Listen up, wrestlemaniacs. This week’s guest on brioux.tv: the podcast is none other than Trish Stratus, back for a third season — starting tonight, Tuesday, March 19 — on Citytv’s two-hour season premiere of Canada’s Got Talent.
The eight-time World Wrestling Entertainment champion and WWE Hall of Famer is back as a bad girl after years of semi-retirement. Stratus geared down her ring career while raising her two children but remains as strong and fit as ever, ready to put CGT’s head judge Howie Mandel in a headlock if he even thinks about voting the wrong way — especially now with a million dollar grand prize on the line.
If you are not familiar with Stratus’s wrestling exploits, check her out at her own website or on YouTube. In recent years, supposedly in retirement, she has climbed into steel cage matches against today’s top performers. She takes good care of herself, and has persuaded fellow judge Kardinal Offishall to join her in yoga sessions.
She agrees Kardi, with his booming voice, would make an excellent wrestling ring announcer. Head judge Howie Mandel, on the other hand? We agree he would be well cast as one of those weasel-y wrestling managers.
On this episode we talk about Stratus’s early years growing up in Richmond Hill, Ont., north of Toronto, where she first became a wrestling fan. Hulk Hogan caughter her attention, naturally, but she was an even bigger fan of Randy “Macho Man” Savage.
What she didn’t really have was a female wrestling role model because there really weren’t any, at least not so much on television. Stratus stepped into that void in a roundabout way, taking the fast lane to ring success after work as a fitness model and yoga studio owner.
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We talk about how this third season of Canada’s Got Talent is the million dollar season thanks to Citytv’s parent company, Rogers. The media giant stepped up with the biggest grand prize ever in the history of Canadian television. Also for the first time, other cash awards of $25,000, courtesy of CIBC, will br awarded this season to each act singled out with one of the judges golden buzzers.
Over 20 years ago there was, briefly, a Canadian version of Who Wants to be a Millionaire. Four episodes were taped in the same studio Regis Philbin used in New York. Pamela Wallen was the Canadian series host. The most awarded on that brief series, however, was a 64,000 prize.
Stratus says some wild and wacky things happen on this third season, which was opened to include Canadians living in other countries. While there are still plenty of singers, dancers and comedians, Stratus says there are several circus acts and other physical participants as well. That’s where the other judges rely on Stratus for judging fitness, coordination, and team work — hallmarks of her ring career.
Listen to the Toronto native tell her story as we take a fun trip into the Stratusphere. To link directly to the podcast episode, simply click on the white arrow in te blue dot, above.
