On Saturday Night, well, Sunday morning really, just before 1a.m., Trish found herself sitting at the back of Randy and Nicole Orton’s house, in an entertainment room with a huge television mounted to the wall. She hadn’t been able to sleep, so she was cozy on the oversized brown leather couch, wrapped in a fuzzy blanket. The room was dark except for the TV, and Trish studied the screen, her eyes following the action as she watched round after round of Shayna Baszler fighting in the Octagon.
It had taken a while for Adam and Randy to help Trish figure out where to go to see her fights. She’d only had a couple in UFC, so the rest were in various up and coming promotions. Trish was watching to see what Shayna’s background in wrestling was. If she’d been any good at it when she was an MMA star. She jumped when she heard a voice behind her. Adam had been quiet on the stairs.
Adam Copeland: Babe, what are you doing? Come to bed.
Trish Stratus: Watching tape.
Adam Copeland: You have a huge match tomorrow. There’s nothing else you could possibly do to prepare.
Shayna’s opponent landed a punch and Trish grimaced. Adam came around to sit beside her. He leaned across her and grabbed the remote control from the end table beside her. He hit the power button and the screen went black.
Adam Copeland: She wasn’t great at MMA, okay? Mediocre at best. She lost to Amanda Nunes and immediately retired to go to wrestling.
Trish Stratus: That’s exactly why I have to beat her, Adam. Don’t you understand that?
Adam rubbed his eyes, and ran his hand down his face, exasperated.
Trish Stratus: Wrestling isn’t a fallback career! It’s not something you just go and do because you’re bad at football or MMA or whatever. We’ve given our whole lives to this! And it’s just some… Plan B for her? Because she wasn’t good at being the schoolyard bully?
Adam Copeland: I know you feel strongly about this. Listen, I know you really do. But watching this tape isn’t going to make you a better wrestler, and it isn’t going to help you get inside her head.
She seemed to think about this for a second.
Adam Copeland: You were watching those fights because you’re searching for glimpses of a wrestler in Shayna Baszler, and you’re not going to find it because she was a middling MMA fighter who dabbled in a little bit of everything and mastered absolutely none of it.
Trish let out a sigh, but it sounded more like one of relief than frustration.
Trish Stratus: I know, you’re right. You’re absolutely right.
Adam Copeland: Now come on. You need some sleep.
They stood up together and headed toward the stairs.
Trish Stratus: It was so nice of Randy and Nikki to let us stay here. They really have a beautiful home.
Adam Copeland: You like the neighborhood.
Trish Stratus: I do. The armed guards at the gate make it seem safe. Lots of curb appeal.
Adam Copeland: Wanna buy a house here?
She had been in front of him on the stairs, but at this she turned around.
Trish Stratus: Can we…
She was smiling. Entertaining the idea. He saw her eyes sparkling to near dancing and she leaned forward and gave him a peck on the lips.
Trish Stratus: …talk about it after tomorrow night?
He nodded.
Adam Copeland: Of course we can.
Trish Stratus: You think Randy will be okay with that idea?
Adam Copeland: He’ll pretend to be annoyed by it, and groan about how he can’t get rid of me. Then he’ll be on our patio every other day shooting hoops and asking if I can come outside to play.
She smiled at that, and turned back up the stairs. He followed her toward their guest room, which Nicole had lovingly called “Adam’s room” for years.
Trish Stratus: Saving Randy Orton’s life is one of the greatest accomplishments of yours, you know that right?
Adam Copeland: At this point, we’ve saved each other. A hundred times over.
Trish Stratus: I’m very glad you have.
They entered their room, and she went to her bag, grabbing some pajamas before heading toward the en suite bathroom.
Trish Stratus: I’m gonna shower real fast.
Adam Copeland: Take your time, babe.
She flashed him another smile and closed the door. She stood with her back to it for a moment and closed her eyes. She felt lucky, and more than appreciative. She just wanted to make sure her luck wouldn’t run out.
The big Wrestlemania banner that hung backstage had been filmed a lot in the late morning, and now was no different as Renee Young stood in front of the iconic symbol. She wore a classic red sheath dress and held a microphone. Her smile brightened the scene as she raised a microphone to her lips.
Renee Young: Facing the EBWF Women’s Champion Shayna Baszler tonight, she is the winner of the 2020 Women’s Royal Rumble, Trish Stratus.
Trish stepped into the frame, grinning.
Trish Stratus: Happy Wrestlemania, Renee!
Renee Young: Happy Wrestlemania to you, Trish. It’s great to have you here!
Trish Stratus: It’s amazing to be here, and I can’t wait to fight tonight.
Renee Young: As I just mentioned, your match tonight is against Shayna Baszler, who has had a meteoric rise here in the women’s division. How are you feeling about your chances against the former mixed martial artist.
Trish Stratus: That is the narrative isn’t it, Renee? I’ve been wrestling for an amount of years that need not be mentioned, but now all of a sudden I’m facing a real fighter…
Renee Young: Trish, I didn’t mean to imply…
Trish Stratus: Of course you didn’t. You wouldn’t. But you know who has? The internet, the keyboard warriors, even some of my fans. They’re saying I might actually be in trouble if I’m in a real fight. Well, let me explain something to everyone who is doubting me right now. Shayna Baszler isn’t in UFC anymore because she couldn’t hack it in a real fight!
Renee didn’t follow up. She just kept the microphone pointed at Trish.
Trish Stratus: And if there was a crowd here tonight, they would have reacted with a huge “Oooohhh” to that diss. But the truth is that Shayna Baszler stole the women’s championship by intimidation, and she won’t retain it tonight that way. I’m not intimidated by her, and I think she’s only here because of some mild name recognition. She’s nothing special. She’s not synonymous with women’s wrestling. She’s not Trish Stratus.
You see, Renee, a lot has been said about me over the years. A lot of my success has been attributed to my looks, and that might have been true twenty years ago, but I’ve worked for everything that I have. Even when I broke into this business, and everyone said I only got the shot because I was pretty… please, I was a fitness model. I worked hard to tone my body, to make myself athletic. I trained every day until I was a bonafide wrestler. Until I was the best damn women’s wrestler of all time. Until I was the quintessential diva.
People say the word “diva” like it’s a swear word in this business these days, but I’ve always been proud of being a diva. A glamorous and successful woman. Two things that Shayna Baszler is not. Can you imagine? Seriously, Renee. Can you imagine SHAYNA BASZLER at Breakfast of Champions? At Dinner with the Divas? Please. Mark my words, I’m going to restore some integrity to the championship tonight at Wrestlemania. And I’m going to give the EBWF Fans what they’ve been clamoring for come October. A Champion they can be proud of!
Shayna Baszler, you might have come into EBWF and run over everyone and everything, but your momentum ends here tonight. Just like your once promising MMA career, your wrestling career is going to be notable for starting off so promising, and going up in flames after one loss. I can’t wait for the bell to ring tonight, Shayna. I’m hungrier than I’ve ever been. I want this more than I ever have. The resurgence of Trish Stratus began at Royal Rumble and it continues here tonight at your expense.
Renee Young: Trish, I have to ask you about Becky Lynch, if…
Trish Stratus: When. Not if, but when. When I win tonight…. When I go on to face Becky Lynch. But not right now, Renee. Becky Lynch is just another nobody, for another time.
Trish grinned again, and flipped her hair before stepping away from Renee and out of the frame.
Renee Young: There you have it. The #1 Contender for the Women’s Championship looking confident before her match with Shayna Baszler, live tonight on Wrestlemania!
Renee looked off in the direction Trish had gone as the scene faded out.
