Stephanie McMahon interview recap: Stephanie claims Vince McMahon nearly fired her from WWE on multiple occasions, discusses his reaction to the women’s evolution, provides an update on her book

By Jason Powell, Prowrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)

Stephanie McMahon appeared on Lilian Garcia’s “Chasing Glory” podcast. The following are the highlights of the interview, which can be heard in full at PodcastOne.com.

-Stephanie said she always wanted to work for WWE “because it was a way for me to give back to my family.” She said it was a way for her to be “a part of what we all loved and worked so hard for.” She said she never really considered doing anything else. Stephanie said she can’t imagine not being a part of WWE.

-Stephanie noted that the company has been working with Make-A-Wish for over 25 years. She said they granted nine wishes alone at an event held prior to Raw 25. “To have that kind of an impact on someone’s life is truly so humbling,” she said. “It’s such a privilege to be part of WWE. I’m grateful for it every day.” She said the charity work almost becomes self serving because it’s so rewarding.

-Stephanie said her first television appearance was in a Piper’s Pit segment. She said she was covered from head to toe and you wouldn’t recognize her. She said her co-star was played Chip from the “Kate & Allie” sitcom that aired on CBS. She also spoke about how she and Shane McMahon worked in various roles in the company to learn the company from the ground up.

-Stephanie said she never felt pressure to join the family business. She said it was just what she always wanted to do. She recalled her father asking her what she wanted to do in life when she was roughly 16 years old. She said she looked at him like he had three heads because she’d been trying to absorb as much as she could about the family business.

-Lilian brought up the women’s evolution and the first women’s Royal Rumble match. Stephanie said just announcing the match on Raw was one of her most memorable moments on the show. “To have the women’s evolution happening, in and of itself, is long overdue in my estimation,” McMahon said. Stephanie said there is a cultural fervor for women in entertainment, executives positions, and sports. She claimed the WWE women’s evolution came before it or at the beginning of it.

-Stephanie credited her husband Paul “Triple H” Levesque for recruiting elite female talent and training them the same as the men and giving them the same match times and opportunities as the men. She said there was a groundswell at NXT when fans chanted ‘this is wrestling” and “women’s wrestling”. She said the women were given the opportunity in NXT and they stole shows. She said there wasn’t a dry eye when Bayley “the ultimate underdog” faced Sasha Banks at an NXT Takeover: Brooklyn. She said that was a testament to the women and their abilities. She said it happened because the women were given a chance. She also recalled the “Give Divas a Chance” hashtag. “Our audience was ready,” she said. “They wanted more and this hashtag demanded better storylines, stronger character development, more athleticism, and longer matches.” She said the voice of the fans was so loud that Vince McMahon responded.

-Stephanie said they originally thought they would have fewer Mae Young Classic tournament matches because they didn’t think there was enough available talent to have 32 entrants. She said they were obviously very wrong. She spoke about being in the crowd and thinking about how much the women sacrificed to get to that point even if it was just a glimpse in a moment for some of them. She said that is struggle and hardship and added that she doesn’t know if she’ll ever be able to truly understand that because she’s never been in that position.

-Garcia asked about Vince McMahon’s feelings about the women’s evolution. “I think that he’s incredibly excited about it,” said Stephanie. “I do think that it caught him off guard when that trend started and he embraced it right away, because that’s what Vince McMahon does better than anybody else, really, is listen to the audience.” She said fans claim they don’t listen and it may not always play out immediately, but they are always listening and engaging. She said this is the best example of that.

-Garcia said there may be a perception that Stephanie was handed everything. She asked Stephanie to discuss any struggles she went through in WWE. Stephanie admitted that she had more opportunities than she would have had if she were not born into the business. However, she said it doesn’t make it any easier. “From Vince McMahon’s perspective, especially, you have to earn it even more because you’re his child,” she said. “You have to be better than everybody else and he puts you to that test every single day. I’ve almost been fired numerous times. It hasn’t always been pretty. I had to learn a lot along the way and I made a lot of mistakes along the way. And I think that the only way you truly grow and get better is by making mistakes. But as Vince says, you can make mistakes, just don’t make the same mistake twice.”

-Stephanie recalled being in the ring with Shane around the time that her character purchased ECW. She said they were in Boston for a Smackdown taping. “Apparently, it was just not at all what my father wanted,” she said. Stephanie recalled Vince sending them back out in front of the live crowd to do the segment again. “It was so embarrassing,” she said. She added that it was also humbling and a great learning experience. She said it shook her confidence to know that she was so far off from what he wanted. She recalled her father telling her that she had to be a pro. She said growing up the boss’s daughter sounds like a piece of cake, but then laughed as she said growing up Vince’s daughter is entirely different.

-Garcia recalled being on the end of talks with Vince. They both agreed it’s not fun. Garcia said she can’t control her emotions and Vince asked her why she was crying. Garcia told him it’s because it felt like she went to the principal’s audience and was in trouble.

-Garcia asked Stephanie to explain how she was bullied. Stephanie said she was bullied in a variety of ways. She said people either loved or hated her because she was Vince’s daughter. She said it bothered her a lot that people would treat her a certain way simply because she was Vince’s daughter. She recalled Vince telling her that not everyone is going to like her, but the key is being able to look at herself in the mirror and know that she is a good person. She also said she was bullied for being overweight and other things. She said the lesson her father taught her is something she tries to pass on to her children because they are also the daughters of celebrities.

-Stephanie also brought up cyber bullying. She said she reads her own Twitter feed at times and it’s awful. She said she wishes she could go back and give advice to her younger self. She said she would tell herself to get rid of negative people in her life and surround herself with positivity. Lilian said she and her husband do friend audits to determine whether people are bringing them up or down.

-Garcia asked how Hunter feels about having three daughters and being surrounded by women. Stephanie said Hunter always wanted girls and got his wish. She said she’s never asked him why he wanted women. Garcia said having daughters softened him. Stephanie praised him as a father and a husband.

-Garcia asked about Linda McMahon working as a member of the White House cabinet. Stephanie said it’s unbelievable to her that her children see their grandmother in that role. She also said it was incredible that Linda was endorsed by the two Democrats she ran against for a U.S. Senate seat. Stephanie also praised her in-laws and said they are salt of the earth people and said she is blessed all the way around.

-Garcia asked what it was like to have Shane McMahon back in the company. “Oh my gosh, it’s so much fun,” Stephanie replied. She said her nephews give her a hard time. She said they told her that she wasn’t allowed to sit at the table for Thanksgiving because of the Raw vs. Smackdown feud. “It’s so much fun, it really is,” she said.

-Garcia brought up Ronda Rousey signing with WWE. “I think it’s been a dream of ours and I know of hers for a very long time,” McMahon said. She also said it speaks to the women’s evolution that she wants to be a part of the movement. She said Rousey wants to earn it and praised her work ethic. She said she brings star power and incredible talent. “I couldn’t be more excited for a our company, our roster, for the women’s evolution, and for what it’s going to mean for Ronda and WWE.” When Garcia asked about a possible Rousey vs. McMahon match, Steph laughed and said she supposes anything can happen in WWE.

-Stephanie was asked for an update on her book. She laughed about a tweet with Homer Simpson ducking into the bushes in a GIF and the caption read that it’s what she does whenever she’s asked about her book. “It’s not going to come out anytime soon,” she said. “The reason why is that it’s so hard to tell stories from my perspective without Vince’s story being told. And I think that his story needs to be told first.” She stressed that Vince is not writing a book, but she said that they are hopeful that there will be stories about Vince and his life coming out “sometime over the next few years.” She said once the stories of how WWE happened and how the company grew are told, then her story will make more sense.

-Garcia closed by asking whether a women’s match can headline WrestleMania. “I think that will be the ultimate pinnacle of the women’s evolution taking hold in WWE is when we do have a women’s match headlining WrestleMania,” she said. “Yes, I think it will happen. I’m not sure of the timing of when it will happen, but hopefully sometime soon.”

Powell’s POV: Stephanie came off well in the fluffy interview. Garcia described herself as a friend of Stephanie and was obviously employed by the company for many years, so there was no reason to think this was going to be a hard hitting interview. Assuming Vince McMahon’s threats of termination actually occurred, only he knows whether he was actually considered firing his daughter or if he simply wanted her to fear that it could happen. The explanation for Stephanie’s book being delayed is odd and I wonder if it will ever see the light of day. It’s great that WWE officials are pushing the women, but it’s rewriting history to make it seem like they were at the forefront of the women’s movement. As ass backwards as TNA was over the years, they actually pushed their female talent as serious wrestlers long before WWE got around to doing it consistently. Stop and think about that for a second.

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