In late-2000, Trish Stratus found herself involved in an affair with Vince McMahon. Presented as a gold digger type, Trish drew the ire of Vince's daughter Stephanie, who hated the idea that any other woman took her daddy's attention away from her. She and Trish would exchange glares and smart remarks at first but by the time 2001 approached, the vixens would be involved in one of the most heated rivalries in all of WWE. The Royal Rumble in January of 2001 saw Triple H take on Kurt Angle for the WWE Championship. The Game was flanked by wife Stephanie, as always, and Angle was accompanied by Trish, creating scenario in which the battle on the outside of the ring would be as interesting and anticipated as the one inside, if not more so. Stephanie and Trish, as one would expect, came to blows in the middle of the title match and only stopped when the lecherous Vince came to ringside and carried Trish to the back. With the animosity growing on a nightly basis, a match between the two was booked for No Way Out in February. Trish and Stephanie would not allow their impending match to come peacefully, however. Trish, the antagonist, would infuriate the boss' daughter by appearing in a bubble bath while speaking to Vince on the phone. She would make out with Vince in front of Linda McMahon, who was basically in a vegetative state. Finally, on the final SmackDown before their much-hyped match, Trish attacked Stephanie at a farm show that was taking place in the bowels of the venue. She assaulted Stephanie, rubbed her face in cow dung and then poured gallons of liquid maneuver over the Billion Dollar Princess. Stephanie would get a measure of revenge, unleashing with furious vengeance on Trish at No Way Out and winning the match when a conflicted William Regal interfered. The following night on Raw, Stephanie, Vince and Regal revealed their master plan to the world when they humiliated and degraded Trish in front of an international viewing audience. They emptied the contents of a slop bucket on Trish, used a mop to rub it in, then spoke disparaging remarks about the petite blonde. They celebrated together, reunited as one big happy family, while Trish was left on her knees in the center of the ring, tears mixing with whatever God-awful concoction the villains had come up with. The feud would reach its crescendo at WrestleMania X-Seven, when Trish turned on Vince and brawled with Stephanie all the way up the ramp. By doing so, she ensured that "Daddy's Little Girl" would not be involved in the remainder of the Street Fight between he and his son, Shane. The next night on Raw, Trish defeated Stephanie by disqualification in a Country Whipping Match. The rivalry would never quite reach a satisfying end as it was dropped shortly thereafter. To this day, it is a story that is wildly underrated when ranking the greatest Divas rivalries of all-time, perhaps due to the fact that neither was a trained wrestler at the point. Whatever the case may be, Stephanie and Trish provided fans with a tremendously hot storyline that featured a great match at No Way Out, an intriguing follow up the next night on Raw and the Canadian's revenge on the biggest stage imaginable.
Erik Beaston is a freelance pro wrestling writer who likes long walks in the park, dandelions and has not quite figured out that this introduction is not for Match.com. He resides in Parts Unknown, where he hosts weekly cookouts with Kane, The Ultimate Warrior, Papa Shango and The Boogeyman. Be jealous.
