"I felt very cheap" - When current WWE star had to do 'uncomfortable' segment in underwear
In the early 2000s, WWE Hall of Famer Lita was involved in a romantic storyline with Dean Malenko. The angle saw Malenko try to win the affection of the former Women's Champion.
One of the most memorable moments of the storyline was when Lita asked Malenko to take her to his hotel room. She then appeared on television wearing lingerie and seemed to be seducing the then-Light Heavyweight Champion before the latter discovered it was an ambush when The Hardy Boyz attacked him.
Lita's lingerie scene seemingly received positive feedback from fans. Hence, the company decided to book her for another appearance in her underwear. In her book, "Lita: A Less Traveled R.O.A.D.--The Reality of Amy Dumas," the former Women's Champion disclosed that she received a call from the company asking for her underwear size. They told her she was going to The World to give Dean Malenko a "special Christmas lingerie show."
Although Lita was unconvinced that her character and the storyline demanded her to do so, Michael Hayes told her there was nothing they could do about it at the time. Hence, she had to go ahead with the planned segment.
Lita recalled feeling uncomfortable as she stood on stage in her underwear.
"I did it. I stood there in red, white, and green bra and panties on the stage at the World—I was completely uncomfortable. I felt very cheap and totally embarrassed. The World was a very intimate environment. Usually when talent went there, we’d warm up the crowd, interact with them a bit, then do the little fifteen-second live segment. This time, I had to go out onto the stage three times— though it seemed more like fifty! I felt that the crowd could sense just how uncomfortable I was, and were almost reluctant to cheer and catcall me. It was like they knew Lita wasn’t the type of girl to respond to that kind of reaction," she wrote in her book.
The following day, Lita flew to Charlotte for SmackDown. Ahead of the show, Vince and Stephanie McMahon pulled her aside to discuss the The World segment.
"The next morning I flew down to Charlotte for SmackDown! When I got to the building, Vince and Stephanie pulled me aside to tell me how great they thought the segment was. I guess they'd heard rumblings that I was unhappy, so they decided to make me feel better. 'I thought it was phenomenal how you were a little shy in the beginning,' Stephanie said. 'I was freaking embarrassed,' I explained. 'It just didn't make sense to me.' 'Well, it came across great,' she said. 'We're really really happy with it.'"
On This Day in Wrestling History - Dean Malenko asks Lita out 22 years ago today on RAW 12/4/00
https://t.co/JjVX4Frbw3
WWE Hall of Famer Lita once detailed her weird experience in Times Square, "wearing practically nothing." Check out the story here.
Lita recently returned to WWE
Lita initially retired from in-ring competition in 2006. However, she has made several sporadic appearances over the past few years. The 47-year-old also competed in a few matches.
Earlier this year, the four-time Women's Champion returned to WWE Monday Night RAW to team up with Becky Lynch against Damage CTRL. Last month, Lynch and Lita defeated Iyo Sky and Dakota Kai to become the new Women's Tag Team Champions. They will now team up with WWE Hall of Famer Trish Stratus to square off against Damage CTRL at WrestleMania 39.
WWE refused to "film Lita in the shower" with a former superstar. Check out the story here.