WWE Women’s Champion Tiffany Stratton made one of the most memorable entrances at WrestleMania 41, embracing her “Buff Barbie” persona by emerging from a life-sized replica doll box. The presentation, which also featured video screens showing her in other Barbie-themed costumes, perfectly showcased her character. In a recent interview with Scott Johnson for Going Ringside, Stratton revealed that this grand entrance was not a last-minute idea, but a concept she had been trying to bring to life for years, which was finally made possible through a partnership with Mattel.
Stratton explained that she had originally pitched the concept during her time in NXT, but it was initially shelved due to potential trademarking issues with the Barbie brand. “So, back in NXT, I had actually pitched this idea to come out of a Barbie box. However, I think with trademarking and stuff like that, it wasn’t going to really work out,” she said.
The plans were revived ahead of WrestleMania when Mattel, the creators of Barbie, reached out to WWE, opening the door to make her long-held vision a reality. For Stratton, seeing the entrance come to fruition on the grandest stage of them all was a career highlight. “It was like a dream come true for me… So to have it debut at WrestleMania, my first WrestleMania, was just such an amazing opportunity, and I wouldn’t have been able to do it without Triple H and Mattel.”
The entrance was not just for show, as the moment was followed by the biggest victory of Stratton’s career. She went on to defeat Charlotte Flair to retain the Women’s Title. Following her recent injury scare, where she was pulled from an NXT event as a precautionary measure, Tiffany Stratton has been medically cleared. She recently addressed this topic.
She is now set to defend her WWE Women’s Championship in a triple threat match on this week’s episode of Friday Night SmackDown. She will face Nia Jax and Jade Cargill in a match that was originally rumored for the Wrestlepalooza premium live event.
If you use any portion of the quotes from this article, please credit Going Ringside with an h/t to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription.
