Lillian Garcia’s Chasing Glory Recap w/ Trish Stratus – RAW 25 Appearance, Preparing for Rumble Return, Favourite Women on Current Roster, More!

Garcia welcomes Trish Stratus to the show.

Stratus opens the show by talking about her illustrious WWE career. She says that her main goal during the early 2000s was to lay the groundwork which would lead to women being looked at differently in terms of what they can accomplish in the ring. She can remember saying multiple times back then, “I just want to do what the men do”.

Stratus informs that she got a call from WWE on December 26th, inviting her to take part in the inaugural Women’s Royal Rumble match. She couldn’t believe it when she got the call, and while she was honoured to be asked, she was also hesitant to accept the invitation because she hadn’t wrestled in years.

She decided to set up a ring in her friend’s gym, so she could get back in the ring and test herself. After getting in there and working out for a while, she realized wrestling was like riding a bike. She was able to execute all the old moves that fans love, and she felt very comfortable. She then confidently called WWE back and accepted the invitation.

Stratus notes that she had to make sure that she could still perform in the ring, because she didn’t want to return and be a shell of her former self. She wanted to be able to perform like she did 15 years ago, so she had make sure she still had that ability by getting back in the ring before accepting WWE’s invitation.

Stratus informs that she was in medical school before beginning her career in professional wrestling. There was a teacher strike during one of her semesters and this opened the door for her to pursue other things such as modelling. This ultimately led to her beginning a career in professional wrestling, and she believes that all of this happened due to fate.

She dealt with a few injuries during her WWE career, none more serious than the broken ankle and multiple back issues that forced her to take some time off at one point. She was able to come back from those injuries better than ever because for the first time in years, she had time to train and watch wrestling matches in an effort to improve.

She began doing yoga which really improved her flexibility, and being able to study the business from the outside looking in offered a very unique perspective. She adds that it’s hard to get better when you’re on the road all the time.

Stratus says that Paige’s injury status is terribly unfortunate. She’s hopeful that Paige can find a blessing in this, and move onto another part of the company. Paige has been around the business for so long and can definitely contribute to WWE in other areas in Stratus’ opinion.

This podcast is being recorded on Saturday, January 27th, one day before the Royal Rumble event. Stratus informs that she’s currently at a secret, undisclosed location in Philadelphia doing everything she can to keep this appearance a secret. She’s been training her butt off and this is a big challenge for her. She doesn’t really know what to expect, but she really appreciates her body because her muscle memory really helped her prepare for this return.

Garcia asks Stratus who she’s a fan of on WWE’s current female roster. Stratus informs that she finally got to meet Alexa Bliss at RAW 25. She hears the energy and drive in Bliss’ voice, and she could really relate to her. She thinks Bliss is great and she see’s a lot of her younger self in her.

In addition, she adds that a lot of people seem to think that Mandy Rose is her doppelgänger, and she admits that it’s hard to deny that when she sees pictures. She’s a fan of all the women on the current roster and she’s thrilled to be able to join them in the first Women’s Royal Rumble match this year.

That sums up today’s episode of Chasing Glory. You can listen to the show yourself anytime here, and I’ll catch ya next week for another recap!