Stephanie McMahon is opening up about a long-standing family philosophy that once kept her out of the WWE Hall of Fame.
During WrestleMania 42 weekend, Stephanie McMahon was officially inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame, marking a historic moment in her career.
Aside from her husband, Paul “Triple H” Levesque, she becomes just the second member of the McMahon family to receive the honor, joining her grandfather, Vincent J. McMahon, who was inducted posthumously in 1996.
It almost didn’t happen.
While appearing on a recent episode of “What’s Your Story?” alongside Paige, McMahon revealed that she was raised with the belief that McMahon family members were never meant to be part of the Hall of Fame.
“Well, the McMahons were never supposed to be in the Hall of Fame, as I was always brought up,” McMahon responded. “You know, we were characters that were intentionally designed to get other talent over. So it was never about us. And that’s just sort of like ingrained in my brain.”
Paige, however, made it clear she felt the recognition was long overdue.
She praised McMahon not only for her on-screen contributions, but for her leadership behind the scenes—particularly when it comes to advocating for women in the industry.
“You’ve done so much in your career,” Paige told her. “Like, you’re very inspiring for women and anyone that’s worked, any woman or man, but just speaking from a woman’s perspective here, any woman that’s worked with you have only ever said positive things,” Paige said. “You’re very inspirational for a boss. You are so caring, empathetic, you’re understanding, and you stick up for us as women too. You’re an advocate for us and you’ve always been like that and I always appreciated that about you.”
A long-overdue moment, according to many.
Except Stephanie McMahon herself.