Metro Toronto: Stratus Wrestles Up a New Career in Comedy
If wrestling tickles your funny bone, how does having a former world champ on board as host of a comedy series grab ya?
Seven-time World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) women’s champion Trish Stratus has been roped in to host The Second City’s Next Comedy Legend, which debuts tomorrow at 9 p.m. on CBC.
The reality series tosses contestants from Vancouver, Calgary, Halifax and Toronto into a competitive ring of sketch comedy, off-stage politics and all-round backstabbing as they vie to join the ranks of such Second City greats as Mike Myers, Martin Short and John Candy.
Shepherding them through the critical eyes of the show’s panel of judges, Joe Flaherty, Elvira Kurt and Mick Napier, is Stratus, the most decorated and arguably funniest diva in WWE history.
When asked for a reaction to viewers, who might snipe, “What? They got a former WWE champ hosting a reality comedy series?,” Stratus rebuts, “You mean the ones who also said:
‘What? They got a former WWE champ hosting Canada’s 2006 Walk Of Fame?’
“I love it. I love knocking down preconceived notions of me.”
Wrestling buffs will remember Stratus’ character from the ring: witty, sarcastic and frequently over-the-top silly, words described by the blond vixen herself.
But comedy, it seems, is in her blood. A few years ago, Stratus performed a one night only show at Second City. From then on, she was invited to perform improvs there. Producers kept her in mind for Comedy Legend.
“What convinced me to take on this hosting gig wasn’t to be a host necessarily; it was to work with Second City,” explains Stratus, who navigates her way through the show with unscripted, off-the-cuff lines peppered with a dose of — brace yourself — knock-knock jokes.
Is she kidding? Dunno.
But what we do know about Stratus is her impressive WWE titles. Diva Of The Decade and a three-time win as Babe Of The Year are stacked alongside her seven WWE wins, the final, of which, was bestowed to her last year in Toronto, otherwise known as home.
Stratus also recently co-starred opposite La Toya Jackson and Eric Estrada in the short-lived CBS series, Armed And Famous. Before the TV spotlight hit, Stratus graced calendars and the covers of such magazines as Muscle & Fitness and Oxygen as a fitness model. A radio gig co-hosting a wrestling radio show paved the way to the wrestling arena itself, and the one-time fan became a competitor in 2000.
Yoga, running and water are among Stratus’ beauty secrets, but it’s got to be brains that drives the recently married 31-year-old, who plans to open a yoga studio in Vaughan Mills.
Are men intimidated by the WWE champ?
“Only when I wear my championship belt,” quips Stratus. “It keeps the guys away in the produce section.”
How would you rate the usefulness of this content?
by lawrence chau
source: metronews.ca
Seven-time World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) women’s champion Trish Stratus has been roped in to host The Second City’s Next Comedy Legend, which debuts tomorrow at 9 p.m. on CBC.
The reality series tosses contestants from Vancouver, Calgary, Halifax and Toronto into a competitive ring of sketch comedy, off-stage politics and all-round backstabbing as they vie to join the ranks of such Second City greats as Mike Myers, Martin Short and John Candy.
Shepherding them through the critical eyes of the show’s panel of judges, Joe Flaherty, Elvira Kurt and Mick Napier, is Stratus, the most decorated and arguably funniest diva in WWE history.
When asked for a reaction to viewers, who might snipe, “What? They got a former WWE champ hosting a reality comedy series?,” Stratus rebuts, “You mean the ones who also said:
‘What? They got a former WWE champ hosting Canada’s 2006 Walk Of Fame?’
“I love it. I love knocking down preconceived notions of me.”
Wrestling buffs will remember Stratus’ character from the ring: witty, sarcastic and frequently over-the-top silly, words described by the blond vixen herself.
But comedy, it seems, is in her blood. A few years ago, Stratus performed a one night only show at Second City. From then on, she was invited to perform improvs there. Producers kept her in mind for Comedy Legend.
“What convinced me to take on this hosting gig wasn’t to be a host necessarily; it was to work with Second City,” explains Stratus, who navigates her way through the show with unscripted, off-the-cuff lines peppered with a dose of — brace yourself — knock-knock jokes.
Is she kidding? Dunno.
But what we do know about Stratus is her impressive WWE titles. Diva Of The Decade and a three-time win as Babe Of The Year are stacked alongside her seven WWE wins, the final, of which, was bestowed to her last year in Toronto, otherwise known as home.
Stratus also recently co-starred opposite La Toya Jackson and Eric Estrada in the short-lived CBS series, Armed And Famous. Before the TV spotlight hit, Stratus graced calendars and the covers of such magazines as Muscle & Fitness and Oxygen as a fitness model. A radio gig co-hosting a wrestling radio show paved the way to the wrestling arena itself, and the one-time fan became a competitor in 2000.
Yoga, running and water are among Stratus’ beauty secrets, but it’s got to be brains that drives the recently married 31-year-old, who plans to open a yoga studio in Vaughan Mills.
Are men intimidated by the WWE champ?
“Only when I wear my championship belt,” quips Stratus. “It keeps the guys away in the produce section.”
How would you rate the usefulness of this content?
by lawrence chau
source: metronews.ca
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