WWE Legend Trish Stratus Definitively Answers Whether She'll Join AEW

WWE Hall of Famer Trish Stratus is clear about her loyalties and whether she'll ever defect from the company and join AEW, as so many of her contemporaries have. According to her, she's a "WWE girl" and doesn't see herself ever going to the younger promotion.

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During her recent appearance on "The Takedown" podcast, Trish reflected on a short interaction with Mercedes Moné (previously known as Sasha Banks) at the Royal Rumble, pointing out that, despite the encounter, they had never actually shared a ring in a match before.

"I really think people never thought I'd ever come back for another match. After the Royal Rumble, it was enough," Stratus said. "It was a sizzle real, so to speak, of Trish Stratus and Stratusfaction, which is not easy to pull off, but like, 'All right. You still got it,' whatever."

"But to think of, can she come back after how many years to do a match like seventeen years after my retirement, whatever the crazy number is, which is wild, yeah, but then [Moné] left."

Trish Stratus
Trish Stratus during WWE Wrestlers Trish Stratus and Kurt Angle Sign Their DVD at HMV in Dublin - November 20, 2005 at HMV Dublin in Dublin, Ireland. Phillip Massey/FilmMagic

When asked directly if she would ever face off against Moné outside of WWE, like for example at AEW, Stratus was direct: "No, I really am a WWE girl all the way, I really am."

Stratus' most recent match took place at WWE's September 2023 Payback premium live event, where she and Becky Lynch delivered an electrifying performance inside a steel cage. In this encounter, Lynch came out on top, with Stratus acknowledging and putting over her former protege, Zoey Stark, in the aftermath.

Stratus indicated that she was still up for further WWE appearances, which further seemed to suggest how loyal she is to the company.

"I think it's like examining the landscape and seeing what works best for everyone," Stratus said. "There's so many parties to consider. The person that is in the storyline, the WWE. It's really collaborative."

Stratus' 448-day reign as WWE Women's Champion holds the record for the longest reign by any women's world champion in the 21st century. After nearly seven years with WWE, she retired from full-time wrestling at WWE Unforgiven on September 17, 2006, following her record-setting seventh Women's Championship win.

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Though Stratus stepped away from full-time competition, she made occasional part-time appearances in WWE. Between 2008 and 2011, she competed in several tag-team matches on Raw, including a mixed six-person tag at WrestleMania XXVII.

Her return to WWE came in 2018, when she participated in the first-ever Women's Royal Rumble and later competed at the all-female Evolution event. Stratus also faced Charlotte Flair in her first singles match since retiring, at SummerSlam 2019.

In 2023, Stratus returned to WrestleMania 39 for a six-woman tag match and rejoined the roster as a full-time performer, remaining with the company until September of that year.

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Nathan Kamal is a Chicago-based writer and fan of the Cubs. He provides coverage and expertise on NFL and the ... Read more