It's Tiffy Time! WWE Women's World Champion Tiffany Stratton interview

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Hey yo. It's me, it's me. It's the TOO, the JIGG2 JG. TJ Jefferson, and I'm here.

Okay. O'Shea Jackson, he's off in Atlanta. He's doing that whole movie star thing. But don't worry, he is going to join us shortly. It's a big day for us here at No Contest Wrestling.

This is our first podcast on ESPN Disney Plus platform, and it's like a dream come true. We're very excited to be doing this. And as far as we know, we are the very first wrestling podcast to be on the ESPN podcast platform. That's a major accomplishment, man.

So I'm very proud of O'Shea, myself. Playboy Don Bowie, everyone here, Jason, Mikey D, RJ, everyone who does this for us, man. We thank all you guys. We thank D'Lo and Hoskins, and I just throw everyone's name out there, Smitch, for helping us to get to this point. And this is just the start, man.

We're looking forward to bringing you the best interviews with. the best wrestlers in the world.

So That being said, We decided. that on our first ESPN show we got to go big. And I think we did that. Yeah. To you.

WWE Women's Champion. Tiffany Stratton. It's Tiffy time, people. Let's go. Fans of the No Contest Wrestling Podcast, you know, with it being our premiere episode on the World Wide Leader, TJ, we needed some gold around here.

You know, we needed to bring.

some some real title field. to our first day on ESPN. Our next guest is a former NXT women's champion. She is the current. WWE Women's Champion, former Money in the Bank winner.

Her name might be Tiffany, but she's not handing out black and blue boxes. She's handing out black and blue eyes. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome Tiffany Stratton. Y'all know what time it is to the No Contest Wrestling Podcast. Hello, that's actually a really cool little slogan.

I think I might steal that. We're not getting out black and blue boxes. We're getting out black and blue eyes. That's right. That's right.

That's awesome. How are you, first off? I'm doing good. How are you guys? Awesome.

We're great. Happy to have you for sure. Thanks. Absolutely.

So, usually, our first question on the No Contest Wrestling Podcast when we have a new guest. We like to ask them. When do they get bit by the wrestling bug? What was life before that led you to being the superstar that we know now? Oh, so you want to let you want to know about my before life?

Yeah, before wrestling? What was up with Lil Tiff?

Okay. Growing up in Minnesota. Yeah, I'm from Minnesota, Prior Lake, a little small town. And I was a gymnast my entire life. It was literally my life.

I eventually quit gymnastics. I kind of like fell out of love for it. And then I went to CrossFit. I did bodybuilding. I worked at Mystic Lake Casino as a server and a bartender.

And one day I saw... Wrestling on my TV screen, and I was with my family. And my mom was like actually the person that was pushing me to do this. And she saw Charlotte Flair, and she immediately was like, You could totally do something like that. That's right up your alley.

You can do all the things that she's doing. And I was like, Yeah, okay, whatever, mom. And then eventually. I guess, like a year and a half, two years later, I was like, you know what? I kind of saw it on Instagram and it was starting to gain a lot of popularity.

And I saw it and I was like, you know what? I'm going to give this a go. And I found my nearest wrestling school. And it was Mr. Kennedy's wrestling school.

Um, I signed up. I did the classes, and my mom actually knew Greg Gagne and reached out to him. I think he thought my mom was crazy. My mom is crazy, but um. She's a good crazy.

She reached out to him, said like, will you train my daughter? And he was like, I'll take a look. I'll come and like watch her bump and run the ropes. And he saw me take my first bump and he immediately was like, you are actually really good at this for only being, for only doing this on a short amount of time.

So he coached me. He helped me get a tryout with WWE. And actually my first tryout got canceled because of COVID. And I was very consistent with them. And I emailed them non-stop.

And I asked to be invited back. And finally, a year and a half later, I got invited back to a tryout. And they signed me a week later. And that's that. Wow.

And Shay, you know what I love about this story is because you know I've quoted this more than once on the podcast: that real G's move in silence like Greg Gagne. And here you are, you actually trained with Greg Gagne.

So that's pretty cool. What was. What was it like? Did you hear stories about the great great Vern gonya from Greg? Oh, yeah.

I heard a lot of stories. Me and Greg, we've bumped heads a couple of times. I'm a little bit of a diva, and he's also kind of a diva.

So we. We We got along, but you know, there was moments where I was a little bit of, you know, a brat, but I'm very thankful that I met him. He helped me so much. He helped me learn the basics of wrestling. He's the reason why I killed it at my tryout.

I hope to see footage of that tryout one day. I haven't seen it because I rocked that tryout. I was willing to die before not getting a job. But yeah, Greg was awesome. He helped me so much.

Now, during those early days, I know. how physical gymnastics can be. I have. A little girl, she's eight, she keeps talking to me about gymnastics. I'm just nervous about anytime she climbs anything.

But What was your welcome to wrestling moment? A bump you took, or just something that. stung a little bit more than you were ready for at the time. Oh, there were so many of those at the performance center. In my very early days of being at the performance center, I would take bad bumps all the time and I would get like my bell rung.

Not the smartest thing, and I would continue to just keep bumping on it. But I would say those first three, four months were brutal 'cause all you're doing is taking bumps and you're running the ropes and you're doing cardio drills. Um it can get pretty intense. I have definitely thrown up from being too blown up and, you know, Um but yeah, I would say those first four months at the performance center was really tough. And then in 2021, you were the the only woman who was announced in your group of recruits.

To be trained at that time. Who else was in your class with you? I mean, I've seen pictures before, but once you labeled me, no, like, who else was in that class? Because you had some, that was a heck of a class. Yeah, um Solo Sokoa was one of them.

We got signed together. Who else? I had Malik Blade. in my trial class. Um I had Was Oba in your class?

Who? Was Oba Femi in your class? Or no, was that a different class? No, it's a different class. Those are the two that I can remember.

Um Uh-huh. I forgot that one kid's name in NXT. He does like the country boy gimmick. He was also in my class. Not Josh Briggs, but the other one.

Um oh um Yeah, I'm drawing a blank now too, but yeah, I get you. Briggs Johnson, I think. Yes, yes. Yeah. And that's oh, I had this kid named Bobby.

He used to. Um be in Chase U.

Okay. Yeah. And that is all I can really remember.

Okay. And what was it like down there in the PC at that time? It was lonely. It was very lonely at first because. I was the only girl in my signing group, so For the longest time, I didn't really have any girlfriends.

And then four weeks later, thankfully, another group came. It was the Vegas group. And Nikita Lyons was in it, Maxine Dupree was in it, Jakara Jackson, and thankfully they came along and we all became friends and I wasn't alone anymore.

So it was very lonely at first, but it got better.

Now We, you know, we. Here at the No Conscious Wrestle Podcast, we're big fans of. Nia Jax. Nia Jax graced us with her presence early on. in our days of a pot.

Talk to us a little bit about the times with Naya. She spoke a little bit about you guys' times on the road. She spoke very highly of you. What was that like? traveling with Naya and all those things.

Oh, I love Naya so much. I can't put her over enough. The first time that we really got to know each other was on the flight to Australia. She immediately sat down next to me. I didn't even know who she was, but she sat down next to me and we bonded for like 19 hours straight.

And we made TikToks, we talked about all the drama in our life, and we immediately just like clicked. And ever since then, we've been attached at the hip. And she's just been so amazing to have around. She gives me amazing advice. I've learned so much from her.

So yeah, like I said, I can't put her over enough. She's amazing.

Now, if I'm not mistaken, I heard you say that your second match ever. Let's wait. Uh EO Sky. Uh you you've worked with Quite the list of veterans already from you know, EO and Becky and. In the elimination chamber, you had a bit of everybody in there.

So, who besides Naya, has there been anybody to really give you advice in the back or that you've kind of looked at? for guidance even now that you're the champion? Yeah, I definitely would say it was Becky Lynch for me. I think that was.

So Becky came down to NXT and we had a little feud. We went, we had a match on NXT TV and then we went to No Mercy. And both of those, I also got to go on the road loops with her, and I got to be on the road and stuff.

So That time for me was a time where I was doubting myself a lot. But in the very end of it all, I had learned so much and I had gained so much confidence from just being in the ring with Becky Lynch. It was definitely after the no mercy match where I was like, okay, I think I can actually be good at this one day or be like a ring general one day. Because I was in the ring with Becky and I, you know, I learned so much. Like I learned how to call matches on the fly and work on the fly and stuff like that.

So I think Becky has a lot to do with. Me and my confidence because a couple months later, I got called up to the main roster, and I really think No Mercy was the match that put me on the map. I think main roster saw potential in me.

So, Becky Lynch is definitely somebody that. gave me a lot of confidence and I learned so much from and I would love to have another feud with her. I got to get my lick back. Absolutely, you do. Way to praise that the right way.

I love that. She took the title off me.

So Tiff, even b before you made it up to the main roster, you know, I I'd like to talk about NXT a little bit. You you won your first title, the NXT Women's Championship at Battleground. You had been in the business less than two years, about two years at this point, right?

So what was that feeling like to go home and well, first of all, when you found out you were going to go over and win the championship and then getting that NXT Women's Championship and going home with it? Tell us like the thoughts. about that moment. Um so I was obviously very nervous. Nobody really had told me, like, oh, you're winning the title.

I just kind of like found out one day when we were calling the match. I think it was day of, and that's when I found out. And I feel like I didn't really have time to process it. But. I had my match against Lyra, and that is probably the top five favorite matches of mine.

I love working with Lyra, she's amazing. In and After that match, I don't even think like it's set in for another week. Um and then Like, I felt almost like I wasn't ready, and I was like, why are they doing this? As time went on, I got more confident, and I think everything happens for a reason. And I was still growing as a wrestler, as champion.

I was still only like two years into the business. I don't even think that long, but I was still growing and I think, you know. When you get pushed like that, you're kind of forced to either sink or swim.

So I really had no other option but to swim, and I learned. A lot too in a very short amount of time. And I'm super grateful for NXT. They taught me everything. I learned so much down there.

And now I'm champion on SmackDown. And I feel like I am champion now because. Of NXT and how much I've learned down in NXT and from being champion and stuff like that.

So I owe NXT a lot for my career. And also in NXT, I guess that's the The place where you guys go and you work on character. Development. And at first, you had kind of like a daddy's girl type character, and right before you won the title, and then it kind of seemed like you got away from that and moved on, tweaked your character ever so slightly. What was the thought process?

behind going from the daddy's girl to The newer version.

So, yeah.

So, the Daddy's Little Rich Girl gimmick kind of came from like Sharpais Evans from High School Musical or like Paris Hilton. I think so we went with it for a little bit and then Sean was like, we don't have a daddy for you. We don't really have a payoff.

So I think we kind of just need to scrape it. And that's what we ended up doing, which is totally fine because. you know I don't think I needed to be like daddy's little rich girl. I think, you know, just being the blonde, pink Barbie doll was enough.

So that's kind of what why that happened. And, you know, my character has developed since then and stuff.

So yeah, that's kind of why we scraped it.

Now, let me say this because You know, your music hits. You always get the crowd behind you, everybody's excited to see Tiffany.

So you're in a unique position where the crowd rocks with you. But you so good at being mean. Like some of the funniest times. uh me watching wrestling lately you um There was a segment in the back where you're face to face with Bianca. And me and Yam, that's my dog.

but you slapped the jesus out of her and took off died laughing. Just recently you had You had Alexa Bliss and Charlotte in the ring, and you referred to them as vintage. Died laughing.

So, what's more fun? Just being Being the face that everybody loves and roots for, or just. Being a heel that you love and hate. I think being a heel is 10 times easier than being a baby face. You can mess up and you can fall on your butt, and you know, like that's totally fine as a heel.

However, As a baby face, if you do that, like the crowd could Turn on you, or you could get booed, and you know, you're supposed to be like the face of the company and stuff like that.

So, being a heel for me is how I learned wrestling. I feel like I was a heel right off the bat.

So, that's why it comes so easy to me. And, you know, I'm still learning to like be a babyface and be likable and not have so much stink on what I say in my promos.

So, so it definitely comes more natural for me to be a heel.

However, you know, bear with me. We're learning. Maybe one day I'll just go back to being a heel. But for now, we're a little old babyface tiffy. I kind of feel shay that, like, Hill Tiffy is Is the way to go because the thing about Tiffany Stran is You're not really relatable.

How can people relate to Tiffany Stratton? Like, no one looks like you. No one can do the things you do. No one's the champion like you.

So I can understand why you would. I mean, that all lends itself to me to being like the ultimate heel.

So I do kind of like the fact that you are a baby face now because it gives you something different. But I feel like ultimately, man, I don't know. Maybe it's just me. She's a spicy baby face. Yeah, like the stank.

She just said it. The stank. The stank, Tiffany. That's that's the one right there. I agree.

However, like, I never changed anything. I just started getting cheered.

So now they're kind of like, okay, you kind of have to. We gotta play into that a little bit. We can't be full like heel tiffy anymore, even though that comes easy to me. And that is what got me cheered. They're kind of just like, you know.

Be a little bit more likable now. You don't need to be so bitchy in your promos, which, like, I understand completely. Hey, Chan, by the way, if that belt's comfortable, I know you're holding 20 pounds of gold and rubies on your shoulder. I mean, I don't want to make you hold it up the whole time. It's up to you because I'm not here to tell you what to do.

That's okay. It's resting real good right now. All right, Ben. Got anything worth for Shay? Yeah, you now you You are a part of My favorite women's money in the bank match ever.

All right. That light, man, it was such a banger. But In that match, you You and Naomi are in the ring. You do a... A cartwheel into an Alabama slam.

And I heard you say that that is a move that you never want to take. What other moves out there do you dread taking? Oh Um That's a really good question. There's not a lot of moves that I like taking. Yeah.

Um Oof. I think power bombs can be really crappy to take because sometimes people will yank you down, sometimes people will just let you float down. Power bombs, um, Nia Jax's finisher. Um Jade recently started doing, she calls it the Eye of the Storm, the Thunderbomb, I think. It's like a similar to the Thunderbomb.

And you like spin around and she powerbombs you, and like, I have to hold my head up. Because the whiplash and like the momentum coming down.

So that's pretty crappy to take. But yeah, any sort of like power bomb, I think, is. Really bad to take. Not be taking an Alabama slam from anybody anytime soon. Shay, we had a few women give the answer of like Rock Hill's Tehana bomb.

Oh, I haven't taken that. Yeah, I was about to say, I can't really remember seeing you, but I have heard that, yeah, we've gotten that a few times that that's a move that the the ladies just don't like taking. Or, like a choke slam of some sort. Lash Legend choke slammed me one time, and that hurt pretty bad. I'd imagine everything kind of hurts a little bit though.

Oh, yeah. All right. You know, I want to get back to something real quick. You said that a few moments ago. Your mom pushed you.

into doing this. And I haven't really heard that. That answered too much. Let's talk about. your mom, your parents, and how like they've supported you through this journey.

Yeah, my parents love what I do. Like, if they could, they would come to every single show. My mom just. I don't know why she loves it so much, but she always just like, no, do it. I'll go with you.

And she always went with me to the trainings and stuff because I didn't know anybody. And she was so supportive and she was there for me through everything. And she still is. She still loves coming to everything. She is a little bit of a, of a fan of everyone.

And she's always like, oh my God, hi. I'm Tiffy's mom. And actually, fun fact, my mom's name is Tiffy.

So we call her the OG Tiffy. Or no, her name's Tiffany, but we call her OG Tiffy because she's the OG.

So yeah, my mom's a little bit of a fan.

So every time we're at shows, she runs up to everybody and she says hi. And I have to tell her to calm down. Was that part of the reason you adopted the name Tiffany? Or protect yourself. Yeah, so they ask you to put down 10 first names and 10 last names.

And I needed like one more name. And I just put down Tiffany. I was like, oh, that's my mom's name. Why not? And then Stratton, I actually got from Wolf of Wall Street.

The firm was called Stratton Oakmont, I believe. And then, so it was between Tiffany Stratton and Veronica Swanson. And I picked Tiffany Stratton just because, like, my mom's name was Tiffany.

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Okay. And all right, now your mom being a wrestling fan. Talk to us about when you finally got the big one. You know, number one, how did you feel? being able to lay your head on the pillow as Champion of WWE.

And what's that conversation with mom like? I mean, is that not the biggest? I told you so.

So I actually didn't tell my parents that I was cashing in. Um, I just said, like, make sure you watch SmackDown tonight, please, because sometimes you know, they get busy, they don't watch.

So, I'm like, clear your schedule, watch tonight's SmackDown. I've got a match. Um, and my parents were like flabbergasted, they didn't know that I was becoming champion, and they thought it was the coolest thing ever. Like, their daughter that's only been on, you know, SmackDown for what? I think it was around.

Six months, or no, a year, almost a year at the time, you know, like three years into the business, winning a title. That they were so amazed. I was just amazed with myself. I couldn't believe it. I didn't know what was happening that day.

So, that, like, all in all, it was just such a good day for me because all it was was a cash-in. I just nipped my moonsalt.

So, I didn't really have any crazy stressors or like had to worry about a 20-minute match.

So, it was such a good day for me. I had the best time with that whole cash-in and how it all was laid out.

So, it was, yeah, just an amazing moment for me in my career.

Now you were like you were you were hanging with Nia while she was the champion and she had the belt, right? And I feel like that's where the whole face thing came because Naya was, she was kind of like being a little bit of a bully to you. Uh, and and and the fans, I think at that point just started organically starting to like, yo, this ain't cool. They start rooting for you. Did you feel the momentum shift?

And did you feel like, all right, now it's time to? You know, go away from being a hill and becoming a babyface? Did the fans really play a part in that? Or was that always the plan? Um no, I think the fans completely you know, made that happen.

I don't think they ever really planned on Making me a babyface. It just organically happened. And I think that's the best way for it to happen. But it really happened in Australia at Elimination Chamber in 2023 or 2023. the the crowd completely like Knew who I was.

They were channing Tiffy time the whole time. It was my first PLE as a main roster talent. I really didn't think anybody knew who I was because I had just gotten called up like a month ago and I just had my Rumble debut.

So I didn't really expect much going into this PLE. And turns out like all of Australia knew who I was and was chanting Tiffy Time the whole time. And it carried over into the States, thankfully. And ever since then, the crowd's been on my side. And I'm like so thankful for that.

I think, like I said, that was the best way for it to happen, being a heel and, you know, eventually getting the crowd to cheer you organically and not forcing anything. And then when I won the briefcase, I think that made things even more. Um, likable, I guess you could say. Um, you know, the anticipation of the cash-in and turning on Naya, someone who was bullying me and kind of putting me down and telling me I wasn't ready to be champion.

So, I think it was a lot of different factors going into everything. And eventually, when I did cash in, it was just like the biggest, the ultimate payoff that you could get in that story. I had finally defeated my bully, and you know, I was finally champion.

So, a lot of factors went into me getting cheered and becoming a babyface. And here we are, still a champion. 247 days later, something crazy like that.

So yeah. And Shay, if I could jump in again real quick.

Now, Tiffan, you know, watching Clash in Paris, you're hearing the chance that some of the wrestlers get. And I always kind of wonder this because. This type of reaction that only I feel like rock stars, rappers, wrestlers can get. When you're in that elimination chamber, and those Australian fans are absolutely losing it for you. Because you were, you would.

Does Australia have a prime minister? Because if so, whatever, whoever runs Australia, you would have won the election that night, as far as I'm concerned. What does that feel like? Because I'm thinking of AJ Styles yesterday, right? At the clash, and the crowds chanting.

They had that chant for him that they did last year and they did it again this year. And he's standing there and he's feeding off of that.

So, just for someone like me who probably never. Had that moment. What was that like to be in that chamber and hear those people just losing it? For me, yeah.

So, for me, at first. I was like, are they chanting for me? Because I didn't, I couldn't hear the chant clearly. I was just so focused on, you know, making sure that the match was going smoothly. And I was in the.

the little chamber thing and I was like What the heck? And I started giggling. I think there's a video. I just started laughing because, like, they're, I was like, there's no way they're cheating for me right now. And then I was like, okay, I got to lock in right now because they're expecting me to be good because they're, they're tanning my name now.

So I'm like, oh my gosh, okay, I got to make sure like I don't botch anything. I don't mess anything up.

So I was like, okay, lock in. As soon as my thing went off and I was in that ring, I was balls to the walls trying to get everything perfect, everything down. And it gave me so much. It almost gave me like an adrenaline rush and it gave me more confidence, but I also like. Put a little bit more pressure on myself because I'm like, okay, now they're channing me.

I have them. Like, I hope I don't mess anything up and, you know, make them hate me now. But for the most part, I got a huge confidence boost from everything. And that match was so amazing. I mean, every girl in that match killed it.

And yeah, it was my breakout moment for me, I feel like. All right, now I have to bring this up because, like I said, it's my favorite. women's money in the bank ever. But my best friend in the whole world, my man Roman. He's a Tiffany Stratton fan.

Every feud you have, I get this long list on why you should go over. And I have to tell him, Roman, we don't control anything, man. But he breaks down why Tiffany should go over. uh but he also loves him some chelse green in that match you sent chelsea green All the way out of the ring, two tables. She couldn't have landed any more perfect.

Talk to us about what goes through your mind with a spot like that, and then. Compare the madness of a money in the bank versus an elimination chamber.

So going into that spot, I was. Nervous, like Chelsea was gonna hurt herself, so I made sure to not push the ladder too hard, um, just enough. But I was nervous as crap for her. And as soon as I got that over with, she landed safely. I was like, okay, now it's time for me to have my moment.

So that was just. An amazing Money in the Bank match for me. But the difference between four of Money in the Bank and Elimination Chamber, I think it's the ladders, obviously. The ladders are so scary, and you have to watch out. There's like seven ladders in the ring, and you're like making sure you're not tripping over them.

So I think Elimination Chamber matches are so much more fun to watch just because like you don't know who's coming out next. You've got the little blinker going on. You know, there's a cage involved. I think the Elimination Chamber matches too are also easier to kind of put together and stuff like that. Um but yeah, I think I think Money in the Bank's a little bit more of like, like you said, like madness because of the ladders and stuff.

A lot can happen with ladders.

Now, my tag team partner over here, TJ Jefferson, he is. The biggest, and by biggest, I mean the only Mets fan that I know personally. Listen. and hold on bro hold on bro we got company relax Yeah. Jill, bro, we're on ESPN now.

So you've thrown out the pitch twice at Mets games, but the second time, you got jumped by Niot. I want to talk about how fun is it to do. Wrestling stuff. in non-wrestling worlds. Oh, that was so fun that day.

We were kind of like going with the flow, and we're like, Yeah, whatever you need. And they're like, Can you guys do physicality? And I was like, Heck yeah, I'll do physicality in the Mets Stadium at City at City Field. It was, I got to also give one of the mascots a chair shot, which was really fun. And then I threw Naya into the mascot and I pinned her and Yeah, that was that.

It was a super, super fun experience. I tried to, you know, get my lick back with, you know, my. My first My first pitch moment. I tried to go for a second time and Naya messed that up for me. But maybe they'll invite me back and I'll be able to do it again.

However, yeah, it was super fun. I had a blast. And doing wrestling in a baseball field was.

So fun.

Now, Tiff, I don't want to bring up anything to make you mad because I I don't want I don't want beat up or anything. There you go, man.

So you did get. One pitch that was uninterrupted by Naya, and we would be doing a disservice. I'm sorry, but we just have to show this real quick. Oh my gosh. Amen.

And you you gave out the it's tiffy time, yo, and then you threw it and I don't know if the ball's landed yet. No disrespect. I'm not trying to start nothing. But what was that moment like? I was so nervous for some reason.

I was like, I hope people don't think like I'm not athletic.

So my goal was to just get it to the catcher. But I never thought like I would overshoot it or like shoot it sideways. Um so that was my plan. And that did not work. I completely shot it like sideways and it went way over everybody's head.

So. Um, hopefully I can, you know. Get a third try eventually and you know, get my lick back. But yeah, that was what was going through my head. You know, last year, we, as a Mets fan, we had Grimace.

He came out and. Throughout a first pitch turns our entire season around. And now, this year, I think when we win the World Series, we're going to have to put you on one of the floats because you have now done something to help boost us to a championship level.

So, thank you, is what I'm saying. Wait, are the vets doing good? Of course. Oh. Yes!

Why is that funny, O'Shea Jackson? Yes. Because I heard you say, win the World Series, which is crazy. You never know. We're in second place right now.

We're in a roll.

Soto's heating up. I told you it was Soto's season. Listen, Tiff, yes, we're doing very well. We're going to make the playoffs, and we're going to win the World Series. And you heard that.

Did you tell the Dodgers that? Who? You tell Dodgers that? I don't even know. I don't know what you're talking about.

All right, cool, man. That's cool, man. I get it. You know, it's been interference and everything. All right.

Just like your mic wasn't working earlier. Yeah, yeah, you know, I get it. But so Tiffany, everybody. you know, for obvious reasons. They connect wrestling to its physicality and the physical challenges that go into it.

But there's also a lot of mental challenges that happen with it. What has been the best? thing about this new journey for you. And what has been the hardest thing? about this new journey.

That's a good question. I would say the hardest thing is I still feel like I'm so new to wrestling. Um And I still feel like I'm going out there and I'm learning. And that might also be The good part of wrestling. You can always be getting better, which I like.

I like being challenged. I like being competitive. And that's one thing I really enjoy about wrestling: you can always be getting better. You can't be perfect at wrestling. You'll never see a perfect match, or maybe you will.

But I think wrestling is very. you know, based off of What somebody else likes. Like, I think everybody likes something different, and not everything is gonna be for one person.

So that's what I really like about wrestling, it doesn't really put you into a box. Yeah. Hmm. Just so you know, when we talk perfect matches, WrestleMania 3, Randy Savage versus Rookie Steamboat, there's a perfect match for you. Just want to throw it out.

Okay, Dan Correct. All right, now I don't know, you know, TJ made our audience aware of this earlier. But I am in the process of filming, so I wanna make sure I get this question out to you. Because this is our number one question, Tiffany. The biggest one on our show.

You're in a You're in a bar, you're on a beach, enjoying mimosas, the good life. Everything's going well. As the champion should. As the championship. There's 50 ladies.

in this venue. That don't Like that you're there. They ain't down with Tiffy time. Yeah, they're not wearing their watches. They don't know us Tiffy Tiffany.

So, I need you to pick a team of you and four other superstars. to make sure that the champ is getting to the car. All right. That's a really good question. And Tiff, these don't have to be ladies from this, could be from any era if you want.

Okay. So, first, I'm going to pick Nia Jax. That makes sense. Yeah, she picked two. Dijax.

Bianca Bella, I don't know why. I feel like she can fight. I know Nijax can fight. Bianca? Probably Mitchin.

I feel like she can fight too. She's quite. Hardcore. She loves her kendo sticks, so she might bring a kendo stick along with her. Um Who else?

Rhea Ripley, for obvious reasons. I mean, she looks scary in the best way possible. Um, And that's it. That's who you go. That's you, Nia, Bianca, me, Chen, and Rhea.

That's a heck of a bar fight, correct?

Solid team. You know what I mean? 'Cause you know me, Chin is out there, will be out there giving the long back attack, smacking people with the kendo stick, you know, and Naya just be clearing out half the bar and Bianca be wilding out and re yeah, you might not even have to fight Tiff. You might just be able to sit there and keep sipping on whatever you sipping on. That's what I'm saying.

I think that's the perfect group. That was my plan. I don't fight it. Hold on. I'm not going to let this slide, man, because we had Diane Jackson.

And Nia Jack said, listen. You guys get a different version of Tiffany when you guys watch her. All right. She's got some fire behind those eyes.

So I'm not trying to hear all that. I'm not here to fight nonsense. She said that. Yeah, absolutely. Yeah, I do have a little bit of a fighter side to me, but it takes a lot for me to get there.

So I'm not going to wanna have to get there. And that's why I picked this group.

Now speaking of speaking of a fight, Tiff, um I don't know if you know this shea, but I was you know preparing for this. Watch a little bit of Logan Paul's podcast, and you told a story which was. Pretty unbelievable to me. And I only bring this up because O'Shea knows I like to talk about my mom's own street fighting record. And something like, yeah, I'm defeated in the streets of Altoona, Pennsylvania, but something similar happened to her that happened to you.

You got into it with a couple, a boyfriend, girlfriend, and you actually got out the car and was like, let's do this. Can you share? This story, because I was like amazed by this. Yeah, not one of my brighter moments.

So I for some reason was feeling myself that day and I guess We cut each other off in this. parking garage. And the guy got out, so I got out. We're going back and forth. You know, what's this guy gonna do?

He's not gonna hit me. He's not gonna hit a girl. And then, so his girlfriend gets out, and I was like, okay, I can. It's fine. We're gonna.

It's fine. So we start talking crap back and forth and Eventually we start Rollins. Um i it's It gets messy. Eventually, I have...

Some braids in, and she digs her nails into my braids and gets me down on the ground. And I like I can't go anywhere. And all of a sudden, out of nowhere, I get a stomp right on my face. And yeah, luckily she let me up because I think she. I think she also was like, low.

Um, and I immediately grabbed my phone, got in my car, and I drove away just because. It's a guy. I don't know what else is gonna happen, but it sounds. Really bad.

However, like I can now laugh at it because, you know, I was safe, I got out fine, whatever. But I did break a bone in my cheek. And for a second, I was told that I might have needed surgery. And thankfully, I went and got a second opinion. And they're like, no, you're going to be fine.

It'll heal on its own.

So thankfully, no face surgery and it healed on its own. But yeah. That's one of my craziest stories ever, I feel like. Wow. Hey, Tiff, you do us a favor here since you're now family.

No contest. Like you'll know where we put the spare key, and our home is your home, Yikasa Sukasa. Do us a favor, promise O'Shea and I this. Don't ever do that again. Please don't get out of your car.

I will not. My street record is 0-1.

So we're learning from that and we're moving on. That is behind me. That's an insane story, man. That had to be scary because. You know, you're not really expecting, I guess, even to get out of the car, let alone to end up scrapping, right?

Nope, I was not expecting any of that, and it happened so quick, too.

So I didn't really have time to react, but. Thankfully, I'm okay and everything's good now.

So, well, she's in the ring now, letting them know what time it is, TJ. That's all we need right now. Exactly. She didn't know what time it was. You got to let them know what time it is, Tiffany.

And plus, Tiff, like one of my best friends is an actor. And, you know, you know how guys get, we all start messing around. And, you know, it gets a little physical sometimes. And he'd always go, watch out for the moneymaker. You can't have anything happen to the moneymaker, Tiff.

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All right, now I got to make my escape. I got a movie to film, but I got to ask one more question, TJ, and then I'm going to leave it to you because you're the best in the world, my best tag team partner I could ask for. Thank you. Tiffany. What's up with them heat lamps in the back?

Who's in there?

So I'm actually staying with a friend right now, but. It's um I don't know what it is. It's a little lizard. I don't even remember what his name is, but. It's um it's a lizard and I think the story behind it is my friend she was a uh a substitute teacher and she got the class this this lizard and they ended up I think I don't know.

I think she got a new job or something, and like they said that they couldn't take the lizard.

So she's just like, oh, I've got a lizard now. And he now lives with her and he chills over there.

So, yeah.

All right, those are the exclusives we need today. Tiffany, I got to skid out of, but thank you so much for getting on the show. I'm going to get up out of here. You're awesome. We will continue to support and push Tiffany propaganda here on the show.

TJ. Yes, sir. I love you, man. My man. CJ, I love you, bro.

My dude. All right, I love you. Have a good one. Dang. We'll see you soon.

I love you, bro. My G. Tiffany, you see that? What's going on? Do you not love the bag?

Thank you. Oh my God. Thank you. It's all right. It's all right.

God sees you, TJ. Y'all have a good day. All right. My baby. You go do that movie start thing.

All right, Tiff.

So it's me and you for a few minutes if that's cool. You know, he's got to go, you know, film a movie, I guess, you know, big time stuff.

So I know you were a gymnast, right? What gymnast inspired you? Back in the day.

So I loved Simone Viles. Um but that was kind of like when when I was a gym miss but Who I really loved was Sean Johnson. And she was big during the 2008, I think it was the Beijing Olympics. And then she went to, I think she tried to do some sort of comeback for 2012. But yeah, she was my ultimate.

Inspiration. I loved that she was like a power gymnast. Like, I think back in the day, the artistic and the pretty and the lines and the execution was like the thing. And then Sean Johnson came in and she was like a powerhouse. Like, she could do so many cool things.

She was doing all these power moves and like tumbling and stuff. And on the balance beam, that was one of her best events. And I really admired that because I love just like being strong. I love strong women. I was always like a strong girl growing up.

I always worked out and stuff.

So when I got into gymnastics, I was always like the power athlete, I guess.

So yeah, I loved Sean Johnson.

Okay. Now. This is the first time we've asked I've asked this question here. Give me a Mount Rushmore. Of women's gymnastics.

Like, who would you put on the gymnastics Mount Rushmore? Oh, that's a good question. I think My history is a little rusty, but Dominique Mucciano, Macchiano. Lil Dom, yeah. Um Sean Johnson.

Simone Viles. And Nastieluga. And is it only four on your Mount Russian? Yes, ma'am. And not silicon.

Yeah. Those are my four. Gotcha. Uh we we talked to you about the wrestling thing. You weren't a huge wrestling fan growing up, right?

You were But I'm sure you've As you start this journey, you've gotten into wrestling, and I'm sure.

So. Was there a moment as a fan that wrestling broke your heart? Um As a fan I will say now that I am a wrestler. And I kind of know everybody and I'm friends with everybody. I do enjoy watching Raw SmackDown NXT now.

That is actually very entertaining for me. But I don't know if there was like a moment where I got my heartbroke. I will say I felt really bad for Rhea. When it was the dominant live stuff. Yeah.

I think it was at SummerSlam where it looked like she was actually like distraught and she was crying, and that I felt really bad. Um, I love Bria. She's such a nice person.

So I think that would be a moment where my heart broke for somebody in wrestling. All right, so you weren't down with Dirty Dom then? Playboy Dirty Dom.

Okay. Because if I'm not mistaken, there was a moment where you guys were in the ring together. I felt everybody. Kind of thought it was dumb gonna try something here with Tiff, but I can tell now that he gets no play from you. No, I was more so for that title that Liv had, you know.

I was trying to get under her skin. If I take that title, does Dom come with me? I don't know, Liv. We'll see.

Okay. Dirty Dom, man. You you spoke about some of the people that you've worked with. What women and maybe not even women what what performers have you taken inspiration with or from or maybe you know someone who you've watched old tape of and decided that I want to pick a little bit from this person or take a little bit from that person? Um That's a good question.

I think a lot of my stuff. I've like taken from Random things that I've seen like on Instagram or TikTok or from like other male superstars. I will say I think Molly Holly did the round off backhand spring elbow thing. Um, so I think I did get that from her, but for the most part, like my What I do in the ring and like my mood set, I... It's kind of just random.

I'm just kind of like, oh, this is cool. Why don't I try this? And I do try to a lot of times. Make sure that I get my gymnastics background involved in my move set.

So that's a lot of times where I get inspiration from, too, as well.

Now, speaking of move sets, I've just ruined it. You've got a finisher. It's very pretty. It's so pretty that it's the name of the finisher, the prettiest moonsault ever. When did you decide that that was going to be?

The move that you use and the way that you go about it is pretty unique, too. How did that all come into play?

So, I believe it was AJ Winkler at the Performance Center who was like, You should do this. This would be a really cool move for you. And I was trying to come up with some sort of new finisher for, I went away for a little bit and I came back. And I was like, I want to like switch things up and do something different for my finish. And my finish before that was like a full twisting Vader bomb.

So I wanted to come back and do something different. And AJ Winkler was like, you should try this. I can help you figure it out.

So I thought it was super cool as well because I used to do that. When I was a gymnast, I was a trampoline gymnast, and we do. Two routines: you do the compulsory and an optional routine, and the compulsory routine, you have to do some sort of like. Three quarter front or three quarter back. And I always did a three quarterback.

And that's basically a moonsault to your stomach. And then I also do a Swanton, and that's the three-quarter front, and that's why I can like hold out for so long because I used to do exactly that on the trampoline.

So, I thought when I picked this for my finish, I thought it was just so good because I used to do it on the trampoline, and I'm tying my two, you know, professions together. And the bouncing also, like trampoline gymnast, you know, bouncing off the ropes.

So, I just thought it was the perfect finish, and I could do it on the first try.

So, I was like, why not make it my finish? It's not that difficult for me to do, and you know, it's not that difficult to execute for my opponent. All they have to do is lay there, and I just moonsaw onto them. And that's all she wrote. One, two, three, you're pinned.

I didn't even think about this, and so I'm hoping I get this right because it just popped into my head. It might have been the stand-and-deliver pay-per-view. I think it was a ladder match you were in, multi-person. There was a moment where you got up on the ropes, all the girls were beneath you, and you did a backflip onto them and Didn't seem like they all caught you so well, and it looked like I think that was the match, if I'm not mistaken. But if you know what I'm talking about, yeah, so it was NXT, it was stand and deliver, and it was a ladder match, and it was a swanton off of the ladder onto.

the girls and Honestly, I don't blame them for not catching me because I was coming in hot. I was not anticipating me whipping down there so quickly. Thankfully, I didn't get injured. They all kind of just put their hands in the middle and I just fell right through the middle of them. But I was completely fine after.

Lyra still beats herself up for that. I tell her it's okay. I don't care. Like it's in the past. It's totally fine.

But Yeah, that was quite the moment. Thankfully, it was the end of that match.

So. But yeah, all good. Yeah, I mean that I just I've watched that multiple times and I was like, I don't know how you got up and continued. After that, because it looked like it was. I didn't.

I was done. That was the end of the match. All right. Yeah, because that cook lives on Twitter and where I've watched it so many times. And I'm just like, oh, wow.

Yeah. I mean, but do you ever, is there ever a moment like that? Like you said, Lyra felt bad, but is there ever a moment you get back in the back and you're And you're mad that something like that happened or do you just kinda chalk it up to You know, it's the nature of the business. Yeah, it's the nature of the business. It's what you sign up for at the end of the day.

You know, wrestling is not. It's not easy, and there's going to be mistakes that happen, and you have to understand that. And unless it's deliberate, and I don't, I've never been in a moment where someone's trying to deliberately hurt me. Then I don't think it's that big of a deal. It's wrestling.

We're going to get hurt and things are going to happen. And it's what we sign up for at the end of the day.

Now, earlier in the interview, you said that, you know, your mom, we talked about your mom, how she pushed you. She saw Charlotte Flair and thought you could do that.

So how cool was it for you to be able to walk into WrestleMania as the women's champion. Against this person who your mom saw and thought, my daughter could do that. That must have been a cool moment, especially for your mom. Right. I did not think that moment was going to happen so early on in my career.

It was my first ever title reign. I had won the title within four months prior to WrestleMania, fully not expecting me to walk into Mania holding a title. And then also, The wrestling Charlotte Flair at my first ever WrestleMania.

So that alone was just so much pressure. I felt like I couldn't relax and kind of enjoy Mania. I felt like, you know, this has to be perfect. I have to, you know, perform the best I've ever performed before, but. It all worked out in the end, and I'm super grateful for everything that happened that week.

And I learned so much, and I'm still the champion, which is crazy. Like five months after Mania, and I'm still the champion. I can't believe it. And you two had such a hard-hitting match, and it resulted in you kind of chipped your tooth there. What happens in like?

in that moment, are you just like, holy crap, are you just. Oh, it is what it is. I didn't chip my tooth. It looks like I did, but I promise you, I'm not lying. I did not chip my tooth.

It was just blood on my tooth. Everyone thinks it was chippy time, but it was not chippy time.

Okay, yeah, because everyone was like, oh man, because it looked like at the end, you just went through a war and you were still standing tall. And I thought it just made you look so tough. I was standing in that ring after the match, and I looked up at the Tron, and I was like. Oh my god, I look so ugly right now. It's just so bad.

That's immediately what I thought. My hair is a mess. My face is a mess, but whatever. I just had a like 25-minute WrestleMania match with Charlotte Flair. Like, you're not going to come out looking pretty.

So, yeah.

All right. It was a dope match, and glad to know that the teeth remained intact. That's good. They did. Evolution.

Women's evolution. That just happened and What was it like to be a part of that? Like, I can imagine some of the stars that were backstage must have been kind of overwhelming. What was it like to to to participate in that? Oh, it was I think evolution was a confidence boost for me.

I was in the ring with Trish Stratus. And we had such a great match, I feel like we have great chemistry. I love Trish so much, I love working with her, she's amazing. But I think being backstage with all of these women, and I think it's. amazing that we have so Much women can we can put on evolution, and everyone can have bangers.

Like, I feel like everybody can have you know, main event-level matches, and that's so amazing. Our women's division has just evolved so much, and um, I'm happy to be a part of it and. Be a champion for all these women that we have right now.

So it's a really good time to be a wrestler and a female in wrestling right now.

Okay, I want to talk to you about entrances. You had a really dope entrance at WrestleMania. If you were to have any artist be able to play you to the ring for a huge match, WrestleMania, SummerSlam, Evolution, whatever, like. In a dream world, who would you take and have them? You know, walk you to the ring, play you to the ring.

That's a good question. I try to ask good ones, Tiff. I got the cap here, that's what I got to do. First time on ESPN, I gotta have good questions. You're doing great.

I think Sabrina Carpenter would be so cool. Yeah, she's really hot right now. She just came out with a whole new album. I think that would be. A banger, and I would want her to create like my own entrance music and have her perform it for the first time at WrestleMania for me.

So, Sabrina, if you're listening. Let's do this. I got a feeling that WrestleMania 42, you'll still be champion. And I think we're going to get this. I like to think when it happens, that no contest played a little bit of role in it because I think you and Sabrina are going to get together.

I'm just putting it out there. I think it'll happen. Please continue. It needs to happen. We're going to manifest it.

That's what I'm talking about. All right, champs.

So, like I said, we are welcoming you into the no contest. Wrestling family. Like I said, we'll let you know where the key is. Will you come on over whenever you want? Help yourself to whatever's in the fridge in the kitchen.

One thing we're gonna let you use though, don't tell everybody about this. We got a time machine, Tiffany Stratton. All right, got a time machine. We don't offer this to everybody, but I'm gonna offer this to you.

Okay, I'm gonna let you use our no contest time machine. And the reason being is I want you to go back in time.

Okay, and I want you to pick five women.

Now, you've already done this once. But I need you to pick five women. Throughout the history of wrestling, that you'd want to bring to present day and have a WrestleMania main event with. Who from the past would you love to test yourself against? That's A really good question.

I'm not amazing with wrestling history. Um,. I mean, I feel like I've already... Done that like with Trish Stratus. That was money for sure.

Yeah, I looked up to, and I've already accomplished that goal so early in my career.

So, Trish Stratus, um. Maybe. I think Nikki Bella.

Okay. She's back right now.

So, Nikki Bella, if you want to, if you want to scrap, let's go. She's spicy. Yeah, she is spicy. Um Who's another one, I feel like? Uh I've said Kelly Kelly before.

Little Barbie versus Barbie moment. for the diva stands out there. Let me think. China. Oh, yeah.

Yes. A tank. I think that would be super cool. Um Who else? Maybe Lita.

Oh, Moonsal versus Moonsal. There you go. I like that.

So, China. Trish, Nikki Bella, Kelly Kelly, and Lita. Yeah, that's a good advice. I'm coming to see all five of those matches.

Well, Tiff. I mean, I could sit here and talk to you for the next hour, but I'm sure you got better things to do.

So, no, we're chilling. I'd love it. I'd love it. Any uh. What's up next for you?

What's up next for Tiffany Stratton? What can we expect? Um, that's a good question. I'm just trying to take every day and You know, be in the moment and not think too much about the future. I'm somebody who overthinks everything and thinks of the worst scenarios possible.

So I'm just trying to focus on being in the moment and enjoying my title reign and hopefully holding it for the next. Year or so. We'll see.

Maybe I'll be the longest WWE women's champion ever.

So. I'd like to make that a goal of mine, actually. I'm declaring it right now. I want to be the longest WWE women's champion ever.

Okay, I like that. I love that. It's been cool to get to meet you and actually talk to you because the one other time I saw you, I felt weird. I didn't want to talk to you. It was in the hotel after WrestleMania 1.

I was sitting by the elevator bank at the Fountain Blue and you happened to walk by me. I'm sure it was late. You were going to your room and I didn't want to be like hi because I thought that might be weird.

So I just sat there and didn't say anything.

So now I feel like it's less weird for me to say hi to you.

So I just wanted to point that out. Oh, you should have said hi. No, because I understand, like, I get, you know, I see, like, I've seen, you know, video of fans kind of. Mobbing you guys over in Paris, it was happening, and I kind of saw how it was.

So, I just tried to play the background role a little bit. I never want to bug you because I see so many people come up and just kind of mob you guys, and so I didn't want to be that person. But now, like I said, I get to say hi to you.

So, yeah, this was a much better experience, I think.

So, yeah, we're starting out. Appreciate it.

Well, Tiffany Stratton, it was a pleasure to have you. Like I said, this is our first podcast on ESPN. We knew we had to do it big, so we had to go out and get someone holding some gold, and that was you.

So we wish you nothing but the best. continue success, stay healthy. Uh please for the love of God don't get out of your car anymore. Uh, no matter what the odds are. Thank you.

Don't you worry. Thank you so much for having me. This was so fun. Um, it's tiffy time over here, so um, let's go. Wow, man, what a great interview with Tiffany Stratton, man.

She's... Awesome at what she does. Still new to this business. The future is so bright for her. And as long as she stops getting out of the car squabbling with random people in parking lots, her future is going to be very bright.

Make sure you tune in next week, next Monday. We're going to be back with you. O'Shea will probably still be on Zoom because, you know, he's making movies. He's got a day job. But he loves his second gig, and that's here at No Contest Wrestling.

And make sure you follow us on all of our social media. There's no contest on Twitter, No Contest Wrestling Podcast on Instagram, No Contest Wrestling Pod on TikTok. And of course, all of our videos, including the Tiffany Stratton interview, just go to YouTube, search the Rich Eisen Show YouTube page, and everything will pop up. All right. Until next week.

I'm TJ. For Roshea, and don't turn your back on the wolf pack. You might wind up in a body bag.