Trending:
- Trinity Fatu is back in the WWE world after walking away in 2022
- The veteran star tells PEOPLE she feels she can finally “really put my own touch” on her character
- Now, Fatu is hoping to become a WWE Grand Slam champion with two major upcoming championships
It’s been a whirlwind few years for Trinity Fatu. And there’s been few opportunities for the professional wrestler to think about how she wound up here, back working with WWE on the cusp of another WrestleMania performance.
But the veteran WWE star took a few moments to reflect this past week while in London, speaking with PEOPLE about her recent onscreen success as the professional wrestling company wrapped up its latest European tour.
“It’s hard to even put it into words, because I didn’t even think I would be in WrestleMania this year,” Fatu, 37, tells PEOPLE. “The fact that I just caught fire over this last month or two, it’s just crazy.”
Not only was Fatu not supposed to be on this month’s WrestleMania 41 card, the WWE wrestler – who recently made her major motion picture debut in Queen of the Ring – wasn’t even supposed to be in WWE after she walked out from the company in 2022 alongside her former tag team partner Mercedes Kaestner-Varnado, aka WWE’s “Sasha Banks.”
Fatu previously explained she and Varnaro made that decision after raising concerns with their characters and being dismissed by management, telling Busted Open radio show that that she began to feel the “lowest” she had ever felt “because of the way I was talked to and handled.”
But Fatu — who performs under the name “Naomi” but is commonly also referred to by her birth name, which she wrestled under outside of WWE — eventually returned to the company where she first got her start, made an unexpected career for herself and met her husband, Jonathan Fatu, aka WWE’s “Jimmy Uso.”
Fatu says she’s historically found it hard being an entertainer on the road, though often being able to work with her husband, 39, and her newfound momentum as a performer have made it easier to handle.
The former Orlando Magic dancer, who first joined WWE in 2009 after being recruited for a tryout, has had plenty of success in the ring: a two-time WWE SmackDown Women’s Champion and a two-time WWE Women’s Tag Team Champion, as well as a world championship with Impact Wrestling during her time away from WWE.
But pro wrestling isn’t always about championships, it’s about the characters. And “Naomi” finally feels a bit more like “Trinity,” the former Total Divas cast member explains. And that’s made these past few months feel like some of the best Fatu has ever had in the ring.
“This time what’s different with me is that I’ve been able to channel my character into my own words and my own feelings and really put my own touch on it,” Fatu explains, describing what’s changed since returning to WWE last January. “And I just think this is the first time I’ve been given that opportunity to really do that and for them to trust me with it, like my own verbiage. And that’s the difference. It’s just me being locked in and putting my real feelings and thoughts out there.”
The chance to explore the boundaries of her in-ring character has led Fatu to dream of what other opportunities there might be for her outside the ring, as well. Fatu’s hopeful her recent portrayal of the late wrestling trailblazer Ethel Johnson in the Emily Bett Rickards-led Queen of the Ring could lead to more roles, including on Broadway someday — a dream the performer has had since she was young.
“I think acting is just such an art and I would like to explore it more,” Fatu says, perking up at the idea of taking on more roles. “It’s what we do as well, but to be able to dive into different characters, I just think that there’s something really amazing about it. It’s not easy. It’s not easy at all, but I would definitely like to explore that more.”
But at the moment, Fatu is gearing up for a potential match against WWE’s Jade Cargill at WrestleMania 41 in Las Vegas later this month — a show often referred to as the pro wrestling brand’s very own “Super Bowl.” Fatu is playing the backstabbing “heel” (or the “bad” character), while Cargill is playing the vengeful “babyface,” (or “good” character) in the upcoming soap-operatic showdown.
Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
The opportunity to play a “dominant” heel is one of the things Fatu has left on her WWE checklist, in addition to having more stipulation matches and becoming a WWE Grand Slam champion by adding the recently introduced Women’s Intercontinental Championship and the Women’s United States Championships to her trophy case.
“There’s just still so much to do,” Fatu says, “Which is crazy. I’ve been here so long, but I still feel like there’s still so much to do.”
Read the full article here
