Women power
Stephanie McMahon talks about the stress of being “the boss’s daughter” and why women are the future of the WWE.
Stephanie McMahon has wrestling in her blood – her dad Vincent Kennedy McMahon Jr is the WWE CEO – check out the action on SuperSport WWE (*236) – and she’s been married to WWE Superstar Triple H (real name Paul Levesque, who is also the WWE Executive Vice President, Global Talent Strategy and Development). But she is a wrestling powerhouse on her own. The 44-yearold started as a merchandiser for the family business and has done just about everything until being made WWE Chief Brand Officer in 2013. She’s won gold as the Women’s Champion, and more than that, Stephanie has championed equality in a sport once dominated by men.
A WOMAN’S WORD
What is your message to female fans watching the WWE? I say this to all women – I really believe in equality. I believe in standing up for what you believe in. It’s important to have a voice. It’s important [for everyone] to use that voice, to be proud of who you are. You don’t have to be a WWE Diva to have confidence in who you are, to know that you belong, no matter what anybody tells you, and to never back down.
What’s it like helping develop tomorrow’s WWE Diva stars? The division is such an incredible showcase. These women are so incredibly talented and bring different styles and aspects to the WWE. These women are also so incredible, when you hear their backstories and where they came from and the challenges that they’ve had to overcome.
You were seen as something of a voice for the women in the industry because you’ve always had a voice… Definitely. But I’ve been the only woman in large groups of male-dominated meetings, growing up in this business. Quite frankly, I do have the advantage of being the boss’s daughter. Not everyone has (that), but there’s definitely been times when I’ve been (spoken over). So when I have felt like my voice didn’t matter as much or wasn’t heard as much, in those situations you just have to speak loud. Your voice matters. I don’t mean scream or shout – but project. You’re bigger than you realise – whoever you are.
What do you consider to be your biggest challenge as a woman in the sports entertainment business? Oh boy. I grew up in WWE, so it’s a little different for me. It’s not like I was a talent that came in and had to break through the ranks and all of that good, fun, athletic stuff. So my perspective is different. It’s not because of my gender at all, but facing Rhonda Rousey (firefighter Lena Bosko in S2, 2019 of action show 9-1-1, 2018-now) at WrestleMania in 2018 for sure is one of my biggest challenges. She’s amazing. I had to really train to get up to even be able to showcase her right, because it was Rhonda’s debut in WWE, and she is a former UFC cage-fighting champion, the first women’s champion in UFC, the first female Hall of Famer for UFC. She was the first woman – the first American period – to medal in the Olympics for Judoka. She’s tough. Really tough! I had to train three times a day for about three months and I was getting my butt kicked every day. I certainly would never want to make my father look bad – he created WrestleMania – in front of over 80 000 people, live in attendance. It’s a little bit of pressure.
What is more meaningful for you as a leader in the industry: the work that you have done in the ring, or what it’s allowed you to do out of the ring? What I’ve done in the ring publicly has given me a bigger platform to be able to share the really important messages. Like Connor’s Cure. Connor’s Cure is hands down one of my greatest accomplishments. Too many children die from paediatric cancer. We have to find a cure for paediatric cancer and the WWE has given me the platform to help spread that message as well.
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