Stratus said she experienced the same criticism early in her career.
Following a match that Maxxine Dupri was a part of at a WWE house show, a video was posted onto X of her walking to the backstage area and the crowd was booing her as she left. The response led to multiple WWE talents coming to the defense of their colleague.
Trish Stratus weighed in on the situation as she was speaking to Slam Wrestling. Stratus was glad to see fellow women on the roster backing up Dupri. She said she experienced similar criticisms early in her career. Stratus spoke highly of Maxxine and hopes she uses the criticism as fuel.
I think these keyboard warriors have no idea what we do. I suffered it too. They were like, ‘Oh, that (match) was crap.’ Well, you try it. I love that (the women) banded together. Because we all get it, we all go through it, we live it. And it affects us, you know? We have feelings. So when people say something mean, it doesn’t feel that great. So it’s great that we can all use the platform of social media to (unite), and let (the critics) know that they can’t just talk s— and get away with it. I love that we can put them in their place.
I think that Maxxine (Dupri) is doing amazing. I think she’s being booked perfectly. I see similar parallels to the way I was booked early on. I believe I have this connection with the fans because of how I came up. I didn’t do the traditional upbringing. I didn’t come in trained, I didn’t do the indies or the ‘minor league’ so to speak. I literally learned on the road – I learned as I went, and everyone was along for the journey. They got to see me fall down. But they also got to see me stand up, dust myself off, and try again. And I think she’s doing a great job. She’s athletic, she’s got a great look, she’s gorgeous. I think she’s the perfect underdog story. And I think it’s going to turn around and people are going to click with her, and she’ll be around a long time. And I would (encourage) her to use those negative words as her fuel. I hope she turns it into a fire so that she can go back to them and say, look at what I did now. When I was getting criticized, when people were telling me I’d never succeed, my motivation was to become so good that people couldn’t help but notice. That drove me. Hopefully that can be her fuel as well.
In 2013, Stratus accepted her place into the WWE Hall of Fame and she spoke about the 2024 class that includes Paul Heyman.
She remembers Heyman giving her pointers that stuck with her throughout her career. When Stratus was on the road for her most recent comeback, her and Heyman would joke that she could be a ‘Paul Heyman Gal’.
I’ve worked very closely with Paul (Heyman) at times. He’s lent me his ear and his brain for things, which was very valuable. And he’s a great friend. He’s been a very big supporter of mine. I remember after a match I had, he came to me and (complemented) the selling I did. We talked about why something I did worked, and how it made the audience feel, and what it did for my character. And I just remember taking all that in. And when I watched it back, I could really see what he was saying, and that stayed with me for my whole career – knowing how important evoking that emotion is. He’s a genius at that.
It was nice to reunite with him when I went back on the road. We would make these jokes that I could be a Paul Heyman Gal one day. He’s given so much to this industry for so long, and it’s those tiny things that he does that really makes a huge difference. I think it’s really great that they’re honoring him.
The duo of Trish and Lita were the focus of a Q&A session and sent a message to WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions, The Kabuki Warriors (Asuka & Kairi Sane).
