WWE Hall Of Famer Trish Stratus Looks Back On First Women's Royal Rumble

Back in December 2004, WWE Hall of Famers Trish Stratus and Lita made history as the first women to main event an episode of "WWE Raw." The importance of this headliner continues to be talked about today, with Stratus noting that its legacy even echoed throughout the backstage environment of another first in WWE, a Women's Royal Rumble.

"We realized how important that match was, but it wasn't until later on in 2018, we had the first ever Women's Royal Rumble. It was the chance to bring in generational face-offs. What I got to see is people from that current generation talk about that match and talk about, 'I watched them in that main event,'" Stratus recalled on "WWE Retrospective." "I knew someone like Charlotte Flair who was in the audience said, 'I watched those two in that main event and I knew I wanna do that.'"

According to Stratus, her childhood self never considered professional wrestling as a career option due to the lack of female role models on wrestling-related television at the time.. In main eventing "Raw," though, she and Lita were able to set an example for the young viewers, such as an 18-year-old Charlotte Flair.

At the 2018 Women's Royal Rumble, Flair sat ringside with the WWE SmackDown Women's Championship in her possession. Meanwhile, Stratus entered the Royal Rumble from the coveted number 30 position, with Nia Jax, Natalya, and former rival Mickie James being eliminated at her hands. Stratus later met her own elimination, courtesy of fellow multi-time women's champion Sasha Banks.

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit "WWE Retrospective" with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.