Lita Reflects On Her Match At WrestleMania 39, Talks Being A Player-Coach In WWE

Lita says she was able to soak it all in at WWE WrestleMania 39.

Lita says she was able to soak it all in at WWE WrestleMania 39.

The WWE Hall of Famer returned to WWE on the February 6, 2023 episode of WWE Raw, where she helped Becky Lynch beat Bayley in a Steel Cage Match. Lita and Lynch later defeated Dakota Kai and IYO SKY to win the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship on the February 27 episode, thanks to some timely interference from the returning Trish Stratus. Lynch, Stratus, and Lita subsequently defeated Bayley, Kai and SKY in a memorable match at WWE WrestleMania 39.

Speaking with Dean “Mojo” Muhtadi of TMZ Sports, Lita reflected on her latest WrestleMania moment. 

“I had no aspirations, no idea that I would be at WrestleMania 39, so just walking down the stage and everything, it was really surreal, and to do it with two people that I’m so close to, or were close to, it was really fun. I remember saying to them before we went out, ‘Hey, it’s a really long ramp, and I know we’re mad at Damage CTRL and we got business to take care of, but for the first half, can we just have fun and take it in, and then we can serious?’ They were like, ‘Okay.’ I feel like only I did that, though. I’m walking down like, ‘Oh, hell yeah, this is rad,’ and they’re like, ‘We’re gonna kick your ass,'” Lita said.

Muhtadi asked Lita to rank this WrestleMania to the others she has performed at, Lita stated that she’d place it at the top because she was able to soak it all in and appreciate the experience with a newfound perspective.She stated that she felt like a fan, and she had the privilege of walking down the ramp and competing in front of the crowd.

“I would put it at the top, and here’s why. With age comes perspective, and I just feel like I could really be in the moment and soak it in, and just be really appreciative to be there, and to have done it when I wasn’t looking for it, it was able to give me this really in-the-moment sense of appreciation. In a way, I was a fan in the stadium, but I just happened to be walking down the ramp, so I was able to feel in the moment. Not that many of my other Mania moments weren’t important, but I feel like I kinda got lost in them because I was worried about the next thing or… I was just out of body and able to soak this one in,” Lita said.

When asked about being a player-coach as part of the WWE roster now, Lita called it poetry, as she compared getting to work with this generation is like playtime. She stated that she feels like the women’s division is running out of boxes to check, and they practically have to start creating new boxes.

“It’s poetry, right? To have come up and try to push the envelope of what a woman’s role in this industry looks like, and then to see the fruits of that labor, and the blood, sweat, and tears, this is like playtime. I’m like, you did the work, and then you guys took it to the next level, and then to be invited back in to come play with these phenomenal athletes, with just as much passion, pushing things forward to heights that I did not know were possible, where my favorite thing is that we’re running out of boxes to check. That’s the goal, right. You gotta start creating boxes to check off,” she said.

Lita continued by describing how she enjoys the dynamic of the current generation mixing it up with the past. She called having the ability to work with today’s talent a joy and a present that she wasn’t expecting to get back when she was trying to push the envelope and change the game for women’s wrestling.

“I really love the dynamic of the generations and being able to come in to mix. Normally we’re sitting on the sidelines, and to be able to get in there and mix it up with these amazingly talented women is really a true joy, and it’s a bonus present that I didn’t know I was gonna get when I was pushing so hard and being told ‘no’ and coming back. ‘How about today? Can I get thrown through a table today? Can we have a cage match today?’ Over and over again, and finally making some progress, and to get in there…. IYO, Dakota and Bayley are so talented. I feel like Bayley gets the shine because she’s our home-grown talent come up through NXT, but IYO and Dakota are so talented, and to be in the ring with them, it really makes you want to up your game, and I want to do those women proud, that have taken the heights so high. I want to be able to be on their level,” Lita said.

Lita was taken out with a backstage attack on the April 10 episode of WWE Raw. Stratus filled in for her in the legend’s scheduled title defense against Raquel Rodriguez and Liv Morgan. Lynch and Stratus lost the bout, and Stratus turned on Lynch after the bell. Stratus later revealed that she was Lita’s assailant. 

It’s unclear when Lita will return to WWE TV. Fightful will provide more information as it becomes available.

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