WWE’s “Attitude Era” was about pushing the boundaries of what was allowed and accepted on television to win odds against rival World Championship Wrestling.
Through the violence, raw storylines, and scantily clad women, two professional wrestlers began a rivalry that set the stage for what would become women’s wrestling on one of the biggest stages in the industry.
Trish Stratus and Lita joined WWE, then known as the World Wrestling Federation, around the same time, and their rivalry had a long-lasting impact on what became of women’s wrestling.
Their feud will be chronicled on an episode of “WWE Rivals” on A&E Sunday at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT. Stratus and Lita joined the company within months.
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Wrestlers Matt and Jeff Hardy of ‘The Hardy Boyz’ pose with Lita, center, at the UPN Fall TV launch party in Las Palmas September 14, 2000 in Hollywood, California. (Steve W. Grayson/Newsmaker)
Stratus, whose real name is Patricia Stratigeas, came from the world of female bodybuilding and debuted in 2000 as a valet for the tag team Test and Albert. Lita, whose real name is Amy Dumas, has more of a wrestling background, working for Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre in Mexico and later for Extreme Championship Wrestling before joining WWE.
Lita started in WWE in 1999 as a valet for Essa Rios before teaming up with Matt and Jeff Hardy, the tag team duo called the Hardy Boyz.
“She debuted first and I was there after that. But immediately they brought us together,” Stratus said in a recent interview with Fox News Digital. “She was with the Hardys, I was with T&A and that was the rivalry. And really, our careers ran parallel. We were either on the good side or the bad the entire time, until we both ended our careers in 2006. Very few times have we teamed up, but mostly we’ve been against each other, and it was probably the longest rivalry in existence .
“People knew it was natural when Trish and Lita got in the ring. They didn’t know what would happen. A bit of a rock (Stone Cold) Steve Austin-esque feel where we both offered different fan bases. We had a different look, we had a different atmosphere, there was something like a unique yin and yang in the ring, and it was that special that we had from the beginning to the end of our careers. “
The timing of the feud was just right. Lita and Stratus had the advantage of pushing boundaries in the ring to thrill a rabid fanbase with World Championship Wrestling in the middle of the “Monday Night Wars”.
WWE Women’s Champion Trish Stratus during WrestleMania Goes Hollywood at the House Of Blues in Hollywood, California. (J.Merritt/FilmMagic)
And they delivered.
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“I think the beginning of our feud, which was firmly rooted in the ‘Attitude Era,’ had so much to do with that because there were no boundaries to what could or couldn’t happen,” Lita told Fox News Digital. “It was just a matter of shifting the envelope. I want you to say, ‘Did they actually go there? Did they actually do that?’ I want you to tell me that at home.”
Lita said she hopes to change the mindset of a predominantly male fan base by no longer viewing female wrestlers as valets but instead as legitimate competitors.
“We wanted you to question what female roles are like in the industry,” Lita recalls.
Stratus and Lita’s feud led them to a coveted spot in WWE performances – the main event for Monday Night Raw. The two got their window on December 6, 2004.
Wrestler Amy Dumas attends the Wizard World Austin Comic Con at the Austin Convention Center on November 22, 2013 in Austin, Texas. (Rick Kern/Getty Images)
Lita told Fox News Digital she was a bit skeptical after seeing that she and Stratus were committed to the main event because she knew lineups could change on the fly.
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“I’m definitely preparing for the worst, hoping for the best kind of person, and because the show — you don’t even have to be an insider to know — the show keeps changing until you walk out through the curtain,” she said. “I especially remember walking into the building that day and the production meeting came out and everyone at the production meeting just gave a sly smile. And then found out we were in the main event, and I would almost say my first instinct was to say, ‘It’s probably going to change. … It was there eventually and that’s good enough.’”
But once they realized the map wasn’t going to change and they would be the last match on the show, the superstars agreed they had to make it happen.
“I think the beginning of our feud, which was firmly rooted in the ‘Attitude Era,’ had so much to do with that because there were no boundaries to what could or couldn’t happen.”
“We had to stop for a minute and say, ‘Wow, this is such a huge opportunity. We have to do it because we have to prove ourselves tonight.’ Basically they give us the ball, let’s see if they can run with it,” Stratus added. “We had to get over the nervousness.
“And we certainly didn’t miss the magnitude of that, but we really just had to really say, ‘You know what, we can do this.’ We had fantastic games. We’d talked about moments for many years in our careers and all we had to do was say we made it.”
Lita and Stratus eventually left full-time wrestling around the same time. Stratus and Lita had one more match for the women’s championship, with Stratus emerging victorious.
Trish Stratus attends the Dave Thomas And The Second City Present “Take Off, EH!” An All-Star Benefit For Jake Thomas And Spinal Cord Injury Ontario at The Second City Theater on July 18, 2017 in Toronto. (George Pimentel/Getty Images)
Both cast members retired but made occasional appearances over the next 15 years. But its impact was indelible. Several professional wrestlers have cited Stratus and Lita as inspiration, and women’s wrestling has never been more popular than it is today.
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“It’s everything we could ask for,” Stratus told Fox News Digital. “If you go out and try to make a change, make a difference… and again we didn’t realize what kind of impact we were going to make or what we could have made because there wasn’t a ruling stick. Don’t look at women’s wrestling and think you can revolutionize the entire industry or how it’s perceived by others.”
She said it feels great to be able to inspire younger women and girls to pursue their lifelong dreams, not just in wrestling but in other fields as well.
Lita told Fox News Digital that she recalled being “stoked up” in the midst of the rivalry, but didn’t immediately realize the impact it was having on viewers at home or in the arenas.
Lita and Trish Stratus at a party for the primetime cast of UPN in Los Angeles. (Kevin Winters/Getty Images)
“Not only did they see the moment, think it was cool, they did it,” Lita said. “I like having the opportunity to play with the kids who saw us doing our thing growing up and to get to the other side and have that opportunity with your by-products of things to play that you made at the front end of it.
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“It’s poetry to me. It’s so poetic to forge this path at the front end and then play in your beautiful garden that’s in bloom.”
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