The Wrestlemania Debut of Trish Stratus: A Mainstream Muscle Cult Favorite

As most of you know by now, this year is the 25th anniversary of Trish Stratus being part of WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment, used to be known as the World Wrestling Federation, or WWF for short). Trish build her reputation as being one of the top female performers in WWE history, many say she is THE best female performer in WWE history and one of the best ever regardless of gender. Today marks the 25th anniversary of Wrestlemania 2000. Since we are a female muscle platform and not a pro wrestling platform, we are not going to talk about the actual Wrestlemania event but rather talk about Trish making her first-ever appearance at Wrestlemania and why it has become a favorite mainstream muscle moment amongst some fans.

As stated before, Trish made her Wrestlemania debut 25 years ago today. Now consider Trish debuted in WWE only TWO WEEKS AGO prior. You wouldn't think someone who debuted just a couple of weeks ago would make an appearance at WWE's biggest show of the year THIS early in their career, but that's exactly what happened. And the first look of Trish we get at Wrestlemania? Her famous "puppies" front and center as she escorts Test (R.I.P.) and Albert (known as T&A) for their tag team match against Steve Blackman and Al Snow (who had their mascot Chester McCheeserton (don't ask) with them) aka Head Cheese. Head Cheese entered the match first and then T and A and Trish made their way to the ring. Here's where the muscle part comes in. 

Trish powerwalked to the ring with big boss energy accompanying her team with her soon-to-be trademark cowboy hat and trench coat, but her usual outfit of a top and skirt was replaced with a silver sports bra and booty shorts, an outfit that paid tribute to her fitness modeling days and working at expos. It was pretty obvious Trish was proud of the physique she had build for the last few years as her quads kept bulging with each step she made during the team's entrance. Pretty sure she had a quick gym session or pump similar to competitors before going out there but I can’t confirm that. Trish was definitely in Quadzilla mode that night probably more than any other night in her WWE career. The muscle jiggle is ever more impressive when the entrance is slowed down. Look below and see for yourself:

Trish's physique has not completely transitioned into wrestling mode just yet so her fitness modeling look was still there, so many fans that were not familiar with Trish from her MuscleMag magazines got to see a different type of body and this no doubt contributed to her popularity amongst male fans and it wouldn't surprise me if this help contributed to a few more women hitting the weight room. These days, a physique like Trish had back then is more acceptable and widespread (Thank God) but back then it was a rarity and I believe Trish had a small role in changing the norm with it came to strong, feminine bodies. Before muscle mommies, there was the fitness models aka the muscle mommies before muscle mommies were cool. Yet another reason to say...THANK YOU TRISH! 

For more of Trish, go to https://www.trishstratus.com and don't forget to follow her on all her platforms:

Facebook

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Instagram

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TikTok

Trish Stratus…Fitness COMPETITOR?! WHY NOT?!

When it comes to popularity, Trish Stratus might be the most popular mainstream female wrestler of all time. Her popularity began due to her superhero-like body and Hollywood looks, but she maintained her popularity for not just her physique but her dedication to professional wrestling. She could have easily had a carrer in wrestling at the time based off her looks alone, but the tomboy and competitive nature in her was too great to let that happen, and women’s wrestling and wrestling as a whole is better because of it. Her success as an beautiful woman who can also kick ass in the ring and show it off paved the way for so many women with her credentials to follow suit in the wrestling world, and is still inspiring female wrestlers today. I mean, 6x WWE Women’s Champion, 1x WWE Hardcore Champion, WWE Hall of Fame, 2022 George Tragkos/Lou Thesz Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame as the first-ever female recipient of the Lou Thesz Award…we say Trish has definitely made her mark in wrestling. 

From wrestling world to fitness world: THANK YOU!
Credit: TrishStratus.com

But as much as Trish has made her mark in wrestling, she has also made her mark in the fitness world. Considered one of the First Ladies of Fitness Modeling, she (along with a group of others including Victoria Pratt, Monica Brant, and fellow WWE Hall-of-Famer Torrie Wilson) helped established a new breed of woman, showcasing that women can be strong AND sexy at the same time. Trish was (and still is) proof positive that having muscles and being feminine were NOT mutually exclusive to one another. Her arrival to the wrestling world in 2000 gave new meaning to the phrase “eye candy”. I mean, I don’t need to go into details…but some one like Trish is what you would expect from a video game or a comic book…NOT in real life, not even in wrestling. But that’s what happened. Trish brought a look that WOWed folks then and still influences folks now. I mean, folks that love ranking the hottest women in wrestling just HAPPEN to have fit and built but curvy and feminine at the top of their list. Coincidence?! We don’t think so. 

How could any woman NOT want to get in the weight room after seeing THIS?! 
Credit: WWE.com

These days, Trish is looking better than ever, putting her quarantine time last year to work and reshaping her body to what might be her strongest yet. While Trish was more about shape and SOMEWHAT size back in 2000, she seems stronger and more cut than she ever was during her WWE heydays. Her social media posts have shown that. Which begs the question…could she make it as a fitness competitor TODAY?! I think so, to be honest with you. I mean, hell, she spent over six years getting her ass kicked in the ring and kicking ass, taking various bumps along the way. I think Trish doing a physique competition would be cool for her to do, especially with how she looks as a mom of two! Now what division she would be good in? I could see two: Bikini and Wellness. If Trish is more committed to developing her lower body (and yes, the woman has amazing legs) the wellness division would be the way to go for her. If she keeps the size she has now or even adds a tiny bit more (but not much more) and hones in more on her conditioning, then bikini would be the way to go for her. If she dedicated herself to more size all over, Trish in figure wouldn’t be out of the realm for her as well. But in all reality, we see her doing bikini or maybe wellness. 

If she were to dab in a competition, we could see her doing one in late 2022 or early 2023 in her home country of Canada (even though this selfish person writing this would love to see her do it in the States, but I digress). Imagine the press she could get doing a physique competition…and the amount of people that she could inspire to get into shape, especially mothers and working women. Fitness has given Trish so much. To us, this would be a cool way for her to give back to the industry that got her discovered. 

If Trish were to do a fitness competition, we would BACK her up 100%
Credit: Trish’s social media accounts

For more on Trish, make sure to check out her Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, and her website at https://www.trishstratus.com.

Trish Stratus's 1st WWE Women's Championship: 20 Years Later

November 18, 2001

The city: Greensboro, North Carolina
The venue: Greensboro Coliseum
The event: WWE Survivor Series 2001

Survivor Series 2001 was built around the tagline of "Winner Take All". Whoever won the Survivor Series Elimination Tag Match would rule all of sports-entertainment, either WWE (then known as WWF) or The Alliance (WCW/ECW). Title matches took place during this event, with the winners securing their spot no matter which side would win the war. One of the matches was the crown a new Women's Champion. It was a Six=Pack Challenge that consisted of the following competitors: Lita, Mighty Molly, Jacqueline, Ivory, Jazz...and Trish Stratus. Off all the competitors, Trish was the least-experienced of the bunch by a landslide and at the time, folks wondered why someone who has had less than a year's experience would be in such a high profile match. To say no one had Trish walking out of Survivor Series as Women's Champion that night would be an understatement, but that's exactly what happened. Trish would debut her Stratusfaction bulldog, delivering the move to Ivory, pinning her and winning the first of six WWE Women's Championships. The talent that she would defend the title against, as well as the matter of how she defended the title and represent the company, would help make the classic WWE Women's Championship title viewed as a true title that is still respected today. Being champion also helped elevate Trish as a performer. Her elevation as a performer would pave the way for so many competitors who thought that you had to choose between either being pretty in wrestling or being taken seriously as a wrestler.

We're not going to tell you what you already know about her career, which is so much already. But the fact that Trish is STILL someone that people look up to over 20 years later and folks celebrating her first title win 20 years ago like it's a holiday says something about the impact Trish has had and still has today. Many compeittors will come and go, but Stratusfaction will be guaranteed...forever!

 To view more contributions for Trish Title Day, check out our Instagram page (https://instagram.com/fitgemsnation) as well as StratusVerse on Instagram (https://instagram.com/stratusverse). Follow Trish on the following social emdia accounts:

https://www.facebook.com/trishstratuscom

https://twitter.com/trishstratuscom

https://instagram.com/trishstratuscom

Photos belong to their respective owners.

Trish Stratus: Stratusfaction Guaranteed

March 19, 2000

The world was introduced to a woman from Toronto, Ontario, Canada that would go on to change a profession forever. Her real name is Patricia Anne Stratigias, but the world knows her better as Trish Stratus.

March 19, 2000...the night Trish Stratus graced us with her presence
Photo credit: WWE.com

Before WWE came a-knocking on her door, she was a renowned fitness model that was featured on many magazines, including American Muscle, MuscleMag International, and Oxygen Magazine. With her blonde hair, Hollywood looks, and toned figure, she had a look that emulated comic book heroines and in some ways put many comic book heroines to shame. In fact, Trish mentioned in various interviews that she was aiming for the comic book look during her days as a fitness model. Needless to say, she succeeded. Her look was attainable to many women, especially those who thought lifting would make them look like Arnold Schwarzenegger. However, her fitness career might have never happened if it wasn't for a strike at York University, where she studied biology and kinesiology and played soccer and field hockey. Because of the strike, she had to do something else, so she ended up working as a receptionist at a local gym. It was then when she was approached to do a test shoot for MuscleMag International. They liked it so much that she ended up on the cover of their May 1998 issue and was signed to a two-year contract. For the next six months, she worked on her body and transformed it into a literal work of art, showcasing an athletic, strong yet feminine body, landing her numerous magazine covers in the process. Even before joining WWE, she wasn't all just looks as she joined Big Daddy Donnie & Jeff Marek as the third host of Live Audio Wrestling on Toronto Sports Radio, The FAN 590. This was right up her alley being a wrestling fan evern since childhood, idolizing Hulk Hogan and "Macho Man" Randy Savage among others. Her modeling work caught the attention of WWE (then known as the WWF). In November 1999, she was signed to a multi-year contract with WWE. She trained with Ron Huchison at Sully's Gym, long before there was such a thing as the WWE Performance Center. Four months after signing her contract, she made her official television debut on Sunday Night Heat, scouting Test and Prince Albert and would form the stable known at T & A the following night on Raw.

If she's not in your top five "best bodies in WWE history" list, you need to reevaluate your life. Just saying.
Photo credit: WWE.com

While many saw this woman with a perfect body, very few knew that she wanted to be more than just that. While she spent most of 2000 and some of 2001 as a manager to Test, Albert, and Val Venus, she would eventually leave the manageral spotlight and begin to carve her name as a wrestler. During that time, women's wrestling was NOT taken as serious by the fans yet Trish didn't give up. She worked her ass off to show the fans that women could kick ass just as well as the guys could, and be sexy when they HAD to be and when they WANTED to be. It took some time, but eventually folks started to appreciate Trish for what she could do in the ring. However, the various photoshoots WWE had outside the ring definitely made sure people knew that Trish could bring the sexiness outside the ring just as well as she could bring the skills IN the ring. At Survivor Series 2001, Trish would go on to win the then-vacant WWE Women's Championship in a Six-Pack Challenge, which featured Jazz, Might Molly and fellow Hall-of-Famers Ivory, Jacqueline, and her bestie Lita. When Trish got done in WWE, she would go on to become a 7x WWE Women's Champion (a record that would stand for years until Charlotte Flair came around) and a one-time WWE Hardcore champion. She would acquired more accolades in her career, including Diva of the Decade, being the youngest female WWE Hall-of-Famer ever, being the first female Cauliflower Alley Club Iron Mike Award winner, and this summer will be inducted into the George/Lou Threz Professional Wrestling Hall-of-Famer by becoming the first female wrestler to receive the Lou Thesz Award.

Trish could have had a very good career with her looks alone and no one would have thought differently of her. Instead, she challenged the status quo and ushered her own STRATUS QUO and helped changed so much about the world: from how female athletes are viewed, how women's wrestling is looked at, how women with muscles are viewed...and all three for the better. Now, is there work to be done in all three? Definitely. But we have come so far from where we were back in Trish's arrival and we are still moving in the right direction. While her wrestling days are behind her, we know that Trish will continue to set an example for so many people around the world as a mother and a fitness icon. How much of an guarantee are we giving this?! How about 100% STRATUSFACTION GUARANTEED?! Doesn't get any better than that!

Physical perfection
Photo credit: WWE.com

For more on Trish, make sure to follow her on her social media accounts:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/trishstratuscom
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/trishstratuscom
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/trishstratuscom

And make sure to check out her website at https://www.trishstratus.com

StratusFACTtion Guaranteed-My other project

In addition to the FitGems Nation, I've been working on a new project dedicated to my all-time favorite female wrestler, Trish Stratus. It's something along the lines of a Chuck Norris facts page, but instead it's a Trish Stratus facts page. This was created out of humor and not made to be taken serious. I'm hoping Trish herself will take a look at this page and get a good chuckle out of it. I certaintly did after I realize what I created. LOL.




http://trishstratusfacts.wetpaint.com

Speaking of Trish, to the surprise of...none, she was the favorite on last month's poll in regards to who would make a great IFBB competitor with 54% of the votes. Trish as an IFBB fitness or figure competitor. One word...EPIC! Torrie Wilson was second with 5% of the votes. Melina, Terri Runnels, Jackie Gayda-Haas, and others got 3% a piece. Mickie James and Candice Michelle receive 2% a piece. Eve Torres and Michelle McCool received 1%. I'm gonna apologize right now about this post. After I made the post, I left out some key people by mistake, most noticably, Beth Pheonix. I can't believe I left her out, and for that, I apologize.

Now on to the last poll of the year. It's official that the NPC will have a bikini divison net year with the IFBB to follow suit in 2010. My question is: If it were up to YOU, which division would you rather have in the NPC or IFBB: a bikini or physique divison? Or why not both..or neither of them at all? I'm gonna post my thoughts on this matter soon, and I would like you to voice your opinions (good or bad) after I make the post.

Hope everyone enjoyed Thankgiving and are getting ready for Christmas! Yes, the holidays have arrived! Meaning...the Arnold Classic list should be coming out sometime this month. Can't wait!!!

Celebrity Muscle-Trish Stratus

Here's the latest feature to the blog, Celebrity Muscle. I will discuss the celebrites and sports figures that aren't afraid to go that extra length to put on a little muscle on their frame.

My first Celebrity Muscle feature is of former wrestling personality Trish Stratus.



Before she became a seven-time WWE Women’s Champion and arguably on of the biggest entertainers in WWE history, she was a top international fitness model. Her main objective in life was to be a doctor. And she was on her way of becoming one, but fate put that to a screeching halt. She would not graduate with a doctorate degree at York University in Toronto. She instead worked at a gym and was approached to being a fitness model. About six months later, she transformed her body, and the female muscle world took notice. Musclemag gave her the big break as a top fitness model. She went on to becoming one of Musclemag’s most popular fitness models ever. Then a company called World Wrestling Entertainment (known at the time as World Wrestling Federation), came a-calling after Trish appeared on a wrestling-related show in Canada and was offered a job. In March of 2000, the wrestling world would get to know what many in the fitness industry knew all along…Trish was someone who was destined to be a star.

Her WWE career has become stuff of legend. From her debut on March 2000 to her storybook ending in 2006 in her hometown of Toronto, Trish provided “Stratusfaction” and gave fans a woman everyone could root for (when she was a face) and everyone could hate (when she was a heel). To date, there is no other woman in mainstream pro wrestling that can capture the attention of both male and female fans male like Trish.

Ever since retiring from the ring, she has hosted a comedy reality show in Canada, participated in a celebrity cop reality show, is hosting her own travel show in Canada (could air in the US soon), and runs a yoga studio in…guess where?! Spain! Just kidding…It’s Canada. J Needless to say, she has kept herself busy and healthy. And like ever former wrestler, she has teased a return to the lands of the WWE, which many fans (including yours truly) would welcome back with open arms and a standing ovation.

You can check out all things Trish at the following websites:

http://www.trishstratus.com/
http://www.stratusphereyoga.com/
http://www.stratus-faction.com/
http://www.myspace.com/trishstratus
http://fans.wwe.com/trishstratus

Also check out my Trish Stratus fansite:

http://trishstratusfacts.wetpaint.com/ (I'll go into more detail on this in a future post)




(All photos belong to original owner(s) )

Trish Stratus vs Gina Carano...A Wrestlemania 25 Dream match waiting to happen?!?!

This post won't be near as long as the previous postings...I'd thought I'd bring this to your attention.

This week, I was checking out the Youtube website, like many people do. As a wrestling fan, I check to see what vids are posted about my favorite past and present wrestlers. Well...one video definitely caught my attention this week.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zHWAiTLul5o

This is a clip of former fitness model and WWE Diva Trish Stratus practicing Muay Thai for her upcoming travel show set to debut on the Travel Channel and Discovery HD. Most WWE fans can't deny the impact this woman has had on women's wrestling, and how much she is truly missed in the industry. I've posted this clip at a few boards, and it got me to thinking...could she hang with the Queen of Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), Gina "Conviction" Carano, aka Crush on NBC's American GladiatorsI mean Trish is a born fighter, and she was training in the same style of marital arts that Gina started in. Hmm...kinda scary if you ask me.

Anyway, Here's a clip of Gina's life and career:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Sdy32p0_SA

So...with that being said, I have a little proposal for the WWE, if you are interested...


The Golden Girl of Modern Pro Wrestling against the Queen of MMA. Stratusfaction vs Conviction. The Best against the Best.

I've also got a poll up now, wanting to know if you think a showdown between these two beautiful yet tough women would be something you would like to see.

That's it...told you this would be a shorter post! LOL!

One last thing...THIS IS JUST A THOUGHT. THIS IS NOT MEANT TO START ANY CRAZY RUMORS; JUST DISCUSSION. I'M NOT EMPLOYED IN WWE NOR DO I HAVE ANY CONNECTIONS TO EITHER TRISH OR GINA. JUST THOUGHT I'D MAKE THAT CLEAR.