When Trish Stratus returned for a WrestleMania 39 match with Becky Lynch and Lita against Damage CTRL, it marked her first in-ring showing in nearly four years. Having last competed at the Grandest Stage of Them All in 2011 in a less prominent six-person tag team match, it was overdue for one of WWE’s top talents of the last 20 years to battle again at WrestleMania.
While Stratus won her WrestleMania match, she was apparently not 100 percent that night to face Bayley, Dakota Kai and Iyo Sky.
In an interview with Busted Open Radio, Stratus said she had “a few obstacles” for this match, including a partially torn hamstring that nobody knew about.
(h/t Fightful for transcription)
“I had a few obstacles. I had a partially torn hamstring, by the way. Nobody knew about that,” she said. “It was just like, WrestleMania, let’s just go,” she said. “This time, I had this injury, so I was a little unsure going in, but man, there’s something about feeling at home. It’s like riding a bike, as you guys know when we get back in there, your body’s like, ‘I got this just. Just do your thing,’ and it just flows. I’ve kept my health and fitness up, and that always plays into it as well. I am good in those moments, right? I work well under pressure. I always feel like I have to prove myself every time I go out there, so that was like a big driving force for me that evening, was to go out and prove that I belong in this match, that I belong with these other talented women and that I still belong here, period.”
Credit where it’s due for Stratus holding her own while hurt at WWE’s biggest show. Plus, she wrestled in a WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship match nine days later and simultaneously started a program with Lynch. With a potential gap before that payoff match — rumors suggest it might not come until SummerSlam — Stratus can return to health and deliver a memorable performance on another big stage.