Should We Be Acknowledging Trish Stratus Instead of Roman?
The Tribal Chief has spent years demanding the WWE Universe acknowledge him.
But new (well, newly clipped) footage from Chris Van Vliet’s Insight interview with Trish Stratus is making fans wonder if the real origin story belongs to someone else.
Yes, that photo is back in the conversation — the one of a teenage Joe Anoa’i (future Roman Reigns) posing proudly next to a life-size, signed cardboard cutout of Trish Stratus in her full Attitude Era glory.
The poster is personalized “to Joe,” and Trish, watching it on Van Vliet’s show, lights up.
She doesn’t just remember the moment. She reenacts it.
“Joe, how are you? Good to see you. Okay, let me sign that for you. What’s that first? Ah, cute,” she recalls, then adds something along the lines of “I’ll see you later”… and casually throws up the finger point toward the sky.
Chris and Trish immediately start laughing.
“Who was doing the point first?”
“Who was doing the point first?”
“Acknowledge Trish.”
It’s All Clearly a Joke…Maybe
Trish is having fun with it. She’s not filing a lawsuit or demanding royalties on every “Acknowledge Me.” But the timing, the delivery, and that little upward point at the end of the story are pure comedy gold.
For years fans have known Roman had a Trish poster growing up. Now the woman herself is playfully suggesting that maybe — just maybe — the most iconic pose in modern WWE history has a little Stratus DNA in it.
After all, she was doing versions of the one-finger salute long before the Head of the Table turned it into a global brand.
So… should we be acknowledging Trish Stratus instead?
At the very least, the next time Roman hits that pose and the crowd erupts, a few of us are going to smile and quietly think:
First crush energy never dies.
Stratusfaction guaranteed.
