WWE: Who is the Real Stephanie McMahon?
By Josh.0
Stephanie McMahon seems to switch character traits week to week, so which personality should we trust?
No one can say that Stephanie McMahon hasn’t earned her place in the WWE hierarchy. Being a fourth-generation wrestling promoter is impressive on its own but she has worked in and around the business since she was a teenager. She started out as a model for WWE merchandise, then worked as a receptionist before being promoted to more prestigious front office jobs that culminated in her current assignment as Chief Brand Officer. The bottom line is that regardless of what you think about her personally, Stephanie has more than enough professional wrestling credibility to justify her position in this world.
As one half of The Authority during that storyline’s three year run, Stephanie seemed to be at her most comfortable, mixing equal parts annoying entitlement and iron-fisted efficacy all to achieve their own ends. She would bully superstars into submission and was exceedingly convincing as a woman who would literally do anything to stay in power. The entire storyline worked because Stephanie sold it so well, while also giving us one of the best introductions in WrestleMania history.
When Roman Reigns defeated Triple H and The Authority was disbanded, fans weren’t sure which Stephanie would inevitably return. Would she be humbled by her husband’s loss and by extension her humiliation at being stripped of power? Of course not; she’s a McMahon. Just prior to the brand split, Stephanie once again played her role as the billion dollar princess to perfection, demanding control over the entire company. She was conniving, manipulative and showed complete contempt for her brother as she attempted to seize the WWE.
In the months since, we have been shown confusing glimpses of a Stephanie who is sometimes in control of her emotions and even supportive of the men and women on the roster. She appointed Mick Foley as the General Manager of RAW and has even had some playful interactions with the audience, despite their obvious contempt for her. But this past Monday on RAW, fans were reintroduced to the Classic Stephanie. She berated the female talent and showed an all-around vile personality, even towards the innocent stage hands who were just trying to rearrange plants. She also publicly ridiculed fan-favorite Mick Foley for his apparent failures as General Manager. While this was likely done to set up a separate storyline, the personality flip-flops leave us scratching our heads.
We are usually quick to focus on the character development of a WWE superstar yet we sometimes forget that the supporting cast should be just as robust. Shane, for example, has portrayed the same character since he returned to the company last year. He is the prodigal son, eager to prove his worth not just to his father, but to the WWE Universe. He has a vision and a goal for Smackdown and the current ratings battle shows that he is taking this job seriously.
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Because Stephanie is Vince’s daughter, the WWE creative team may not care about her character’s on-screen inconsistency, much less about the discrepancy between this version of her and the one in real-life. Her Twitter page is full of various charity work, including her efforts as the co-founder of Connor’s Cure. From what we know about her father, the “real” Stephanie McMahon is likely a mix of ruthless kayfabe character and generous, charity-prone businesswoman. I just wish the WWE would decide which of these we would get on a weekly basis because most of have already lost track.