Ex-WWE Star Calls Women's Champ Tiffany Stratton His 'Biggest Success As A Trainer'

WWE Women's Champion Tiffany Stratton has, in quick time, become an important player in WWE's women's division, and her trainer, former WWE star Mr. Kennedy, has discussed her growth.

Kennedy runs a wrestling school where Stratton first honed her pro wrestling skills, and he believes that she is one of the biggest stars to have come through his school.

"We've had some successes [at his wrestling school]. Tiffany Stratton being probably the biggest name right now," he declared on "Insight." "We've had some other ones come through, and I think we have some that have all the potential in the world. They just need reps."

Stratton, who wasn't initially a fan of pro wrestling, was inspired to become a wrestler after watching her future WrestleMania opponent Charlotte Flair, and quickly got to grips with the sport. Such has been Stratton's dramatic rise that she won a women's title under a year after being called up to the main roster. 

Aside from Stratton, Kennedy also trained Olympic Gold medallist Gable Steveson, who was a part of WWE for a brief period before being let go by the promotion. Further in the interview, the former WWE star also discussed about the talent that Stratton showcased in the ring when he began training her, and what she initially lacked.

Mr. Kennedy recalled how wrestling veteran Greg Gagne, a family friend of Tiffany Stratton's, had seen some talent in her and asked him if he would be willing to train her. 

"Greg [Gagne] is a family friend, and Greg reached out to me and said, 'Hey, I've got this girl that, you know, she's a powerlifter and she does gymnastics and stuff. She's a super athlete, really good look, and I want to train her. Can we come?' So, she started coming and like right away, day one, she's one of those people — well, I was saying earlier like how we take our time to get to the flip, bumps, and stuff like that. But like Alex Findley and Tiffany Stratton, day one, they're doing perfect flip bumps, landing perfectly," he recalled. 

While he acknowledges that Stratton had the in-ring ability right from the start, he stated that she had no charisma on the mic.

"Tiffany, day one, doing stuff ... there's some stuff people just have instincts for, you know, and I think she was one of those people. However, the funny thing was, like she had no — I don't mean this in a negative way — like she didn't have any charisma, as far as she just did the work. She didn't have the character stuff down. So then fast forward to I have her first promo, I'll have to ask her someday for her permission to put it out there, right? Because it's not good."

Kennedy rated Stratton's mic skills at the start of her career at zero out of 10, but is pleased to see how she has grown and become confident with promos.