10 Times WWE Turned Trash Into Treasure (... And YOU Didn't Notice!)

2. Trish Proves She's Far More Than T&A

Chelsea Green
WWE.com

When Trish Stratus landed in the World Wrestling Federation in 2000, the promotion was at it's absolute worst when it came to how it positioned its female talent.

Granted, Ivory and Jacqueline were extremely capable wrestlers, but the other Women's Champions in the time since that belt was reintroduced in 1998 ranged from Playboy star Sable, to non-wrestler Debra, to the 76-year-old Fabulous Moolah, to Harvey Wippleman in a wig as Hervina. In terms of the 'matches' for the promotion's female talents, they were called upon to participate in Evening Gown Matches, Lumberjill Snowbunny Matches, Swimsuit Contests and other such tripe that allowed for Jerry Lawler to scream about puppies.

The point being, it was a grim time for the women's division when Trish debuted.

It didn't take long for Stratus to find herself involved with the McMahons, and she famously was positioned as the mistress of Vince McMahon heading into WrestleMania X-Seven. The Canadian turned face at 'Mania after slapping McMahon, and from there Stratus started to be featured more as an in-ring act rather than 'just' a valet who sporadically wrestled.

As 2001 rolled into 2002 and beyond, audiences quietly began to notice that, y'know, Trish Stratus wasn't bad at this wrestling thing.

It's testament to the work ethic of Stratus and the hands-on training of Fit Finlay, but Trish had developed into a good in-ring worker. Throw in talented dance partners such as Lita, Molly Holly, Mickie James, Victoria, and Jazz over those years, and Stratus cemented herself as an icon of the industry.

Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main dayjob, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg.