WWE Women’s Champion Tiffany Stratton was a recent guest on Busted Open Radio, where she discussed her unique “mean girl” character, her favorite moment in her career so far, her upcoming SummerSlam match against Jade Cargill, and how she handles the pressures of being a top star in WWE.
The interview began with host Dave LaGreca admitting his confusion over her character, noting that he can’t connect with her as a babyface despite the fact that she has been getting cheered by the WWE Universe. Stratton’s response was confident and unapologetic.
If It’s Not Broken, Don’t Fix It
“I just, you know, I got cheered starting in Australia, and, you know, it made its way to America. So why would I change anything? Why would I start acting different if the mean girl persona is working and people are liking it and they’re cheering me?” Stratton explained. “I feel like the moment I do start acting like a good guy, I feel like that’s when the people would turn on me and maybe start booing me. So why would I change anything? If it’s not broken, don’t fix it.”
Tommy Dreamer praised her answer, saying, “I always say, what got you to the dance? Why would you change that?” He also noted how impressive it was that she knew her character so well at such a young stage in her career. Stratton agreed that the cheers were a pleasant surprise. “Hearing myself get cheered, especially as somebody who’s supposed to get booed, was definitely so eye-opening and changing for me,” she said.
A “Transformative Moment” in Australia
When asked to name her favorite moment in her career so far, Stratton pointed to that same event, the Elimination Chamber premium live event in Perth, Australia, as a “transformative moment” that boosted her confidence immensely.
“I have to say Australia was probably one of the best moments of my career thus far,” she stated. “Just having the crowd behind me in my first ever big PLE in a foreign country was such a confidence booster, and I felt it in the moment… I was so confident hearing the crowd behind me, and I actually heard it. Because, you know, you hear all these wrestlers and they’re like, ‘I don’t hear the crowd’… I was just so in the moment that day and that changed me. It changed my mindset on wrestling and in my career and my confidence.”
SummerSlam Nerves and Social Media
Looking ahead to her first-ever SummerSlam, where she will defend her WWE Women’s Championship against the undefeated Jade Cargill, Stratton admitted that she still gets nervous before every match. “I get nervous before I go and do an NXT coconut show. Like, I get nervous every single time I go out and wrestle,” she confessed. “I don’t think that’ll ever change. I think I will always get nervous, and I think it’s good for me to feel nervous… I perform very well under pressure. So if I’m not nervous, there’s something wrong.”
She also revealed her strategy for dealing with the negativity of social media. “I have a good support system. I have my family, my friends, and I kind of just lean on them, or I completely sign off,” she explained. “I really don’t go on Twitter that much… or X, whatever you want to call it. I’m mostly on TikTok, and TikTok is like my safe space. There is no wrestling, it’s all just reality TV, trends, dances and stuff like that. So I really don’t scroll that often.”
If you use any portion of the quotes from this article please credit Busted Open Radio with a h/t to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription.
