In 2019 and 2020, WWE stars Otis and Mandy Rose took part in a romantic onscreen storyline that had Otis become infatuated with Rose, eventually earning a kiss from her after beating Dolph Ziggler at WWE WrestleMania 36. As it turns out, that wasn’t the first time Otis had a crush on a prominent WWE star. During an episode of the now-defunct series “WWE Ride Along,” Otis revealed to Rose that, as a child, he was tackled by security at a WWE event after believing that Trish Stratus was signaling for him to get closer.

“I thought she pointed at me. I lost my mind,” Otis told Rose. “I kind of looked like an adult. I was 200 pounds in fifth grade. … I’m going down the stairs and this security guard basically spears me right in the side. … I landed at the edge of the stairs. The whole time, I’m like, ‘Trish! Touch me!'”

Asked if he has ever brought the story up to Stratus, Otis stated that he couldn’t bring himself to do it. However, with Stratus spending more time in WWE since the “Ride Along” episode was filmed, the Alpha Academy member has had plenty of time to change his mind.

The storyline involving Otis and Rose only lasted a short while, coming to an end following their shared kiss. In the aftermath, Otis wound up winning the Money in the Bank briefcase but eventually lost it to The Miz. He’d later go on to join up with Chad Gable, and he remains a member of Gable’s Alpha Academy faction even though Gable eventually moved on.