The Drastic Transformation Of Stephanie McMahon
Stephanie McMahon has been surrounded by wrestling all her life, and as the daughter of long-time WWE CEO Vince McMahon, she naturally had to live up to some high standards. Despite this, Stephanie has shaped her own legacy in the industry and even became her father's onetime "heir apparent" after many believed her brother, Shane McMahon, would end up running the promotion someday. Today, however, she's retired from WWE while her husband, Paul "Triple H" Levesque, is running WWE creative.
McMahon naturally grew up around many of the biggest stars in the industry and was often pictured around legends like Andre the Giant, since Vince occasionally invited his wrestlers to eat at the McMahon house. Unfortunately, things weren't always good growing up as Vince's daughter, as she claimed in an interview with "The Corp with A-Rod and Big Cat" that people either irrationally hated or loved her based on what they thought of her father.
Before making her WWE debut, the "Billion Dollar Princess" had a more modest "career" in the promotion. For years, she modeled WWE wrestlers' merchandise, and there are photos of her wearing oversized t-shirts for the merch of stars like The Rockers (Shawn Michaels and Marty Jannetty) and the British Bulldog. Additionally, she also answered calls during the WWF call-in Talkshow, "Livewire." But as her career continued and reached new heights again and again, Stephanie underwent a radical transformation both on camera and behind the scenes, eventually becoming one of the most powerful people in WWE.
Debuting damsel in distress
Stephanie McMahon made her WWE debut in 1999 as the innocent bright-eyed daughter of Vince McMahon, which meant she quickly became a target. McMahon was feuding with top heel The Undertaker and his disciples, the Ministry of Darkness, who kidnapped Stephanie as leverage against McMahon. And things only escalated from there, leading to the iconic image of Stephanie tied to a cross in the shape of The Undertaker's insignia, "The Deadman" moments away from forcing her to marry him during an episode of "Monday Night RAW." Of course, none other than "Stone Cold" Steve Austin ended up saving her.
This wouldn't be the last time The Undertaker had an insane storyline that some believe went too far, and the "Vince vs. Undertaker" angle would ultimately be remembered less than fondly after Vince himself was revealed as the true mastermind behind the Ministry. In hindsight, this also leads to the uncomfortable conclusion that in storyline, Mr. McMahon was ready and willing to marry off his only daughter, against her will, to an undead cult leader (of course, McMahon has since been accused of arguably worse things in real life).
Triple H's wife and WWE Women's Champion
A few months after almost being forced to marry The Undertaker, Stephanie McMahon continued to make appearances in on-screen angles, including a relationship with the late Andrew Martin, known at the time as Test. Their kayfabe wedding, however, was interrupted by another wrestler feuding with Stephanie's father, Triple H. In a moment characteristic of "the Attitude Era," Triple H presented the couple with a video of himself marrying a drugged and kidnapped Stephanie in Las Vegas. While Stephanie naturally appeared to hate "The Game" at first, her unwillingness turned out to be a ruse. At the first Armageddon event at the end of 1999, Triple H defeated Vince in a No Holds Barred match, after which the suddenly happy couple revealed that the whole thing had been their plan all along. At some point, the two also began dating in real life; many believe Triple H was cheating on his then-fiancee, Chyna, with Stephanie for as long as a year before they were discovered.
After joining forces with Triple H, Stephanie became more prominent in WWE storylines. While her official in-ring debut came in a mixed tag match prior to her heel turn, her second match was for the WWE Women's Championship, which she shockingly won due to outside interference. With Triple H holding the WWE Championship, the two ruled WWE in what became known as "the McMahon-Helmsley Era," even reuniting with her father and brother after WrestleMania 2000. While Stephanie wasn't much of a wrestler, she held the belt for 140 days before losing to Lita in what was technically the first time women wrestled in the main event of "WWE Raw," though the distinction is dubious since several prominent male wrestlers were directly involved in the match. It would prove to be her first and only title run in WWE, and her in-ring career largely ended in 2003 after just 21 total matches — though she did end up in the ring three more times, with her final match occurring at WrestleMania 34 in 2018.
On-screen authority figure
Stephanie McMahon is best known for her on-screen authority roles, which began in 2001. In the wake of WWE's victory over and acquisition of rival promotion WCW, talent from both WCW and defunct hardcore promotion ECW were used during the notrious "Invasion" angle. Shane McMahon was revealed to have purchased WCW while Stephanie was the owner of ECW, and together the siblings planned to bankrupt their father and WWE, creating The Alliance. The cross-promotional faction was defeated at Survivor Series 2001, meaning Shane and Stephanie were banned from WWE. Stephanie returned in 2002, but was written off TV again after WrestleMania X-8 following an angle that saw her divorce a newly-babyface Triple H and align with his rival, Chris Jericho.
When McMahon returned to WWE just four months later, it was as the babyface general manager of "WWE SmackDown." She also quickly began an onscreen feud with "WWE Raw" general manager Eric Bischoff, pitting the two brands against each other. McMahon also notably brought back the WWE United States Championship and established the WWE Tag Team Championship, whose lineage continues today as part of the Unified WWE Tag Team Championship.
Naturally, her tenure as general manager came to an end due to the Vince McMahon character, who was resentful that his daughter wouldn't allow him to have an affair with Sable. This led to a controversial "I Quit" match between Vince and Stephanie at No Mercy 2003. Her mother, Linda McMahon, accompanied her daughter to the match, and ultimatly threw in the towel on behalf of her daughter, resulting in her stepping down as "SmackDown" GM.
Climbing the corporate ladder
While the angle with her father was awkward for many fans, it was largely an excuse to give Stephanie time off due to her imminent real-life marriage to Paul Levesque, aka Triple H. In the years that followed, McMahon continued to make sporadic appearances on WWE programming, including her 2008 stint as "WWE Raw" general manager, where she reignited her feud with Chris Jericho and faced The Legacy faction alongside the rest of her family — which, incidentally, she also began to grow. From 2006 to 2010, McMahon gave birth to three daughters: Aurora Rose, Murphy Claire, and Vaughn Evelyn, all fathered by Levesque.
However, Stephanie's most dramatic transformation during this period was from WWE performer to WWE management. She was named Director of Creative Television in 2002, a position she held until 2006. From there, she continued to move up the ranks, becoming Senior Vice President of Creative Writing in 2006, Executive Vice President of Creative Development and Operations in 2007, and Chief Brand Officer in 2013, a position she held until 2022. By this time, her prominence as the corporate face of WWE was such that in 2020, she appeared as #2 on Forbes' list of the world's most influential CMOs, ranking behind only Apple 's Phil Schiller.
The Authority and WWE Co-CEO
By 2013, the old idea of "the McMahon-Helmsley Era" had jumped from fiction into reality, as Stephanie McMahon and Paul Levesque became major driving forces on the corporate side of WWE. Fittingly, the concept then returned to the fictional world of WWE, as McMahon made her full-time return to the promotion after SummerSlam 2013. Triple H, still a semi-regular performer at the time, had just turned heel by costing white-hot babyface Daniel Bryan the WWE Championship, and when Stephanie arrived, she defended her husband's actions, claiming Bryan wasn't good enough to be the face of the company. Together, the heel power couple, wielding their actual power within WWE's fictional world, became known as The Authority. Alongside various lackeys, they ruled WWE with an iron first for more than two years — Stephanie even found herself in a feud with Bryan's real-life wife, Brie Bella, who was ultimately betrayed by her twin sister, Nikki, giving Stephanie a victory in her return to the ring. While the Authority was disbanded in 2016 due to (what else) McMahon family drama, Stephanie continued to appear irregularly as an on-screen authority figure.
Outside of the realm of kayfabe, Stephanie announced in June 2022 that she was stepping away from WWE. It was only a few weeks later, however, that her father was forced to resign as WWE CEO due to reports of sexual conduct. Stephanie quickly returned and served as co-CEO alongside WWE President Nick Khan.In January 2023, however, Vince returned to the board and Stephanie stepped down as co-CEO. She has not held an official position in the company since, though Levesque has continued to serve as WWE's Chief Creative Officer even following the company's acquisition and merger with UFC.
Over the course of her 24-year career, Stephanie McMahon was everything from women's champion to general manager to real-life CMO. The one thing that hasn't changed in that time, it seems, is that she's a woman to be reckoned with.