When Zoey Stark turned on Trish Stratus at the end of her crushing loss to Becky Lynch in a Cage match at Payback, it felt like “The Goat” was gearing up with a feud against her former protege.
On paper, it made sense, right? The duo spent months working together, with Stark serving as Stratus' heater and Lynch's worst nightmare in the lead-up to their final showdown, and yet, after a relatively minor disagreement, they were going to split up, with the former NXT standout being elevated in a pairing with Shayna Baszler while her mentor was left on the sidelines. Give Stratus a face turn and let her get some cheers and she punts Starks back to the bottom of the card, right?
And yet, fast forward to March of 2024 so far, it just hasn't happened, with Stratus opting to pursue options outside of the ring instead of returning to WWE in any major capacity.
Is Stratus done? Is she re-retiring once more, or is this all part of some larger plan for future appearances? Discussing her future on Gorilla Position, Stratus discussed her plans for the future, even if she doesn't exactly know what the future holds moving forward.
“I don't know. It's a tough one. Since I left, retired in 2006, I always said, ‘Look, number one, if I knew I could come back and do something fans would love, it could challenge me, and it would check some boxes, you know, elevating someone, working with some new talent, doing something that hasn't been done before, I would come back,” Trish Stratus told Gorilla Position via Wrestling Inc.
“And if I watched my matches back and I was like, ‘Uh, moving slow, it's not happening,' because you never know until you're back in the ring, believe me. There was a moment where I'd watch, and I was like, ‘Can I still do this?' Because you can do your own practicing and you can do your own runs at home, but until you get into the ring and do it out there, it's a big different story.
“If I say I go back and stuff, it needs to be for something really great. It needs to be a really great story. I'm all about story, I'm all about character forwarding, and so if it's a great story that we can put forth, it's something I certainly would approach. And I know I do have enough gas in the tank, so that's good to go, I can check that box. It depends on who would be presented to me creatively.”
What does the future hold for Stratus, who is somehow only 48 years old? Only time will tell but after her last return went over like gangbusters, it's safe to say plenty of fans would be happy to see her return in the future in whatever capacity makes sense.
Trish Stratus recalls her experiences with Ronda Rousey.
Elsewhere on her pre-WrestleMania media tour, Trish Stratus discussed her relationship with Ronda Rousey, the UFC legend-turned-WWE star who is currently focusing on her family after having a cup of coffee in Ring of Honor for a match against Athena and Billie Starkz on Full Gear weekend in Los Angeles.
Discussing her experience with Rousey in an interview with talkSport, Stratus put the former SmackDown Champion over for her willingness to learn a new sort, as the process is anything but easy.
“She did such a great job and probably doesn't get enough credit for what she did. To be able to come over to an entirely new industry… it's not the same. Did she feel like it didn't translate when she did her wrestling? Absolutely it did, she had stellar matches with stellar athletes and had her own style. She brought over the fan base and brought so much to our product, it was great,” Trish Stratus told talkSport.
“I remember when we first met and I was like, ‘This is so cool, it's Ronda Rousey!' I was just in awe of her, it takes a lot of guts to come over [from UFC to WWE] and put all your eggs in this basket, and she did that. I think she translated quite well, and I wanted to tell her, but she fangirled and that was cool because I didn't expect that! I was happy to know she was a fan growing up and I loved that she got to make the decision to get to the top of the business, then take a break to have a baby and do that side. This is an amazing career, but there's also life, right? You have to think about that, too.”
You know, Stratus actually makes a pretty good point, as Rousey drew a ton of eyes to WWE at a time when the promotion wasn't nearly as hot as it is now all the whole learning a very different sport practically on the fly. Even if she still isn't a fan favorite now, it's safe to say history will look back favorably on her in the future.
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