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Throughout her time in WWE, Trish Stratus has been open to doing almost anything asked of her by the company's bosses. One exception came in 2002 when she refused to go along with an instruction from Stephanie McMahon ahead of a proposed segment with Torrie Wilson.
McMahon was part of WWE's creative team at a time when women's appearances were widely considered more important than their in-ring ability. On one occasion, Vince McMahon's daughter wanted Stratus to crawl over Torrie Wilson before ki**ing her on the lips.
In Jon Robinson's 2015 book WWE The Attitude Era, Stratus said Stacy Keibler took her place in the segment because she felt uncomfortable:
"Stephanie wanted me to crawl on Torrie. I said I'd ki** her on the cheek, but Stephanie didn't think that [was] sexy enough. She wanted me to ki** her on the lips. I didn't feel like I was in a position to say no, so I kept saying I'd do it, but just not with a s**y ki** on the lips. That didn't go so well, and Stacy ended up doing it instead. That was just too risqué for me."
Trish Stratus added that she had no problem ki**ing Lita and Mickie James, as those ki**es made sense from a storyline perspective. The WWE Hall of Famer was reluctant to ki** Wilson because she felt that the segment lacked any real meaning.
Possible reason why Trish Stratus lost the Women's Championship
On the February 4, 2002, episode of RAW, Trish Stratus lost the Women's Championship to Jazz. The unexpected title change came shortly after the Canadian refused to ki** Torrie Wilson on the lips.
Although she did not know for sure, Stratus suspected that she was forced to lose the title as a punishment:
"This segment was filmed on a Tuesday for SmackDown. I was the champion, so I went home, came to the next show on Monday, and I lost the title clean to Jazz. So, was I being punished? Who knows? I was never told that's why I lost, but it was a little strange that WrestleMania in my hometown of Toronto was coming up, and all of a sudden, I wasn't going in as champion. Eventually, I got the title back, so it was all good, but I still stand by my decision at the time."
Lita and Stratus unsuccessfully challenged Jazz for the Women's Championship at WrestleMania 18. Two months later, Stratus regained the title on the May 13, 2002, episode of RAW.
Do you think Trish Stratus was right to stand her ground? Let us know in the comments section below.
