September 26, 2007
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Since her retirement from active competition one year ago, seven-time Women's Champion Trish Stratus has kept busy with television and charity appearances. But she always has time to meet her loyal fans.
While doing appearances and signings, Stratus told WWE.com that she keeps getting asked the same question: "When are you coming back, Trish?"
The Diva of the Decade wonders the same herself.
"[The fans] all want to know about a comeback and when's it going to be. I don't know," Trish wondered.
In her mind, nothing can top her final night in WWE, defeating Lita at Unforgiven last September to win her seventh Women's Championship in front of her hometown crowd in Toronto. The Canadian fans gave the retiring champ a standing-ovation send off that brought tears to her eyes.
"I left with such a fantastic farewell, that I don't ever want to spoil that. It was so sweet," Trish recalled.
She said she keeps in touch with some Divas via text message and reads WWE.com to keep up with news about Superstars and the company.
But when Stratus sits in her living room of her Toronto-area home with her newlywed husband Ron and watches Monday Night Raw, she wonders if her busy schedule of appearances and television work has kept her from itching for some in-ring action.
"Everyone asks me if I miss WWE. I guess I haven't had the chance," Trish explained. "If I had retired and been sitting at home and been thinking 'what now,' I might have been 'Hi Vince, can I please come back now?' I've just gotten so busy with all this other fun stuff now."
Running, Stretching...
Some of those fun things include charity appearances like an upcoming triathlon in the Caribbean. Trish will join other celebrities in a Tri4Dignity triathlon race in the Turks & Caicos Islands on Dec. 1.
The former Women's Champion's leg of the triathlon is the 13-mile half-marathon road course. The event raises money for Dignitas International, an international medical humanitarian organization. Fans can donate to Trish's team at the event Web site.
The former Diva paired up with a running coach to help her train for the event. "It's a new challenge for me. I've never really ran before. I've always sort of done the weight training and basic cardio stuff," Trish said.
Another new challenge for Trish is spreading her love of yoga to the public. While rehabbing from a herniated disc in 2005, her body was not responding to months of traditional therapy as well as she would have liked. She was not regaining the freedom and range of movement she previously had.
With a friend, Trish started taking yoga classes and her body responded remarkably. She credits yoga with saving and extending her career.
And now that her wrestling career is over, Trish wants others to discover yoga's healing powers. "It would be really neat to give that back to people," she said.
With a business partner, Trish is currently planning a yoga studio in North Toronto. Debuting this winter, "Stratusphere Yoga" will offer three different disciplines of yoga under one roof.
Currently meeting with designers and architects building the studio, Trish hopes the first location will be the start of a successful franchise.
The former medical student hopes Stratusphere Yoga will change people's lives for the better.
"Back in the day as a [med student], for me I wanted to help people and give back to people, and you can only see 15-20 people in your office a day [as a doctor]," Trish explained. "This way, I can reach many more people."
Celebrity calls
But even as an entrepreneur, celebrity life still beckons. Stratus will be featured on MTV Cribs in the near future. She and her husband will be featured in 2 Magazine, and she'll be presenting at the Gemini Awards -- Canada's version of the Emmys.
Trish said she's still amazed at the attention she gets from the media a year after her last match.
"It's really crazy how I get calls now where I'm done wrestling," she said. "Because of what they saw me achieve in wrestling, they saw this strong, powerful woman make it in a male-dominated business. It's amazing how many people WWE reaches out to and touches.
"With wrestling, they put you on this whole other level, and it's really neat to be a Canadian Superstar."
And despite her busy schedule, Trish warned the current Divas locker room not to be too co*cky. Or else the seven-time champion might have to set the record straight.
"If someone started talking (expletive deleted) about me and calling me out, you know, I'd have to come back," Trish warned with a smile.
Part 1 of her interview discussing the Women's Championship, Divas and Unforgiven is available here. Part 2 of her interview discussing her past year away from the ring, marriage and her television projects is available here.
