Stephanie McMahon

2007-07-24T16:32:00.000-07:00

Stephanie Marie McMahon-Levesque^[1] ^[2](born September 24, 1976), better known by her maiden name Stephanie McMahon, is WWE Executive Vice President of Talent and Creative Writing.^[3]^[1] She is the daughter of WWE Chairman Vince McMahon and WWE CEO Linda McMahon, and is the younger sister of Shane McMahon. She is married to Paul "Triple H" Levesque, with whom she has one daughter, Aurora Rose Levesque.^[4]

Stephanie regularly appeared on WWE television between 1999 and 2003 (almost always as a heel). She is both a former WWE Women's Champion and a former SmackDown! General Manager.

World Wrestling Federation

Stephanie was born in Hartford, Connecticut. She first appeared in an on-camera role by modeling WWF merchandise. In early 1999, she became involved in an onscreen storyline involving her father, Vince McMahon, and The Undertaker. The Undertaker stalked and abducted Stephanie and almost "married" her in the middle of the ring in an "Unholy Wedding" ceremony performed by Paul Bearer, until Steve Austin, her dad's then nemesis, rescued her. The Undertaker did this to torment Vince, or so it seemed but later it was revealed that he and Vince had been in cahoots the entire time. Stephanie and her mother Linda sided with Vince's nemesis Steve. Vince responded by having the Undertaker kidnap Stephanie a second time.

Stephanie began a (kayfabe) relationship with wrestler Test which led to a heated feud between him and Stephanie's older brother, Shane McMahon, who viewed Test as not being good enough for Stephanie. After Test defeated Shane at SummerSlam in a "love her or leave her" Greenwich Streetfight, Shane stopped objecting and began to side with Test and Stephanie to prove he was supportive. Stephanie and Test went on to team together in a match on September 20, 1999, with the couple defeating Jeff Jarrett and Debra. The couple were eventually engaged, but their original wedding date had to be postponed after The British Bulldog accidentally hit Stephanie with a thrown trash can, giving her a concussion and amnesia. A later date was set, but during the in-ring ceremony, Triple H showed a video which revealed that he had drugged Stephanie and taken her to Las Vegas, Nevada where they were married in a drive-through ceremony. This effectively ended the relationship between her and Test. Stephanie seemed to abhor Triple H at first, but eventually revealed that she had sided with him and that the wedding was real - a revenge plot against her father for the aforementioned kidnappings.

McMahon-Helmsley era

In 2000, with Vince McMahon absent as a result of injuries inflicted upon him by Triple H at the 1999 Armageddon event, Triple H and Stephanie became the onscreen owners of the WWF, a period known as the "McMahon-Helmsley Era" and dominated by the McMahon-Helmsley Faction. Triple H held the WWF Championship and Stephanie held the WWF Women's Championship after several interferences and a DDT from Tori against her opponent, defending champion Jacqueline. Stephanie reconciled with her father and brother at WrestleMania 2000 when they helped Triple H defend his title against The Rock, leaving Linda McMahon as the only face in the McMahon family. Linda and Stephanie would exchange slaps throughout the summer of 2000 (she admitted in an interview that she cried because of this^{[citation needed]} ^[talk]). Throughout 2000, Stephanie would use heel wrestlers to try and eliminate her enemies The Rock, Chris Jericho and Lita. Jericho in particular enraged Stephanie by calling her a "Filthy, dirty, disgusting, brutal, skanky, bottom-feeding trash bag ho," leading to a series of matches between him and Triple H. Stephanie lost the WWF's Women's Championship to Lita in the first women's RAW main event match on August 21, 2000.

In late 2000, a love triangle storyline began featuring Stephanie, Triple H and Kurt Angle. One of the most memorable points of the storyline took place during the Summerslam 2000 PPV as Triple H inadvertently knocked Angle out before EMTs carried him unconscious from the arena. The storyline was resolved officially at Unforgiven when Triple H defeated Angle with a pedigree following a low blow from McMahon, proving her loyalty to him. However, after taking several shots from both men accidentally during a segment on "Raw," Triple H demanded Stephanie stay away from ringside during his matches. Upset by this, McMahon became Angle's manager and was in his corner when he defeated The Rock for the WWF Championship at the '00 No Mercy. The alliance was short lived, as Triple H demanded she withdraw her services.

The internal disputes between the McMahons led to Shane siding with his mother against Stephanie and Vince. Linda was in a comatose state due to the stress of being asked for a divorce by Vince, and Vince took the opportunity to have a public affair with Trish Stratus. Stephanie briefly feuded with Stratus, defeating her at No Way Out 2001, but eventually both settled their differences and sided with Vince. Over the next few weeks, Vince made it clear that he favored Stephanie over Stratus, even allowing Stephanie to cover Stratus with mud using a mop in the middle of the ring. At WrestleMania X-Seven, Shane defeated Vince in a Street Fight. During the course of the match, Stratus slapped Vince and chased Stephanie from ringside, apparently upset with Vince's constant misogynistic treatment of her.

Following Stone Cold Steve Austin and Triple H's alliance with Mr. McMahon, Stephanie returned as Triple H's manager at ringside. Following Triple H's injury in May of 2001, she disappeared from WWF television.

Invasion

Stephanie later returned and remained as a second time heel on the July 9, 2001 edition of RAW by revealing that she had purchased ECW and intended to bankrupt the WWF (in reality, the ownership of ECW assets at this time was highly disputed), along with her brother Shane, who had become the onscreen owner of WCW. The two groups then merged to form a "supergroup" known as The Alliance. Stephanie was suddenly unemployed after her wrestlers were defeated by the WWF at the 2001 Survivor Series in a five-on-five, Winner Takes All elimination match. The night after The Alliance was defeated, Shane and Stephanie came to the ring to confront Vince. While Shane earned Vince's trust by admitting that he had lost and then leaving quietly, Stephanie tried to say that Shane put her up to it, and it was all his fault. In the end, she was dragged from the building by security personnel because she refused to leave the ring by her own accord. It was revealed later that night that she had sold her "WWF stock" to Ric Flair.

Furthermore, this particular time of Stephanie's career would showcase a few other noteworthy moments. On the September 13, 2001 edition of SmackDown!, Stephanie caused a bit of controversy, albeit unintentionally, by comparing her father's early 90's steroid trial to the September 11, 2001 attacks. Stephanie said, "A few years ago, some people tried to destroy my family. They attacked my father's reputation, they attacked my mother's reputation, and they attacked the World Wrestling Federation. They tried to rip us apart ... but all they did was make my family stronger. And that's exactly how America feels right now. Because on Tuesday, America was attacked. Because America is a united nation. And together, we stand strong. I am incredibly proud to be an American citizen, and I will stand up for my rights and my freedom."^[5]

On the lighter side of things, a few weeks earlier, Stephanie would lead The Alliance in singing "Wind Beneath Our Ring", a take off of Bette Midler's hit song, "Wind Beneath My Wings". Moments later, Kurt Angle would put an end to the group song by spraying The Alliance with milk via hose -- including Stephanie. Jim Ross would declare the drenched Stephanie as being a "Dairy Queen" and a subsequent video package would highlight a brief snippet of Stephanie's reaction in slow motion.

A few weeks earlier, Chris Jericho would humiliate Stephanie by pieing her in her face. Stephanie would continue to be tormented as Jericho would make light of her chest's apparent sudden growth (it had been speculated in recent weeks by fans that Stephanie had undergone a breast augmentation) the very next week on RAW. On the TitanTron, Jericho put up a video still of a less-endowed Stephanie from the prior year alongside a recent shot of much more buxom Stephanie to compare and contrast. Jericho would continue the torment by saying, "It seems like our little billionaire princess sure has grown over the last year...well, in two specific places at least - talk about foreign objects - you wanna say let the bodies hit the floor? I would say let the boobies hit the floor!" By her own admission, Stephanie would confirm the breast augmentation rumors on the Opie and Anthony Show the very next day. Behind-the-scenes, amid much discussion and speculation regarding her chest, Stephanie gave her approval for it to be acknowledged on WWE programming.^[6]

Divorce

Stephanie returned in 2002 when Triple H made a comeback as a face, but the couple began having problems. The couple "divorced" after Stephanie (kayfabe) claimed to be pregnant in order to trick Triple H into renewing their marital vows. The split was acrimonious to say the least; Triple H literally complied with the "fifty-fifty" divorce settlement by giving Stephanie the front half of her Corvette and Stephanie claimed that Triple H had abused his bulldog Lucy, in order to gain custody to spite him. Lucy was later run-over by a limousine, much to the distress of Triple H, who chased Stephanie around the ring and humiliated her by pulling her into the ring by the seam of her pants, in the process revealing part of her buttocks.

This revealed a darker, even more sinister side to Stephanie. In order to gain revenge upon Triple H, Stephanie began foiling his attempts to become the WWF Undisputed Champion. After Triple H won the Royal Rumble, Stephanie appointed herself special guest referee in a match between Kurt Angle and Triple H at No Way Out 2002 with Triple H's WrestleMania title shot on the line. Though Angle won thanks to Stephanie's somewhat suspect officiating, Triple H defeated him the next night to regain his title shot. Stephanie then aligned herself with current champion and former enemy, Chris Jericho. Despite Stephanie's best efforts, Jericho lost to Triple H at WrestleMania X8 on March 17. McMahon also received a pedigree from her "ex" during the contest. On the March 25 episode of RAW, Jericho and Stephanie lost to Triple H in a Triple Threat Match for the Undisputed Title, with the stipulation that, if Stephanie was pinned, she would be forced to leave the WWF.

World Wrestling Entertainment

General Manager of SmackDown!

On July 18, 2002, Stephanie returned to the WWF (renamed WWE following a lawsuit from the World Wildlife Fund) as the general manager of SmackDown!. She acquired talents such as The Undertaker, Chris Benoit, Eddie Guerrero, Brock Lesnar, Matt Hardy and Crash Holly from the RAW brand, but in return lost Triple H, Chris Jericho, Christian, Lance Storm, Test, Stacy Keibler, Rico, Gregory Helms, Randy Orton, Batista, and Al Snow. She feuded with RAW General Manager Eric Bischoff throughout 2002, though the enemies inexplicably shared a kiss at a Halloween party in which Stephanie was dressed as a witch and Bischoff was disguised as her father underneath a mask. Stephanie was given credit for the return of the WWE United States Championship and for the creation of the WWE Tag Team Championship. She was also credited with signing Hulk Hogan back to SmackDown!, which caused friction between herself and her father in the storyline that followed.

Stephanie was involved in an amusing segment with Triple H at the RAW 10th Anniversary show, where the two were winners of the "Shut Up and Kiss Me" award. Stephanie jokingly stated that "where else can you get drugged up at your own wedding, marry a loser, fake a pregnancy, get divorced and then make a comeback to head up the greatest wrestling show on TV today, SmackDown?"

Stephanie was ousted from her position after a long feud with her father, Vince McMahon. Though he originally had been the one to appoint Stephanie as the General Manager, he began to resent her growing independence as well as her attempts to stop him from pursuing an affair with Sable. Stephanie wanted him to fire her but Vince wanted her to "respectfully resign". When Stephanie refused, Vince put her in a series of matches with such superstars as A-Train and Brock Lesnar which led up to the first ever "father daughter I quit match" at No Mercy 2003. Stephanie McMahon was accompanied by her mother, the CEO of WWE Linda McMahon and Sable accompanied Vince McMahon in their match. Throughout the match Linda and Stephanie exchanged slaps with Sable when she tried to interfere. Stephanie did not say "I Quit", but lost when Linda, at ringside threw in a towel on her behalf because Vince wouldn't release a choke he had on her with a lead pipe. After the match, Vince put his hand over Linda's face and shoved her to the canvas when she tried to see about her daughter. Paul Heyman succeeded Stephanie McMahon as the new Smackdown! General Manager.

On March 13, 2004, Stephanie attended the WWE Hall of Fame induction ceremony, and on September 23, she appeared on the fifth year anniversary episode of SmackDown! and talked about her favorite SmackDown! moments.

Returns

2005: Stephanie returned to WWE TV (as a blonde) on October 3, 2005 at WWE Homecoming, when she confronted Stone Cold Steve Austin after he had stunned her father and brother. She slapped Austin, but was then herself stunned. She appeared on RAW for two weeks thereafter, and was involved in the firing of Austin's friend, RAW announcer Jim Ross and the booking of a match between Ross's replacement, Coach, and Austin at Taboo Tuesday 2005, with Ross's WWE future on the line. However, the match was cancelled after Austin suffered a minor injury that, combined with his unwillingness to job to Coach, led to him no-showing the subsequent episode of RAW.

Stephanie had nasal surgery to help her breathing several days before the Eddie Guerrero RAW tribute show that prevented her from appearing in person. She returned to RAW on December 5 as a witness in the mock trial of Eric Bischoff, and claimed that Bischoff had "violated" her by kissing her three years earlier. She called the judge, Vince McMahon, "daddy".

2006: A visibly pregnant Stephanie McMahon returned on the March 6, 2006 episode of RAW, approaching Shawn Michaels backstage and claiming to have abdominal pains. When Michaels left to get her some water, Stephanie pulled out an unmarked substance out of her brassiere and poured it into his bottle of water, causing him to become groggy during his match against Shane McMahon later in the night, which he lost as a result. Stephanie also appeared at the WWE Hall of Fame induction ceremony on April 1, 2006 and in a backstage vignette with her immediate family at WrestleMania 22.

2007: Stephanie McMahon returned at WrestleMania 23 (now a brunette again) backstage, visiting her father before his Battle of the Billionaires match. She brought her "daughter" with her to wish him good luck. On June 18 edition of RAW, Stephanie McMahon made her first public appearance and she addressed the fans about her father, Vince McMahon’s (kayfabe) "death". She also announced that next week’s RAW will present a special 3-hour broadcast to celebrate Mr. McMahon’s life but was canceled for the 3-hour tribute of Chris Benoit (who died on June 25) on RAW.

In wrestling

Signature moves

Billion Dollar McMahon Slap (Hard slap to the face)
Low Blow
Monkey flip
DDT

Wrestlers Managed

Entrance themes

Her entrance theme is currently "All Grown Up" by Jacki-O. She has used her theme since her introduction as General Manager of SmackDown! in the summer of 2002.
Another theme song she used at the time was "Who's Number 1?" by Lil' Kim.
She briefly used "Bodies" by Drowning Pool during The WCW/ECW Invasion.
Previously, she used a modified version of Triple H's old theme "My Time."

Championships and accomplishments

Pro Wrestling Illustrated

PWI Woman of the Year (2000)^[7].
PWI Feud of the Year, versus Eric Bischoff (2002)^[8]

World Wrestling Federation

WWE Women's Championship (1 time)^[9]
SmackDown! General Manager
Winner of the "Shut up and Kiss Me" Award at the Raw Tenth Anniversary show (w/ her husband Triple-H)

Backstage roles

In addition to her on-air character, Stephanie, like others in Vince McMahon's immediate family, is deeply involved in the business operations of WWE. She began her WWF career as an Account Executive for the WWE sales office in New York.^[3]^[1] In November 2000, she became one of the individuals chiefly responsible for the creative direction taken by the television programming replacing Chris Kreski, and was named Vice President of Creative Writing in July 2003. She was promoted to Senior Vice President of Creative Writing in 2006.^[1] She oversees the hiring of scriptwriters, supervises the writing team, and is involved in the long-term booking of WWE. Her other responsibilities, not related to her position as leader of the writing team, include having a voice in the hiring and firing of employees and helping to produce and direct RAW, SmackDown!, ECW, and pay-per-view events. According to a WWE SEC filing in April 2007, Stephanie's approximate salary in 2006 was $353,000.^[10] Stephanie was promoted to Executive Vice President of Talent and Creative Writing in 2007.^[3]^[1] Also, Stephanie McMahon is now responsible for overseeing WWE.com.

Criticisms

The efforts of the creative team have often been criticized. Stephanie has been accused of favoring her husband Triple H, and storylines in recent years have contained elements of necrophilia and rape (notably the Katie Vick storyline, which included Triple H) among other unsavory subjects. She has also been said to have butted heads with Paul Heyman on several occasions. She did, however, turn down a potential incest angle, as revealed on the McMahon DVD. (According to her, Vince was to reveal himself as the father of her baby; when she said no, he pushed for Shane to be the father, but she turned that idea down as well.)

She has also been accused to have lead to the firing of Joanie Laurer (Chyna, who left the WWF in 2001).^[11] Laurer, who was romantically involved with Triple H for several years, claimed her departure was not due to pay, but because Stephanie McMahon wanted her out of the company.^[11] Laurer claimed that during her relationship with Triple H, Stephanie had an affair with him and stole him away from her.^[11]

Personal life

Stephanie is a graduate of Greenwich High School and Boston University, as is her brother Shane McMahon. She holds a degree in Communications.

By her own admission (on an August 2001 episode of the Opie and Anthony Show), Stephanie got breast implants in July 2001, shortly before she became the on-screen owner of ECW. Stephanie also stated that her bra size was a D cup.^[12] Chris Jericho and The Rock brought this fact to light on the August 13, 2001 edition of RAW, showing before-and-after pictures and taunting her.

In an October 2001 interview for the WWF's official website, her mother Linda McMahon would also comment on her daughter's enhancement. Linda said, "My first concerns are always with health issues. Stephanie had thoroughly investigated the procedure, and she had answers to all the questions that I asked, and so I felt comfortable that if that was something that she wanted to do, then she should proceed, and she had my full support."^[13]

During her October 2002 appearance on The Howard Stern Show, Stephanie stated that she got the augmentation because, in her opinion, her breasts looked like "two melted packets of butter." During the same interview, Stephanie stated that she was contemplating getting an even larger set of implants (by one cup size) because she had recently lost weight at the time, thereby making them smaller.^[14]

She is an aunt to Shane's sons: Declan James and Kenyon Jesse. Her sister-in-law is Marissa Mazzola-McMahon. She's also an aunt to Triple H's sister's two children, Peter and Nayssa, by marriage.

On January 8, 2006, WWE announced that Stephanie and Triple H were expecting their first child, due on July 27, 2006. The public announcement contradicted WWE storylines, in which Stephanie's and Triple H's marriage ended in 2002. Stephanie continued to work and travel with WWE throughout her pregnancy, giving birth to an 8 lb, 7 oz (3.8 kg) baby girl, Aurora Rose Levesque, on July 24, 2006. The birth was announced live on RAW by Todd Grisham.

Stephanie's godfather is Pat Patterson.

Other media

Stephanie (misspelled as "Stephani") on Punk'd

Stephanie has appeared on the The Howard Stern Show, Jimmy Kimmel Live, the Opie and Anthony Show and The Weakest Link. On August 14, 2005, Stephanie (misspelled as "Stephani"), along with fellow Diva Stacy Keibler (misspelled as "Stacey") appeared on the season five finale of MTV's Punk'd, where she assisted the prank played on Triple H

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Stephanie McMahon

Sable vs. Stephanie McMahon (Catfight)

Stephanie McMahon Pedigree nip-slip! (no sound)

Stephanie McMahon Pedigree nip-slip! (no sound)

Stephanie McMahon

World Wrestling Federation

McMahon-Helmsley era

Invasion

Divorce

World Wrestling Entertainment

General Manager of SmackDown!

Returns

In wrestling

Championships and accomplishments

Backstage roles

Criticisms

Personal life

Other media