Trish Stratus Explains Origin Of SmackDown! 2 Loading Screen

If you’ve ever played WWF SmackDown 2! Know Your Role, or just been on wrestling social media long enough, then you’ve likely seen the Trish Stratus loading screen.

The screen had every boy or man in America in a chokehold when it popped up as you moved on to your next bout.

Speaking to Chris Van Vliet on Insight, Trish explained the origin behind the photo.

“The crazy thing is when you do these photos, you just do them. They go in some stock thing. You don’t know where they’re gonna land. So I actually hadn’t started yet. I was on the road. They were bringing me, but they were working on my work visa to make it official, and also figuring out what the hell are we gonna do with this girl. So I just had a bunch, and it was just fitness modeling. I would wear some of these things for my autograph signings, and I had it in my bag. They were like, we might as well shoot some pictures, just sitting around. So I put it on, did the thing, the zebra jacket, and then next thing you know, it ends up being this iconic thing that’s on everything. It was my first 8 by 10. I remember that my very first 8 by 10, as well as the iconic loading screen,” she said.

Elsewhere during the interview, Trish discussed the conditions for a potential in-ring return. You can find her full comments here.