Stratton Shares Her Inspiring Journey to Professional Wrestling on ‘Out of Character’

In the 115th episode of “Out of Character,” Tiffany Stratton joined Ryan Satin to share her journey into professional wrestling, which started with a random Friday night encounter with Charlotte Flair on SmackDown.

“I was flipping through the channels a random Friday night and I saw Charlotte Flair. She was blonde, she was buff, she could flip, she could talk some crap, and I was like, that is literally everything that I can do,” Stratton shared. Inspired by Flair, Stratton decided to pursue a career in professional wrestling, with her mother’s support.

Stratton’s journey began at a professional wrestling gym in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, owned by Mr. Kennedy. She observed a class before signing up the following week to take her first bump. Stratton was persistent in her pursuit of a WWE career, submitting her application every week until she connected with Greg Gagne.

Gagne, a wrestling veteran, agreed to train Stratton and used his connections to secure her a tryout. However, the COVID-19 pandemic hit, and the tryout was postponed. Stratton used this time to focus on CrossFit and bodybuilding, returning a year and a half later for her rescheduled tryout.

“I absolutely killed my tryout. I made sure that I was going to die before not getting a job there,” Stratton said. A week later, she received an email from WWE offering her a contract. After a few months of training at the Performance Center, Stratton debuted on NXT and is now the NXT Women’s Champion.

In the 115th episode of “Out of Character,” Tiffany Stratton joined Ryan Satin to share her journey into professional wrestling, which started with a random Friday night encounter with Charlotte Flair on SmackDown.

“I was flipping through the channels a random Friday night and I saw Charlotte Flair. She was blonde, she was buff, she could flip, she could talk some crap, and I was like, that is literally everything that I can do,” Stratton shared. Inspired by Flair, Stratton decided to pursue a career in professional wrestling, with her mother’s support.

Stratton’s journey began at a professional wrestling gym in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, owned by Mr. Kennedy. She observed a class before signing up the following week to take her first bump. Stratton was persistent in her pursuit of a WWE career, submitting her application every week until she connected with Greg Gagne.

Gagne, a wrestling veteran, agreed to train Stratton and used his connections to secure her a tryout. However, the COVID-19 pandemic hit, and the tryout was postponed. Stratton used this time to focus on CrossFit and bodybuilding, returning a year and a half later for her rescheduled tryout.

“I absolutely killed my tryout. I made sure that I was going to die before not getting a job there,” Stratton said. A week later, she received an email from WWE offering her a contract. After a few months of training at the Performance Center, Stratton debuted on NXT and is now the NXT Women’s Champion.