No Doubt Stratus Will Be Missed
The WWE will soon lose one of its best when former women's champ Trish Stratus steps away from the sport on September 17th in Toronto at Unforgiven. Stratus will wrap up her WWE career in a blowout match with long time rival Lita, in what should be a memorable showdown. Stratus' departure has been talked about not only on TV, but written about on WWE.com, which is a far cry from the past, even the recent past when wrestlers like Brock Lesner, Goldberg, Mick Foley and Chris Jerhico have walked away without the WWE actually stating that this would be their last match. They hinted around it in Wrestlemania 20 as Lesner battled Goldberg, but that match was all about the special guest ref - Steve Austin. Add to that the match was horrific, and you had plenty of reason to be glad that both wrestlers were leaving after that match.
As for Stratus, her leaving will leave a huge hole in the face portion of the RAW roster. She is by far the best face women's wrestler on the roster. Who will fill that role of Stratus? The best guess is Mickie James, who has gotten over more since her "psycho" turn on Trish before WrestleMania, then when she was actually trying to get cheers about a year ago at this time. James is also a solid wrestler, so the transition from Stratus to her seems somewhat clear. Add to the fact that she can have a immediate feud with Lita since that is who she lost the belt to, it makes perfect sense. Beth Phoenix is another face who is set to return shortly who can try and take Stratus' role. When she left, she was in a storyline with James, which will have to be scrapped if James goes face.
They may try and bring Ashley Massaro back from the SmackDown roster to fill the void. She has been a face from the word go, but she still lacks big time in the wrestling department, and would have to work hard to get about even half as good as Stratus is right now. A darkhorse to be brought over from SmackDown is Jillian Hall, who went face after the split with JBL. She has been going at it with Krystal for about two months now, and is the best actual women's wrestler on the SmackDown roster. Only thing is other than the typical big chested-blonde look, she really does not have much of a character, which is something that would have to be developed.
So what does the WWE do in the final duel between Trish and Lita? The outcome really should not matter, as Lita as champion staying on the roster for now should get the win. But in the end, Stratus should show more offense and the two should have a very solid back and forth match, provided they give it the time it deserves. As for losing Stratus, she will be missed, but as is always said in wrestling, never say never. She may be gone for now, but I wouldn't doubt a return in 2-3 years.
