Was She Better As A Face Or A Heel?
Trish Stratus is among the most widely respected women wrestlers of all time, and particularly so in the WWE sphere. Fans and peers alike tend to appreciate the degree to which she came along, blossoming in the public eye from a novice who was attractive and athletic but had no wrestling background, to a polished performer in the ring and on the mic alike. One underrated aspect of Stratus’s greatness is that, whereas some great heel performers didn't connect nearly well as faces, and other faces were difficult to buy when they played heels, she was excellent in either role. That ability does raise the question, though, whether she was actually better playing the hero or the villain?
Trish Stratus Is A Beloved Figure Among Wrestling Fans
Trish Stratus was the face of women’s wrestling in WWE from the late Attitude Era through most of Ruthless Aggression. A big part of why she’s so appreciated is the degree to which she came along both as a worker and as a talker, rising to just about every opportunity WWE granted her. As a face, she was easy to cheer as a beautiful woman whose Stratusfaction and Chick Kick signature moves in particular looked great and became increasingly credible as bona fide finishers.
Indeed, Stratus battling bigger heels like Jazz and Victoria, and later engaging in a creative, intricate angle opposite Mickie James established her as one of the most popular babyfaces in the company, regardless of gender. Moreover, the final feud of her full-time run, flipping the face-heel orientation on her longstanding rivalry with Lita, further cemented Stratus's place as a fan favorite.
Trish Stratus Wasn’t Ready To Shine During Her First Heel Run
Fans who stopped following WWE not long after the Attitude Era may have a limited view of what Trish Stratus brought to the table. Indeed, her original heel run--her first year with WWE--wasn’t exactly inspired. She played eye candy to the team of Test and Albert. From there, she was cast as Vince McMahon’s mistress, a pretty face who got into hair pulling cat fights with Stephanie McMahon.
Related: Trish Stratus' 5 Best Matches As A Heel (& Her 5 Best As A Face)Stratus was learning on the job at this stage of her career. As Jerry Lawler recalled in WWE’s documentary about her, she looked like a deer in the headlights in her early promos. However, this work laid a foundation for what was to come. The humiliating segment in which Vince had her crawl around the ring and bark like a dog may have been in poor taste, but set her up for bigger things, in addition to showing emotional range fans hadn't yet known she had as a performer. From there, she executed her part of turning on The Chairman at WrestleMania 17 perfectly to launch her first stint as a face.
Trish Stratus Did The Best Work Of Her Career In Her Final Heel Run
While Trish Stratus wasn’t quite ready for primetime during her first heel run, she was more than up to the challenge in 2004. She had an electric WrestleMania moment when she turned on Chris Jericho. Though her angle with Christian really go anywhere, she was nonetheless firmly in place as a cocky, consciously sexy heel who dominated the women’s division in the months to follow. That included her iconic feud with Lita, playing the polished, arrogant champion to her challenger’s punk rock, underdog persona.
WWE wasn’t able to realize its purported vision for Lita vs. Stratus at WrestleMania 21 because Lita got hurt, but Stratus arguably put on an even more virtuosic performance when she instead carried a less experienced Christy Hemme to a solid bout.
In the end, Trish Stratus was great as both a face and a heel. Her heel work should get the nod for being a nudge better fit, though, as evidenced by what happened when Stratus feuded with a newly arrived Mickie James in 2006. The live Chicago crowd at WrestleMania 22, in particular, turned on Stratus. As has happened to a number of top babyfaces throughout history, the fans only wanted Stratus on top for so long. As a heel, Stratus could lean into perceptions she was overused and growing less interesting by milking them for additional heat, whereas she couldn’t quite turn perceptions around as a babyface. From crowd reactions, to being one of the most skilled women on the roster, to weaponizing her sex appeal to all but taunt fans, Stratus reached her peak as a villain.
