SI: Short & Sweet
Retirements in sports are often short lived. Many times they're so short you'd never know there was a retirement and a comeback if you were on vacation.
That is doubly true in professional wrestling, where no retirement would truly be complete without a triumphant comeback or two -- or in Terry Funk's case 71.
So you'll have to forgive me for being a little skeptical when I heard that Trish Stratus, the WWE's most popular "Diva," was retiring this Sunday after her match against WWE women's champion Lita at the Unforgiven pay-per-view show in her hometown of Toronto.
I've always had a soft spot for Trish. Try for a moment to look past her amazing physique (I know, just try) and she's one of the most down-to-earth performers in any sport. She's a self described "tomboy," who loves talking hockey and has no problem planting a wet one on Pamela Anderson if the mood strikes her. In fact, she's one of the few WWE Divas who's turned down offers to pose in Playboy. Not necessarily for moral reasons, but she simply doesn't think she's "sexy."
"It's not my stye, that whole sexy thing is not me," she says. "I'm totally a tomboy. If you think I'm sexy that's fine, I guess that's your own thought."
OK, Trish, I guess I'm in the minority.
"No really, It's not my style at all," she says. "I actually kind of like the mystery. I don't want to be remembered as the chick who posed for Playboy. I want to be remembered for what I did in the ring."
As one of the most popular female performers in WWE history, that's certainly not going to be a problem. Most fans, however, never expected that they'd have to reminisce about her career less than seven years into it. Stratus included. She never really thought about retirement until recently as her contract has come up around the same time as her wedding at the end of the month. It wasn't until then that she realized there were more important things in her life than being body slammed night in and night out.
"It's been almost seven years and my contract renewal came up and it kind of just hit me, where am I at in life? Do I want to be here for another 3-5 years?" she said. "I've spent the past 10 years of my life on the road working. I just thought it was time to stop and smell the roses and enjoy life a little bit and enjoy the fruits of my labor. There are also a lot of things going on in my life; stuff that I had to deal with. Little things, like I'm ready to plan a wedding and be a bride and I'd like to be involved with the planning and my nephew always asks me when I'm going to go see his hockey games and I want to be able to do things like that."
It's always a difficult moment when an athlete decides to call it a career, and Stratus has let her emotions fly a few times, especially during her final appearance on Raw on Monday, but she has no idea what will happen when she steps through the ropes at the Air Canada Centre on Sunday night.
"Oh, I don't even want to think about it now," she says, taking a deep breath. "I'm not sure how I'll react."
Although Stratus is looking forward to marrying her high school sweetheart in a couple weeks and enjoying some "me time," she'll be the first one to admit that she may not be able to overcome that itch to return that so many of her predecessors have scratched shortly after hanging up their boots.
"I'll probably feel it on Monday night," she says. "I'll always watch it and I'll always follow it so who knows what will happen?"
source: sportsillustrated.com
That is doubly true in professional wrestling, where no retirement would truly be complete without a triumphant comeback or two -- or in Terry Funk's case 71.
So you'll have to forgive me for being a little skeptical when I heard that Trish Stratus, the WWE's most popular "Diva," was retiring this Sunday after her match against WWE women's champion Lita at the Unforgiven pay-per-view show in her hometown of Toronto.
I've always had a soft spot for Trish. Try for a moment to look past her amazing physique (I know, just try) and she's one of the most down-to-earth performers in any sport. She's a self described "tomboy," who loves talking hockey and has no problem planting a wet one on Pamela Anderson if the mood strikes her. In fact, she's one of the few WWE Divas who's turned down offers to pose in Playboy. Not necessarily for moral reasons, but she simply doesn't think she's "sexy."
"It's not my stye, that whole sexy thing is not me," she says. "I'm totally a tomboy. If you think I'm sexy that's fine, I guess that's your own thought."
OK, Trish, I guess I'm in the minority.
"No really, It's not my style at all," she says. "I actually kind of like the mystery. I don't want to be remembered as the chick who posed for Playboy. I want to be remembered for what I did in the ring."
As one of the most popular female performers in WWE history, that's certainly not going to be a problem. Most fans, however, never expected that they'd have to reminisce about her career less than seven years into it. Stratus included. She never really thought about retirement until recently as her contract has come up around the same time as her wedding at the end of the month. It wasn't until then that she realized there were more important things in her life than being body slammed night in and night out.
"It's been almost seven years and my contract renewal came up and it kind of just hit me, where am I at in life? Do I want to be here for another 3-5 years?" she said. "I've spent the past 10 years of my life on the road working. I just thought it was time to stop and smell the roses and enjoy life a little bit and enjoy the fruits of my labor. There are also a lot of things going on in my life; stuff that I had to deal with. Little things, like I'm ready to plan a wedding and be a bride and I'd like to be involved with the planning and my nephew always asks me when I'm going to go see his hockey games and I want to be able to do things like that."
It's always a difficult moment when an athlete decides to call it a career, and Stratus has let her emotions fly a few times, especially during her final appearance on Raw on Monday, but she has no idea what will happen when she steps through the ropes at the Air Canada Centre on Sunday night.
"Oh, I don't even want to think about it now," she says, taking a deep breath. "I'm not sure how I'll react."
Although Stratus is looking forward to marrying her high school sweetheart in a couple weeks and enjoying some "me time," she'll be the first one to admit that she may not be able to overcome that itch to return that so many of her predecessors have scratched shortly after hanging up their boots.
"I'll probably feel it on Monday night," she says. "I'll always watch it and I'll always follow it so who knows what will happen?"
source: sportsillustrated.com
Want more?
