Top WWE Star Says Babyface Turn Wasn't Planned

Speaking on No-Contest Wrestling with O’Shea Jackson Jr., Stratton explained:

“I think being a heel is 10 times easier than being a babyface. 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 babyface, if you do that, 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. 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 likeable and not have so much stink on what I say in my promos.”

Stratton then said that her babyface turn came organically and not because of anything she was trying to do. “I never changed anything. I just started getting cheered.”

Stratton first noticed a change in the audience reaction to her at WWE Elimination Chamber in 2024. The crowd in Perth, Australia, went wild for her, which surprised the WWE star.

“The crowd completely, like, knew who I was. ... “At first, I was like, ‘Are they chanting for me?’… I started giggling. I think there’s a video. I just started laughing because, like, I was like, there’s no way they’re cheering for me right now. “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 chanting for me. I have them like, I hope I don’t mess anything up’, that match was so amazing… it was my breakout moment.”

Stratton Has Been Given The Ball By WWE

Despite being relatively new to the industry, specifically the main roster, Stratton has an undeniable following. She was incredibly popular as a heel, and WWE is trying to see if she's as popular as a babyface. Their advice was to try not to be “so bitchy” in her promos. She retorted that what she was doing got her cheered, so why change it? The response was to just ‘be a little bit more likable now. You don’t need to be so bitchy in your promos,’ which, like, I understand completely.

So far, Stratton has impressed. Time will tell if they switch back to her more natural role as a heel.

h/t to Wrestlingnews.co for the transcript