WWE found tremendous results when Trish Stratus joined the company in 2000 to start her wrestling career. Stratus was the most successful female performer in WWE history when she retired and still ranks high today. Fans react extremely positively when Trish returns for the occasional appearance.
However, that does not mean her entire run in wrestling was perfect. There were quite a few surprising moments that were a bit confusing. WWE isn’t known for always having perfect storytelling. Stratus had her fair share of moments that could have gone a lot better with more thought. The following moments from Trish’s career make little sense in retrospect.
10 Debuting One Week Before WrestleMania
The WWE debut of Trish Stratus came in March of 2000 on Sunday Night Heat. Stratus appeared on Heat and Raw, recruiting Test and Albert to become her tag team as she made her WWE career path as a manager.
WrestleMania 2000 came just a week later with Trish on the card representing Test and Albert in a match against Steve Blackman and Al Snow. WWE believed in Stratus enough to put her on the biggest show of the year with minimal experience.
9 Managing Val Venis
Val Venis had ditched the ladies man gimmick shortly before aligning with Trish Stratus for confusing timing. WWE tried to make Venis a serious heel with the hopes of moving him up the card in noteworthy feuds.
Trish and Val worked together in a tag feud against Chyna and Eddie Guerrero. There was little chemistry between the two talents after the odd angle completely missed the mark. WWE couldn’t logically find a way to make them an ideal pair.
8 Alliance With Molly Holly & Gail Kim
The heel run of Trish Stratus in 2004 provided some of the best work of her career. Fans loved rooting against Trish during her time with Christian and Tyson Tomko. However, there was little reasoning behind her unofficial faction.
Fellow heels Gail Kim and Molly Holly started following Stratus and supporting her bullying of face rivals like Christy Hemme and Lita. WWE didn’t provide an explanation even though the talent involved could have created something special if more thought was put into it.
7 Kissing The Rock
WWE teased putting Trish Stratus in noteworthy romantic storylines on a few occasions without following through. Rock and Trish became allies in 2001 when both attempted to stand up against Vince McMahon’s vendetta against them.
One backstage segment saw the two major superstars kissing in the locker room. WWE didn’t view the idea as a long-term plan and gave up on it after just one week. Rock and Stratus were separated with no alliance afterwards.
6 Kissing Jeff Hardy
Jeff Hardy was another wrestler to see WWE show a small glimpse of a love storyline with Trish Stratus. The duo becoming an item added interest in the dynamic of Matt’s brother dating Lita who had a personal feud with Stratus shortly before.
WWE fans showed interest since they loved Jeff and Trish was also becoming a fan favorite. The angle ran for a few months, but the chemistry wasn't there for it to work. They united to feud with Torrie Wilson and Stacy Keibler during the Invasion storyline.
5 Coming Out Of Retirement For Pointless Matches
Trish Stratus had the perfect retirement back in 2007 when she defeated Lita to win and end her run as the Women’s Champion in her home country of Canada. The return in recent years to compete against current talent made sense, but some matches in between did not.
WWE convinced Trish to come back in a random tag match teaming up with John Cena against Santino Marella and Beth Phoenix. Other matches included Stratus teaming with MVP, Mark Henry, John Morrison, and Snooki. The returns were not worthy of a legend in WWE’s history.
4 Christy Hemme Challenging Her At WrestleMania 21
The dominant heel run of Trish Stratus saw her holding the Women’s Championship heading into WrestleMania 21. WWE did not have an ideal opponent for Stratus on the biggest stage after Lita suffered an injury.
Christy Hemme posing for Playboy gave her the push as WWE wanted to benefit from her visibility. The problem was that Hemme had not won nearly enough matches to be a credible contender for such a title. Everyone knew Trish would win and the match was a flop.
3 Relationship With Carlito
WWE had plans for an idea with Trish Stratus just a few weeks before she revealed that she wanted to retire. Carlito had a romantic angle with Stratus that was going to elevate him by working with a respected name.
Stratus and Carlito had a few memorable matches against Edge & Lita and Johnny Nitro & Melina. The run ended with Trish’s retirement as the two would head their separate ways. WWE did not have a big plan to end the romance and just had Carlito basically replace Stratus with Torrie Wilson in the same role.
2 Keeping Women's Championship Despite Missing Four Months
The Women’s Championship victory of Trish Stratus saw her dominating as a heel for many months. Stratus left the company after suffering an injury that required time off. Viscera splashing Trish wrote her off television while still holding the title.
WWE did not strip Stratus of the belt despite not defending it for over four months. Most WWE titles must be defended within 30 days, but the rule did not come into play here. Trish returned as a face to completely change her character up during the same reign.
1 Turning On Chris Jericho For Christian
WWE put a lot of time and effort into the love triangle storyline between Chris Jericho, Trish Stratus, and Christian. All three wrestlers saw the angle play out after various twists and turns at WrestleMania XX when Trish turned on Jericho to help Christian.
The heel turn saw Stratus reveal that the two wrestlers betting over who could bed her or Lita first. Trish calling out Jericho for that made sense, but her going to Christian did not add up with that logic. WWE did benefit from Christian and Stratus having good heel segments together.