In retrospect, maybe Becky Lynch should have seen it coming.
When Trish Stratus attacked The Man from behind during the April 10 episode of Raw in Seattle — after getting pinned and losing the Women’s Tag Team Championship — it shocked many fans who know the WWE Hall of Famer only as one of the most popular women’s wrestlers in the history of the company. Yet her actions Monday night were in some ways just history repeating itself.
For the last time Stratus turned heel, we need to go all the way back to WrestleMania XX in 2004. Heading into that event, Stratus was in an angle that saw her side with Chris Jericho against Christian and Lita, one that hinted at Trish developing (storyline) feelings for Jericho.
However, when Jericho and Christian faced off at WrestleMania XX, Stratus betrayed Jericho and helped Christian win, explaining that he was a “real man.” Stratus remained a heel until September 2005, even winning the WWE Women’s Championship along the way, though she also missed an extended period of time due to injury.
It’s also worth noting that in terms of going back to her roots, Stratus began her WWE career as a heel, debuting in 2000 as a manager for Test and Prince Albert. Her first few years in the company included her infamous storyline with Vince McMahon that made it seem like he was cheating on his wife with her. She became a fan favorite for the first time at WrestleMania X-Seven, and remained that way most of her career save for the aforementioned time in 2004-05.
While Stratus attacked Lynch and is likely to end working a program with her, a common denominator between now and her previous villainous stint is Lita. In fact, Stratus has feuded with Lita as often if not more than they’ve been allies, so it will be interesting to see if Trish names her fellow legend as her reason for drifting to the dark side this time around.
And though it’s easy to see why Lynch wanted to believe the best of Stratus, Becky also knows her WWE history. Given this latest chapter, it’s hard to imagine she’ll ever be quite so trusting of Trish again.