It all began three long years ago. On March 19, 2000, we got our first glimpse of the woman that is: Trish Stratus! On that edition of Sunday Night HeAt, Trish made her presence felt at ringside as she scouted both Test and Albert. Before long, it was clear that this blonde beauty would be making a big impact in WWE. Test and Albert, otherwise known by Trish as "my boys," formed the highly original team of T&A. With Trish stealing the show at ringside, T&A were never groomed as a serious threat to tag team gold. Instead, they were booked in a great feud with the Dudley Boyz - a feud that shot Trish to prominence. Her teasing of Bubba in the now legendary table skits had wrestling fans in awe and Trish was rapidly becoming a much bigger star than both Test and Albert. But things didn’t go well and Trish was put through a table, however, she emerged from the storyline as a powerful force. T&A stayed together, so to speak, and a feud with the APA helped to get Trish over as the sexy valet even more. The infamous game of strip poker involving Trish is still one that us fans talk about today. When T&A got the upper hand in the feud, they took over the APA and led by Trish, they became "T&APA." However, as was becoming the trend, T&A weren’t having the same amount of success in the ring as they were out of it. A scrap with Lita followed but Trish had no chance of success as at the time as Lita was receiving a major push and was the only one with any wrestling experience. With the T&A act getting stale, Val Venis was introduced into Trish’s stable. Under the guise of a strictly business relationship, Trish managed Val during his Intercontinental Title reign but ultimately cost him the belt, a move that didn’t sit right with Venis. It was a short and sweet partnership, but Trish remained at somewhat of a crossroads in her career. As the end of 2000 approached, it was decided that T&A had to be split. As so they were, but it was clear that only one out of Trish, Test would be going on to bigger and better things! and Albert

With 2001 on the horizon, Trish was booked in an angle with federation boss Vince McMahon. The idea that she was trying to seduce McMahon may, in real life, be totally absurd but in WWE TV anything can happen! It was unclear as the angle started as to how long it would run, but as events unfolded it turned into one of the main storylines of the year, culminating spectacularly at Wrestlemania X7. In the beginning, Trish was the one doing all the running. Her role as McMahon’s mistress pushed her to a prominent position on each show. She became a regular fixture on his arm, under the assumption that they were just ‘good friends.’ This greatly upset Vince’s daughter Stephanie, and so we suddenly had a feud on our hands. She and Trish battled for the role of most dominant female in the company, with Vince left to look on from the sidelines (although clearly supporting Trish). Tensions flared through the Royal Rumble, with Trish having a brief stint as the manager of then WWE champion Kurt Angle. She and Stephanie were in opposite corners during the title match between Angle and HHH and couldn’t wait to get their hands on each other. A match was signed for February PPV No Way Out, with Trish and Stephanie set to finish their scrap once and for all. However, the actions of Vince’s henchman William Regal meant that Trish was screwed at the PPV, allowing Stephanie to pick up the victory. However, the match (which went over ten minutes in length) won both Trish and Stephanie many plaudits and highlighted that Trish was more than just a pretty face. The next night on RAW sparked a series of shocking events, which included Trish being drowned in all sorts of revolting substances and being made to bark like a dog and strip. This was Vince McMahon at his egotistical worst. However, the storyline continued to wind on, with Trish remaining loyal to McMahon and doing anything to prove her allegiance. The humiliation extended to Vince’s wife Linda, who was repeatedly rolled around in a wheelchair while having to watch Trish and Vince cavort around with each other. Vince’s son Shane got involved and we had yet another family feud, with Trish thrown in for good measure! Vince and Shane were to do battle in a street fight at Wrestlemania X7, and it was clear that something would have to give. And give it did, as Trish turned on Vince, delivering a shuddering slap to the boss as Shane picked up the victory. It had been an entertaining chapter in Trish’s WWE career, but it was now time to move on.

The Trish that emerged from the McMahon storyline was a very different Trish than we’d previously known. Gone was the cocky heel persona and in it’s place was a sweet little girl-next-door type who was always looking to do the ‘right thing.’ Trish stepped up her in-ring activity and was gaining a reputation for all the right reasons this time. Although not the polished article, Trish was beginning to impress inside the ring when disaster struck and she suffered an injury to her ankle. At the time, it seemed a crushing blow to her rapidly rising career. Just as she was gathering momentum as a wrestling talent, she was forced to go under the knife and sit on the sidelines. But as one door closes, another one opens, and Trish’s motto of "preparedness meets opportunity" was in clear evidence as she landed the job of co-host on WWE’s new Saturday night show "Excess." It was a move designed to keep her in the fans minds and maintain her involvement in the company, rather than sitting at home. It turned out to be the best possible thing for Trish’s career as she grew in confidence each week and became extremely comfortable in her role alongside Jonathan Coachman. Upon her return to action, Trish shocked many with her improving ability. The busty blonde valet was no more and fans had a new Trish to get used to. The era of Stratusfaction had arrived! Not long after her return, the vacant women’s title was up for grabs in a special six-pack match at Survivor Series. Trish was by no means the favourite going into the match but emerged triumphant ahead of experienced campaigners such as Ivory, Jacqueline and Lita. Trish was the women’s champion! Not bad for a girl who began the year as Vince McMahon’s play-thing and had only been wrestling properly for a couple of months. But with success, inevitable sacrifices have to be made. It was with regret that Trish had to relinquish her role on Excess due to her hectic schedule on the road, defending her women’s title. The show was never the same without her and went rapidly downhill until it was eventually pulled from WWE programming. But more success was coming the way of Toronto’s finest as she scooped the crown of Internet Babe Of The Year, beating off all competition with relative ease in the fans online poll. Trish was now the target that everyone aimed for in the women’s division and engaged in a great feud with Jazz through the beginning of 2002. This was the making of Trish and made fans really sit up and take notice that she was one tough competitor. Dropping the belt to Jazz was certainly no embarrassment and Trish became renowned for her gutsy performances, including working through a nasty hand injury while still champion. Wrestlemania X8 in her hometown of Toronto seemed the perfect backdrop for Trish to regain the title in front of her family and friends in the SkyDome. A triple threat match was signed between Trish, Jazz and Lita but sadly the outcome was not ideal. Jazz retained the belt and Trish was left to continue pursuing her dream. Her persistence paid off and a second reign as women’s champ came when Jazz required to drop the belt in order to have serious knee surgery. Trish, who even became hardcore champion for all of 30 seconds on an edition of RAW, was once again the cream of the crop. The next pretender to her throne was Molly Holly. These two had a cracking feud through the summer of 2002, and produced some excellent matches. The backdrop to this battle was Molly’s outrage at the lifestyle of Trish, who in return labelled Holly’s ass as being "fat." Although comical, there was a serious element to the feud and Trish produced some of her best technical matches during this prolonged tussle. But a lack of talent in the women’s division led to this feud going stale and running on too long. Molly did wrestle the belt from Trish’s grasp, albeit by cheating, until Trish finally got revenge later down the line. It was at Unforgiven that Trish caught up with Molly’s cheating antics and regained the belt, fair and square, to become a 3-time women’s champion. In an after match interview, literally seconds after the bout, Trish demonstrated her passion and love for the business with some heartfelt words on what it meant to be a 3-time champion. But the evolution of her character continued further with the arrival of a new girl in town. Victoria was here and it was Time To Rock And Roll!

Few could have predicted the impact that Victoria’s arrival would have on Trish. Billed as a psycho who blamed Trish for holding her down in years gone by, Victoria posed a very real threat to the women’s champion. To say she pursued the ‘Maple Leaf Beauty’ with intent would be an understatement. Apparent jealousy, aided by Trish’s second consecutive Babe Of The Year crown, saw Victoria kick off the most intense feud ever seen in the women’s division that literally had fans on the edge of their seats. The matches were often brutal, none more so than at Survivor Series 2002. The one year anniversary of Trish’s first title win was marred by Victoria coming out on top in a stunning street fight which left both women battered and bruised. The feud was gaining rave reviews and was the first women’s storyline to garner genuine interest since that of Chyna vs. Lita. Not only were the matches technically sound, any backstage angles were acted out with total professionalism and had viewers hooked to see what would happen next. The Trish of old would have backed down from her more physically demanding opponent, but this wasn’t the Trish who competed in bra & panties matches each week - this was the Trish who went out, kicked ass, and got the job done - no questions asked. A change of theme music, produced in association with Lil Kim, gave Trish a new spring in her step. The trademark cowboy hat was still there, but it was a very different girl underneath than the one who first appeared on WWE television. The feud with Victoria was one that wouldn’t go away and Trish was determined not to give up without a fight. Just as it seemed things were calming down, though, these two women produced what has been critically acclaimed as the best women’s match in the history of the company. A Chicago Street Fight took place on an edition of RAW and will live long in the memory of Trish fans. Brutal, intense, you name it, this match had it all. Trish and Victoria went back and forth in a truly spectacular match, which ended with Victoria winning after a large slice of help from her wacko sidekick Steven Richards. But that wasn’t all. With Trish laying helpless after the match, Jazz made her return from injury and launched a vicious assault, which sidelined Trish for three weeks, her longest absence in memory. Now as we head to Wrestlemania X9, Trish has a very bright future in the wrestling game. She, Jazz and Victoria are carrying women’s wrestling forward in a way few would have imagined and producing physically intense matches each and every week. But apart from anything else, the last three years have taught us everything about the wonderful woman that Trish Stratus really is. Tough as nails inside the ring, warm hearted and kind away from the squared circle, she is a true asset to the wrestling business. Equally at home as a beautiful model or a gutsy competitor, Trish’s class was underlined by her recent award of Diva Of The Decade. This was the ultimate award for WWE’s undoubted queen. Who knows what Trish will go on to achieve in her WWE future. But we can be sure that as one goal is reached, another will be set, because Stratusfaction is ALWAYS guaranteed!