE (2000–present) ===

==== T & A (2000–2001) ==== Stratus made her debut as a heel on the March 19, 2000, episode of Sunday Night Heat under the ring name Trish Stratus. She appeared on stage to scout Test and Prince Albert. The next night on Raw Is War, Test and Albert joined forces as the tag team T & A and Stratus began her first role in the company as their valet. It was during her stint managing T & A that Stratus took her first major bump in the ring, by being driven through a table by the Dudley Boyz at Backlash, after she had been taunting Bubba Ray Dudley for several weeks. In June, she was on the receiving end of a stinkface from Rikishi on Raw.

She also began managing then-heel, Val Venis to win the WWE Intercontinental Championship, but their partnership ended at SummerSlam after Venis lost the title. Stratus made her in-ring debut on the June 22 episode of SmackDown!, winning a tag team match with T & A against the Hardy Boyz and Lita. A storyline feud between Stratus and Lita developed after the match with Stratus attacking Lita on episodes of Raw and SmackDown!. This led to an Indian Strap match between the two women on the July 24 episode of Raw, which Stratus won with help from Stephanie McMahon. She finished the year competing unsuccessfully for the WWF Women's Championship numerous times, and separating from Test and Albert when the team disbanded. In early 2001, Stratus became involved in an angle with WWF Chairman Vince McMahon, during a time when Vince's wife Linda was kayfabe institutionalized following a demand Vince had made for a divorce during an episode of SmackDown!. Vince and Stratus' relationship increasingly angered the boss' daughter, then-heel, Stephanie McMahon. On the February 19 episode of Raw, Stephanie and Trish were scheduled for a match, but it quickly got cancelled due to Stephanie getting stunned by Steve Austin. At No Way Out, Stratus and Stephanie squared off, with Stephanie scoring the victory after a run-in by William Regal. In the midst of a tag team match that pitted Vince and Stratus against Regal and Stephanie the next night on Raw, Stratus was the victim of a set-up by Vince, Stephanie and Regal. Regal executed his finisher, the Regal Cutter, on Stratus and Stephanie then dumped slop over Stratus' body. Vince stood over Stratus and he told her she was a "toy" with which he had "grown tired of playing with". The angle continued the next week on Raw in controversial fashion, with Vince humiliating Stratus, forcing her to strip down to her black bra and panties in the ring and bark like a dog while crying. The storyline came to an end at WrestleMania X-Seven, when Stratus slapped Vince during his match against his son Shane, turning face in the process.

==== Women's Champion (2001–2003) ====

Following her first face turn, Stratus began wrestling part-time. She teamed up with Lita against then-heels, Stacy Keibler and Torrie Wilson at Invasion. After suffering an ankle injury in the summer, however, she was sidelined for the following three months. This interrupted not only her recent venture into wrestling, but also an on-screen romance with Jeff Hardy and budding storyline with Team Xtreme. As she rehabilitated, she kept herself visible by co-hosting Excess on TNN. After returning in autumn, Stratus appeared at Survivor Series where she won the WWF Women's Championship for the first time in a six-pack challenge. Stratus was next involved in a feud with Jazz over the Women's Championship, where on the January 17, 2002, episode of SmackDown! Jazz attacked Stratus backstage and broke her hand. Stratus overcame the injury and retained the championship at the Royal Rumble. On the January 22 episode of SmackDown!, Stratus defeated Jazz via disqualification after Jazz relentlessly attacked Stratus's injured hand and left her laid out in the ring. Stratus eventually dropped the championship to Jazz in convincing fashion on the February 4, 2002, episode of Raw. Stratus then attempted to regain the title for several months, including competing in a triple threat match at WrestleMania X8 against Lita and Jazz in her hometown of Toronto, but failed to win the match. While chasing after the Women's Championship, Stratus won the WWE Hardcore Championship on May 6, pinning Crash Holly after Bubba Ray Dudley hit him over the head with a trash can. She lost the title to Steven Richards soon afterward however, due to the stipulation that the belt was to be defended 24/7 as long as there was a referee present. One week later, she won the Women's Championship for the second time in a tag team match with Bubba Ray Dudley where she faced Richards and Jazz, where the Hardcore Championship was also on the line. Stratus landed a hard metal trash can shot to Jazz's head, which badly weakened her and allowed Stratus to win easily. During this time, Stratus began wrestling solely on the Raw brand after being drafted in the WWF Brand Extension. Stratus' second reign as champion came to an end on June 23, when she was defeated at King of the Ring by Molly Holly. The two Divas continued their storyline feud for the next three months. After a failed attempt to win the title in July, Stratus won the championship for the third time at Unforgiven. While feuding with Holly, Stratus was also involved in an angle with new Diva Victoria, who held a storyline grudge against Stratus, claiming she was betrayed by Stratus when they both worked as fitness models. The two competed in several title matches, the first taking place on the September 30 episode of Raw, which saw Stratus win via disqualification after being knocked unconscious from a chair shot from Victoria. Stratus would again retain the championship against Victoria at No Mercy, before ultimately dropping it at Survivor Series, where Victoria won the title in a Hardcore match. Stratus attempted to regain the title from Victoria on the November 25 episode of Raw, but was defeated. Stratus and Victoria took part in the main event of the December 9, 2002, edition of Raw where they were in an intergender Tables match, with Stratus teaming with The Dudley Boyz and Victoria teaming with Chris Jericho and Christian; the match ended in victory for Team Stratus when she Powerbombed Victoria through a table. Stratus once again unsuccessfully challenged for the title at Armageddon in a triple threat match also featuring Jacqueline. On the January 27, 2003, episode of Raw, Stratus was once again unsuccessful in challenging Victoria for the championship, this time in a Chicago street fight. Immediately after this defeat, Stratus was beaten down and destroyed further in a brutal attack by the returning Jazz. On March 17, 2003, Victoria and Steven Richards defeated Jazz and Stratus in a tag team match when Jazz walked out on Stratus. After the match, Jeff Hardy saved Stratus from an attack by Victoria and Richards and then kissed her, resulting in Stratus becoming Hardy's on-screen girlfriend once more. The two would talk and kiss backstage, compete as an intergender tag team, and come to each other's aid when in danger during singles competition. At no point was their previous relationship acknowledged. The storyline was suddenly dropped when WWE released Hardy in April. This marked the second time in two years that a romance between Stratus and Hardy abruptly ended due to a setback in one of their personal lives. In neither instance did the angle fully play out or reach a conclusion. At WrestleMania XIX, Stratus ended her feud with Victoria by defeating her and Jazz to capture her fourth Women's Championship. Following WrestleMania XIX, Stratus entered a feud with Jazz following a match on the April 7 episode of Raw where Stratus defeated Jazz while Jazz's foot was on the rope. The following week on Raw, Jazz defeated Stratus cleanly via submission in a tag team match also featuring Ivory and Victoria. On the April 21 episode of Raw, Stratus was forced to team with Spike Dudley in a match against the Dudley Boyz. The match ended in a no contest after Bubba Ray Dudley destroyed Stratus, allowing Jazz to run down to the ring and hit an unconscious Stratus with a Bitchlock on to a table. Stratus would eventually lose the title to Jazz at the pay-per-view, Backlash. The Raw after Backlash, Eric Bischoff ordered a No Disqualification match between him and Stratus. If Stratus won, she would get a championship rematch the next week; if Bischoff won, he would get to spend a night with her. Bischoff would go on to win the match following interference from Jazz, though the stipulation was nullified when Linda McMahon confronted him after the match. The following week on Raw, Stratus received a rematch against Jazz for the title but was defeated. Stratus was once again unsuccessful in challenging for the title in a fatal four-way match on May 18, at Judgment Day.