Tiffany Stratton will be getting her rematch against NXT Women’s Champion Becky Lynch at NXT No Merch on Saturday, September 30. Stratton spoke with Steve Fall in an exclusive interview for WrestlingNews.co.
On how she was hired by WWE:
“So my, you know, my journey to WWE had started at a little wrestling school in Minnesota. It’s run by Ken Anderson, Mr. Kennedy. But I actually had submitted my application on WWE’s website multiple times, and I heard nothing back. So my mom actually knew Greg Gagne and reached out to him and she asked him if he could train me. And he did and he had a little connection down at WWE and he said that if I could show him that I can keep up with him and do what he tells me to do then he would send my stuff down and have them take a look at me. And he did that for me. And then the tryout came in March of 2000, or actually 2019. And it was right when COVID began. So the whole tryout got canceled, unfortunately. Two years later, I’m emailing them back and forth for like, a solid six months or so. They finally emailed me back, and I had my tryout in May of 2022. And then they signed me a couple of weeks later.”
On her early run as the Daddy’s Little Rich Girl character:
“In the beginning, I was kind of like Daddy’s little rich girl. I kind of just was like, I want to get on TV. And, you know, this was kind of like, new and different, I guess. So I pitched it. It stuck. And it works for a little bit until they’re like, we don’t have a daddy for you. So you’re not daddy’s little rich girl.”
On if there were plans to introduce a daddy:
“We never got that far. We never really [thought] it out. So that’s why I think it got scraped. But eventually, the character my big inspo was Sharpay Evans from High School Musical. I think she’s an icon.”
More on who inspired her character:
“And then Paris Hilton has always been like a big inspiration with like, the fashion, the gears, the clothes I wear, the way I wear my hair or my makeup. But I would say those two are definitely the big inspirations for my character. But you know, slowly my character has kind of just evolved into who I am. And just a little bit turned up.”
On what fans can expect at NXT No Mercy:
“Well, for Becky and I’s match, it will be an Extreme Rules match. So anything can happen. Anything can be used. So we might throw a ladder in there, we might throw a chair in there. So if you want to see Ladders and Chairs, then I would tune in for that for sure.”
On if NXT has the momentum to go on the road weekly:
“Yeah, I think that for sure. I feel like every single PLE that we have. I think we’re either selling out or we’re getting really close to selling out tickets. I definitely think that a loop or a couple of loops here and there would be awesome for NXT.”
Her thoughts on main roster talent appearing on and NXT becoming a major third brand:
“Yeah, definitely. That’s how you learn but I feel like we have so much amazing talent in the Performance Center that next year is definitely capable of becoming a third brand and, you know, with the help of some main roster talent like Becky, like Dirty Dom, I definitely feel like we could become a third brand for sure.”
On who she would like on her team if she appeared at Survivor Series:
“Well, I have to go with Kiana James because she was my tag partner [Tuesday] night…I think Lash Legend is a freak athlete. I think she brings a lot to the table. Maybe her tag partner Jakara Jackson, and I think this girl is kind of just starting out but she is definitely not somebody that nobody knows but her name is Lola Vice, I think with the striking and the submissions that she knows a lot about. I think she could help a lot with the WarGames team.”
On Becky Lynch being the GOAT:
“I think Becky Lynch is definitely one of the greatest of all time. Not the greatest of all time but one of the greatest of all time.”
WWE NXT No Mercy will air live on Peacock on Saturday, September 30 from the Mechanics Bank Arena in Bakersfield, California. Here is the updated card:
NXT Championship
Carmelo Hayes (Champion) vs. Ilja Dragunov
Extreme Rules match for the NXT Women’s Championship
Becky Lynch (Champion) vs. Tiffany Stratton
British Rounds Rules match for the NXT Heritage Cup
Noam Dar (Champion) (with Oro Mensah, Lash Legend, and Jakara Jackson) vs. Butch or Joe Coffey
NXT North American Championship
“Dirty” Dominik Mysterio (Champion) (with Rhea Ripley) vs. Mustafa Ali
Bron Breakker vs. Baron Corbin
This interview is exclusive to WrestlingNews.co. If you use these quotes, please include a link back to this page.
