- I stand before you as one of the principal owners of WWE.
[crowd booing]
But take away the money and the education,
and I am just like all of you.
[dramatic music]
My character is the spoiled rotten rich girl.
- Stephanie McMahon flaunts her wealth.
She flaunts her power. She uses her power for bad.
- Surrender the WWE World Heavyweight Championship,
or I will fire your wife.
I always feel the need to put everybody else down.
You're pathetic. You're weak.
You're a failure, and you're a disgrace!
- Her father is the boss,
so she has power to make or break people's lives.
- Your children are ashamed of you.
- Stephanie is the ultimate villain.
No matter how hard people try to defeat her,
Stephanie McMahon will never be destroyed.
- Making business personal,
that's something you know all about, Dad, isn't it?
Being a villain is a lot more fun.
- Oh, my Lord! - You gotta be kidding me!
[dramatic music]
* *
[siren wailing]
- When you're born into a nefarious empire,
you learn from the best on how to be the worst.
[tense music]
- I was about four or five years old,
and I was at the Philadelphia Spectrum.
* *
I was walking backstage.
It was my first time at a live show,
and I remember linoleum floors,
the whitewashed walls, the cement blocks,
the very harsh fluorescent lighting.
It wasn't at all what I had expected,
and I wandered off down the hall a little bit,
'cause, you know, my parents were working.
And all of a sudden, this group of kids came screaming
around the corner, I mean, running for their lives.
And hot on their heels was one George "the Animal" Steele.
* *
And he turned his attention to me
and started coming towards me in character.
- Hey, man! - [screams]
- And I ran as fast as I could up my dad's leg.
I wrapped my arms around him,
I buried my head in his neck, and my dad started to laugh.
* *
And that struck me as a little kid.
And then he introduced me to the man, Jim Myers.
* *
It was my first sort of understanding
of what it means to be a performer.
[upbeat rock music]
* *
I've just grown up in this larger-than-life world.
Every person I've ever really known has had this persona,
this charisma.
I've watched it. I've studied it.
I've learned what it means to become the character,
maybe a little bit more clearer than others
and maybe a little faster.
* *
- Following in the imposing footsteps
of the McMahon family patriarch
is an unenviable task, to say the least.
- And there he is, ladies and gentlemen,
before 14,387!
- Starting from almost nothing,
Vince McMahon transformed
a struggling regional wrestling operation...
- Oh, there's his clothesline!
- Into a billion-dollar publicly traded corporation.
Along the way, the sinister Mr. McMahon
fully embraced his reputation as the evil owner of WWE.
- I enjoy destroying lives. It turns me on.
[crowd booing]
- Vince is a natural heel.
He's a natural just evil, evil man.
- Oh, my God! - Mr. McMahon has lost it!
- My dad is all of the evils of the world
wrapped up into one human being.
- Hell, I'll fire your ass, pal!
- His character is motivated by greed, by money, by power,
by holding the little man down.
- Oh, my. - Oh, my God.
- He just has it all, and he wants you to know it,
and in fact, he wants to stick it straight up your ass.
- It's all about me.
You're fired!
No more Mr. Nice Guy.
- Being raised by Vince McMahon
is a master class in greed and evil.
You can't help but absorb that,
being born and raised around it.
[tense music]
- Even though I grew up in our business
and I always wanted to be a part of it,
I never saw myself in the ring or as a part of our show.
I remember I had graduated college,
and I was in this sort of unique internship position
shadowing my dad.
And I remember sitting at the table,
listening to the writers pitch him this story.
- Let's go into Stephanie McMahon.
- It was an idea to use me.
* *
And I remember sitting there, like, in shock.
I was to be used basically as a pawn in the story line.
- What the heck's the Ministry doing out here?
- McMahon, I know you're back there watching.
There's a little secret that I need to inform you of, Vince,
that tonight there's a beautiful young woman
who will become one with my Ministry.
- Get me more security.
I don't care what you've gotta do.
You get me more security.
- Yes, sir. - And give it to me now.
- The Undertaker was tormenting me,
and ultimately, he got to me.
* *
- Where to, Stephanie?
- Dad!
- Oh, no!
My God, the Undertaker's abducting Stephanie McMahon!
- Stephanie, Stephanie!
* *
Stephanie! Damn it, where is she?
- I don't know!
- The Undertaker had essentially captured
the damsel in distress, Stephanie McMahon,
and was going to wed her.
* *
- The Undertaker abducted Stephanie McMahon.
- Oh, my dear God.
- She's strapped on that symbol.
The Undertaker and the Ministry
have brought Stephanie McMahon to the ring.
- That's the boss' daughter.
You can't kidnap the boss' daughter.
- This is absolutely heinous.
This is so sickening.
Who has the courage to come out here and stop this?
- Let the ceremony begin.
- Oh, for God's sake!
Here he comes! Stone Cold!
- There was really only one man that could help...
- Stone Cold and the Undertaker going toe-to-toe!
- And that was "Stone Cold" Steve Austin,
who was the archnemesis of Mr. McMahon.
- Austin fighting with all he's got!
- "Stone Cold" Steve Austin appeared to save the day
for the damsel in distress.
- The ceremony's over!
I guarantee you, he didn't do this for Vince McMahon.
He's doing it because it's the right thing to do!
- It turns out, it was all a setup.
The Undertaker was working for a higher power
who orchestrated Stephanie's abduction.
* *
- I present
the higher power.
- Who could it be?
- It's me, Austin!
- Oh, son of a bitch. - What?
- It's me, Austin! It was me all along, Austin!
- Mr. McMahon orchestrated his own daughter's kidnapping,
just to lure his archnemesis into a trap.
- It doesn't get much more evil than that.
- Vince knew that "Stone Cold" Steve Austin
would go out and go against the epitome of pure evil
and rescue Stephanie,
because even "Stone Cold" Steve Austin
could see the devious Undertaker could not
marry this pure, innocent little girl.
- What a sick human being.
- What kind of man would do that,
would use his daughter
and make his daughter believe she was abducted,
believe she was being forced to marry this evil,
unholy character?
- Austin, now you know
there is no price I will not pay.
There is no depth that I will not stoop
to make your life here on Earth, Austin,
a total, complete living hell.
- Mr. McMahon would do that,
and it brought out, ultimately,
every bit of dark side that I had within me.
* *
- I really didn't want to have to do it,
but, you know, "Stone Cold" Steve Austin,
I had to teach you a lesson
that you would never, ever forget.
[dramatic music]
- Wait a minute. What is this?
- Stephanie?
- She didn't know.
- How could you be so cruel to me?
- We really weren't trying to hurt you, Stephanie.
You see, it's just business.
* *
- My father actually used me as a pawn,
and that was the moment my character realized
that it's time to play this game.
- Love doesn't have anything to do with it.
It's just business. We still love you, Stephanie.
- The relationship between Vince McMahon
and Stephanie McMahon is complicated
'cause Vince is complicated.
Vince has shown over and over
that he is devoted to sports entertainment
24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
That's not a normal, like, dad-daughter relationship,
but that dynamic is fun to watch play out.
- Look at this.
Test and Stephanie hand in hand.
- After playing the damsel in distress,
Stephanie McMahon began to formulate
her own villainous plan
to become one of the most evil characters in WWE history.
- I, in a story line, was supposed to get married
to a wrestler by the name of Test.
- On "Raw," Test proposed to Stephanie McMahon,
and she accepted just a few days later on "SmackDown."
- I remember my father had said, "Okay,
"if anybody interrupts this wedding that isn't family,
then they're gonna get fired on the spot."
- We are gathered here tonight
to celebrate one of life's greatest moments.
Should there be anyone who has cause why this couple
should not be united in marriage,
they must speak now or forever hold their peace.
[rock music]
- Time to play the game.
* *
Time to play the game!
* *
- And out on the stage comes Triple H,
the biggest bad guy possible.
At the time, my dad was in a story
with Triple H, and he said,
"You know, Vince, I know you said
"that if you weren't family that you'd get fired,
so allow me to show you a little something."
- Vince, you should take a look at this.
* *
- Hunter, will you take Stephanie for your wife?
- Oh, yeah, I do.
- And, Stephanie, will you take Hunter for your husband?
- [as Stephanie] Oh, yes, I do.
Hey, get a nice shot of the brand-new
Mr. and Mrs. Hunter Hearst Helmsley.
[tense music]
- Triple H has married Stephanie McMahon.
- Triple H, he was feuding with Vince McMahon so much
that he wanted to take his daughter
and marry her in secret, videotape it,
then send the videotape live on "Monday Night Raw"?
- [sobbing] I don't remember.
I start crying.
My dad's so angry.
- As a member of the immediate family, Dad...
- Oh, my God! - I hate you!
- Triple H defying Vince more
than even Stone Cold did by taking his daughter
and marrying his daughter against his wishes.
- The story line plays out
over the next couple of weeks, and ultimately,
it comes to the opportunity to have our wedding annulled.
- If your dad-- well, if my dad
can beat me at "Armageddon,"
the wedding is annulled.
But if I beat him,
then I get my shot at the title.
- I think I can have that arranged.
- It's already crazy enough, so then we get to "Armageddon."
* *
- If Triple H wins,
his marriage to Stephanie stays intact.
But if Vince wins,
Stephanie and Triple H's marriage will be annulled.
- We got the great Vince McMahon.
Then we got Triple H.
And then you have the boss' daughter.
You knew something was gonna happen.
You knew somebody was gonna get screwed over,
and there was nothing you could do about it.
* *
- Oh, McMahon has blinded Triple H!
- Hey, look out! - Look out.
- Good God almighty.
Stephanie likes what she's seeing now.
- I was given a front-row seat as a wedding present, how nice.
- For the love of God,
McMahon is barely able to stand.
- Come on, Dad!
It is a disaster.
They are absolutely beating the tar out of each other.
* *
- Tell me what you're feeling inside
watching your daddy get his ass kicked.
- I hate you.
* *
Finally, my dad somehow gets Triple H down,
and he picks up Triple H's sledgehammer.
- A rat trapped in a corner.
McMahon is gonna hit-- wait, there's Stephanie.
Stephanie's stopping her dad.
Wait a minute. She wants to hit him.
Stephanie's gonna hit Helmsley.
Oh, my God. Is this spousal abuse?
- I raise that sledgehammer up like I'm just gonna
rock Triple H's world,
and I can't do it.
Man, I just--I can't do it. I can't hit him with it.
- Hit him!
- She can't do it. - Oh, no.
God almighty!
- It's all my fault. It's all my fault.
I know it's my fault. Oh, my God, is he even okay?
- You son of a bitch, don't you hit her!
- What's he doing? - Don't you hit her!
- I hear the crowd start to roar as Triple H
is raising that sledgehammer as if he is going to hit me.
* *
- You're just like, "Man, how many terrible things
could happen to one absolutely innocent person?"
* *
- What? - King, what is this?
- Turns out, all along, she was playing us all like a fiddle.
All like a fiddle.
- For the love of God!
- Stephanie McMahon turning on her father,
it was, to me,
one of the biggest shocks in wrestling history.
Being taken by the Undertaker
and then finding out your father
was the guy pulling the strings and making all the decisions.
The plan goes back that far.
That's crazy.
And I think Stephanie became
probably a bigger villain than Vince McMahon,
and it somehow made Vince a sympathetic figure.
What kind of greatness must you have
to make Vince a sympathetic figure?
* *
It's one of the greatest heel turns in history.
* *
- WWE has been a family-run business from day one,
and Steph had just come in
and was part of this family business.
And so for Steph to turn on her ultimate mentor and father,
that was, like, the most unspeakable thing
that could happen.
Like, this girl is pure evil.
* *
- I decided I was tired of being a pawn
in my father's story.
I was gonna write my own story, and you know what?
I'm hitching my wagon to the most evil villain
of all time, Triple H.
[crowd cheering]
[dramatic music]
* *
- Man, she's changed.
- Obviously not the same Stephanie McMahon.
* *
- You hurt me.
Oh, you look confused, like you don't remember.
I guess it's been a long time.
It's been almost a year since you had me abducted
and carried down to this ring
to be sacrificed to the Undertaker in a wedding
simply so you could screw "Stone Cold" Steve Austin.
* *
And what's the best way that I could hurt you back?
By marrying the man that you hate the most.
* *
I'm not Daddy's little girl anymore.
* *
- Betraying her almighty father was just the first step
towards reshaping the WWE in her own image.
- Instead of being this innocent boss' daughter
that was getting used,
she found her confidence. she found her power,
and now she's gonna take control.
* *
- Stephanie then devised a plan
to conquer her father's empire from within.
- Steph wants to be the best at whatever she does,
so while Steph was gaining popularity
in front of the camera, it was also benefitting her
to be sinking her claws in behind the camera as well,
not only in the creative department
but other departments.
She would dig in, learn what she could, and move on.
That approach definitely makes her
a well-rounded businesswoman that knows,
probably just below her father, the most about the WWE.
* *
- As Stephanie gained more power
within the corporate headquarters,
she felt even more emboldened to spread her wings
before the WWE universe.
* *
Daddy's little girl was all grown up now.
* *
- You're just a mean old bastard!
- What?
What did she say to her father?
- She went against everything that Daddy was saying
and what everyone thought of her.
- She got a legitimacy, being with Triple H,
that she never could have gotten on her own.
She always would have been on the other side of the fence
to everybody in the WWE.
Now she's on the inside.
- What? - She slapped her father!
Oh! Now Shane got it!
- She got an amazing reaction,
'cause she was really charismatic.
* *
And people wanted to root for her.
You wanted to pull for this beautiful young woman.
But she was also very good at pissing people off.
- Where I'm from, boys and girls
treat their parents with honor and respect.
- One of the reasons
why my character was always a little bit special
was because I didn't get in the ring every single week,
'cause I wasn't, you know, a wrestler by trade.
I was the boss' daughter.
- But like her father and her brother before her,
at some point, Stephanie would have to step into the ring.
- I was never the greatest athlete,
so to put me in the ring was a big step for me.
But ultimately, I had to evolve,
and getting in the ring wasn't about wrestling.
It was about perception of power.
* *
My first training was not pretty.
My trainer basically told me
to just throw myself on the ground
and take a flat back bump.
That is, like, the key move to know.
First time that I did it...
I felt like I had been in a train wreck the next day.
I was really not good at it,
so when I was gonna have my first match,
that's when I really got scared.
* *
- So Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley,
for the first time ever,
will step into the ring here tonight.
- Stephanie is not a wrestler.
- Stephanie's in-ring debut
proved she was as selfish as her dear old dad.
The unproven Billion Dollar Princess
placed herself in a title match
against one of the most popular champions
in her division, Jacqueline.
- Jacqueline goes one-one-one with Stephanie McMahon-Helm--
- Where's Stephanie going? - Where do you think?
Go home. Go wait in your mansion.
- Referee Earl Hebner demanding
that Stephanie get into the ring.
- While Triple H distracted the referee,
his henchmen attacked Jacqueline.
- Oh! Tori just planted Jacqueline!
- And Stephanie stole the victory and the title.
- Wait a minute!
[bell rings]
[crowd booing]
- Given the crowd reaction,
there was really no doubt that I was meant to be a heel.
* *
- Being in the ring, that wasn't
about the wrestling; it was about power.
Steph decided she wanted to be women's champion,
and not having to do one wrestling move,
not having to take a punch,
not having to have a finger laid on her,
Steph walks out the women's champion.
She has an entire empire at her disposal.
She could call shots and get what she wants.
Like, "I point at the thing I want, and then I get it."
Nobody else can do that.
- One of the hardest things in the world to do
is become a professional wrestler.
You can't just roll out of bed and do what they do.
That's why it was so upsetting to see Stephanie McMahon
being able to win the title.
* *
- After that match,
we see just what Stephanie McMahon
was capable of, and that was anything.
- God's sakes, what has happened to this young woman?
- For 74 glorious days...
- What the hell?
- I have been your women's champion.
And I know that deep down,
I really have your support.
- As Stephanie's power continued to grow...
- Stephanie struck her mother down!
- Her father was back in the picture
with another sinister plot to solidify
the McMahons' authority within the WWE
for years to come.
- This is our show.
* *
- With the WWE evolving and expanding,
"Raw" and "SmackDown" split into two separate entities.
[tense music]
- Allow me to introduce you
to the new general manager of "SmackDown,"
Stephanie McMahon!
- I think the Vince and Stephanie relationship
is so complicated, it puts "Succession" to shame.
Being the ruthless, evil billionaires that they are,
there's still this element of respect,
even after they've stabbed each other in the back.
So just when you think you understand their dynamic,
you don't.
- Welcome to my show,
"SmackDown"!
- Stephanie McMahon all business.
- So this is when I think she really started getting
into that authority persona, when she was like,
"I will slowly make that transition
to this corporate entity,"
this person that's alongside of her father.
- When she's become the strong, powerful businesswoman,
she definitely has pieces of Vince in her.
This is Vince's daughter.
This is who he raised, and you see it
when she walks down the ramp in her power suit.
- It's the Billion Dollar Princess Stephanie,
and she does not look happy.
- Stephanie, she's very much like my dad.
I call her the Vincess.
She hated the "princess" part of that,
so I threw that in there as a little brotherly dig.
- I think she's inherited that walk from her father.
- When your father is one of the most despised people
in the business,
you've got instant credibility right there.
You were spawned from evil.
Of course you're Miss Evil at that point.
- I'll have to call you back.
- I didn't bother knocking, but--
- Well, you never do, Dad.
- No, 'cause I don't have to, do I, now?
* *
- It's interesting for me,
being a woman in this business,
you know, and I was often the only woman
in a room full of men.
I was just always very comfortable around guys.
I didn't find men intimidating.
If anything, I feel like women have an edge
or have an advantage in a room full of men,
but you have to have the confidence, you know,
to be able to be there.
You have two choices, Eric.
You can either walk your little self out of my building,
or I will have you thrown out.
* *
- The scariest villain is a beautiful,
strong woman that has power.
That makes her special in her own right.
When you're in a male-dominated industry
and you show that a strong woman can be a bad guy
and be unapologetically bad,
it's one of the greatest things ever.
- Empowered by her ever-growing authority,
Stephanie's signature strut is usually a sign that someone
is about to receive her trademark
stamp of disapproval.
- You call yourself a visionary?
[rock music]
- It's a legit competition
when you're in there with Stephanie.
There's a danger in working with Stephanie.
- You are a vindictive bitch!
* *
I think it degrades you
as a human being when you get slapped.
You're lower than me. You're not even worth a punch.
I'm gonna slap some sense into you.
And I think that's why it works so good.
- What are you gonna do about it?
You gonna cry?
You gonna cry like a baby, huh?
- My sister probably hits the hardest
out of the entire roster of WWE with that slap.
That slap is no joke.
- Oh!
Oh!
- Stephanie was able to do it with a sly smile.
Stephanie was able to take grown men
and bring them to their knees.
* *
- As often is the case, life began to imitate art.
Stephanie and Triple H's on-screen romance
sparked a real-life love story.
- Rumors circulated very early on,
once Steph and Triple H were paired on camera.
Come to find out there was a reason their chemistry
was so great on camera.
- It was life imitating art because behind the scenes,
they started to have feelings for one another.
- What started as just a strategic move
soon became a reality.
- We were supposed to be a short-lived story line,
and I was not allowed to date any of the wrestlers,
but there were ups and downs
and twists and turns both on screen and off,
and ultimately wound up really getting married.
* *
- I think, once Triple H and Stephanie got married,
it really threw a wrench in the family dynamic
as far as jockeying for power and position
because Triple H and Stephanie have different strengths.
So together, they formed one mega power,
and then now there was just Shane.
It was--almost became a bit of a two-against-one dynamic.
- Stephanie's ascension up the corporate ladder
reached new heights when she and Triple H
seized the reins of WWE power as the Authority.
- Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome the COO
as well as one of the principal owners of the WWE,
Triple H and Stephanie McMahon.
- I took a step back from wrestling,
and then my dad started to take more of a back seat,
so he wasn't on camera as much.
And we really needed that authority figure.
* *
I stepped forward as an owner and, you know,
along with my husband, Triple H,
who was positioned as the COO of the company,
and we actually became the Authority
is what we called ourselves.
- Anybody in that locker room that defies our authority
will beg to keep their job.
* *
- We are now the bosses.
We are now in charge.
And power goes straight to your head.
Absolute power corrupts absolutely, and it did.
Last week, the Big Show struck my husband in the face.
* *
But where is the Big Show now? He's unemployed.
He's fired.
[crowd booing]
- They're bullies,
and they're throwing their weight around,
and they're throwing their power around.
And that's what the Authority was all about.
- At this point, it started to seem like there was
kind of a changing of the guard happening.
The expectation is that,
you know, one day, it's all going to be
Shane McMahon's company, but okay, no, actually,
little sister Stephanie and her husband, Triple H,
they're gonna take over.
As a fan, it seems like
Shane could already see the writing on the wall,
and then Shane left the company.
- And let that be a lesson
to anyone in the WWE locker room,
because insolence will not be tolerated.
- So I think it was at that point that Steph really started
to feel the effects of her power.
- Security,
please escort this man from the building.
[crowd chanting] No, no, no, no!
- No one likes anyone to abuse their power,
much less, you know, a son and/or a daughter
of the boss.
- You have Stephanie McMahon and Triple H side by side
every week, literally pissing people off for no reason.
- You work for me. I ask the questions.
So who the hell do you think you are?
- This isn't a story line. They have weight.
They have pull. They can do things.
They can cause people some discomfort.
- How would it feel for your wife to look
in your baby girl's eyes
and explain about the beating that you took?
- She has the power,
the power that no other character,
not even villain, has and no one ever can have.
* *
- It's her throne,
and you have to play on her level at all times,
or you're finished.
I love that.
- Vickie, you're fired.
- Leadership is not for everybody.
Having the ability to dominate and control others,
it's very intoxicating,
because it goes to people's heads.
They embrace being evil. They love being evil.
It's their glow. It's their moment.
They love that.
- Mick Foley,
I've got two words for you.
You're fired!
- It's become iconic, the long, "You're fired!"
And when it's somebody we don't like, you'll get the,
"Na, na, na, na. Hey, hey, goodbye."
But when you are unapologetically firing
someone you know people love, like Hardcore Legend
first bell Hall of Famer Mick Foley?
- Foley, get out once and for all.
- That's ruthless. That's being plain evil.
- You're my bitch!
At that point, people were nervous
that Steph and Triple H had too much power,
because there's elements of truth.
Like, Stephanie is really out there with her husband,
and she pretty much can call the shots,
and there's nothing anyone could possibly do about it.
* *
- The McMahon family drama is like no other,
behind the scenes and on camera.
- Oh, no, look at this!
Oh, Vince, that's your son. That is your little boy.
- With all that wealth at stake,
with so many egos to feed,
with so many backs to stab,
there's always gonna be some sort of turmoil
in the never-ending struggle for power.
- You want me to take Daddy's little girl
and crush it in my hand
and throw it on the mat and leave it a bloody pulp!
- There's always a pecking order inside a family.
You've got sibling rivalry.
- Oh, now Shane got it!
- And then you've got the siblings
competing with their parents.
- I said I can never, ever compete
with your checkbook, but I can outsmart you.
- I think we watch these shows like "Succession"...
- You're a [bleep] coward.
- Wow.
- "Game of Thrones"...
- You're no son of mine.
- I've always been your son.
- Because they are a really exaggerated version
of every family's hierarchy, every family's competition.
We all find ourselves in those characters.
[dramatic music]
- It is my pleasure to introduce to you
the recipient of the Vincent James McMahon
Legacy of Excellence Award to Stephanie McMahon!
* *
- Even though none of us know what it's like
to have royal blood or,
you know, some incredible family business
where maybe one day, you'll be the heir--
most of us can't relate to that,
but we can relate to family relationships.
We all can relate to wanting to impress Mom or Dad.
- No one in the world deserves this award as much as you.
Congratulations. - Thank you, Dad.
It is our family's legacy, and I do just have a few--
- * Money * - Here we go.
- * Here comes the money *
* *
- After a seven-year hiatus,
Mr. McMahon's prodigal son returned
to claim his stake of the family empire.
- At the time, Steph and Triple H
were being a unified power couple,
potentially setting themselves up
to be the successors to the WWE.
[tense music]
Out of nowhere, here comes Shane McMahon,
and the crowd was on their feet, deafening.
[crowd roaring]
* *
- He couldn't say a word for, like, ten minutes,
the crowd was so stoked, and you had to think
that Steph and Triple H were, like,
questioning their security at that moment.
- The Vincent James McMahon Legacy of Excellence Award.
Phenomenal idea, amazing,
and should be bestowed upon someone
who's a worthy recipient,
and that's not you.
* *
- The real-life aspect of ownership,
if you will, of the company?
Sure, you can get some real-life emotion out of that.
* *
Let me tell you something: my husband and I
have been successfully running a billion-dollar business
with our blood, sweat, and tears,
whether these people appreciate it or not.
* *
- I think there has to be some truth
to any family dynamic power struggle
in a family like the McMahons.
Whether it's hostile or it's over-the-top
or it's as big as we're seeing it,
there are questions.
- The great thing is, nobody really knows.
No one knows what happens at Thanksgiving.
No one knows what happens at Christmas, you know.
That's our own internal thing,
and, you know, people want to guess.
They're like, "Can you imagine? Do you think that really is?
What do you think really goes on?"
It's always good to keep people guessing,
and I think we've done a pretty good job of that,
'cause we're all still around,
and thus far, people want to see us.
- You don't know what it means to be a success, Shane.
How would you?
You're nothing more than a quitter.
Now, get the hell out of my ring.
- Stephanie is a diabolical character,
and she will do whatever it takes
to be the heir of the family business.
- The reason you've been able to climb so high thus far
is because I let it happen.
And one thing's for sure, Stephanie.
I never lost my place in line.
* *
- My brother is the good guy,
the protagonist, you know, the baby face.
And I've even said this to the audience.
Like, why do you love Shane? He has done nothing.
All he does is pander to you guys.
Meanwhile, here I am, day in and day out,
working my butt off to make sure that this business
is here for you and your kids and your kids' kids.
But yet you're gonna cheer him and you're gonna boo me?
[crowd booing]
[crowd cheering]
[crowd booing]
[crowd cheering]
[crowd booing]
- How is that even possible?
How does that make any sense at all?
* *
- I expected by now that one of you
would have stabbed the other one in the back
or slit the other one's throat.
That's not what we have.
- It's the oldest story line literally in history.
The king will not live forever,
and in order to be on their throne,
I gotta go through them.
It's power, it's money, it's fame,
and it's the willingness to get it at any cost.
And so that idea of anything can happen at any moment
because there's only one throne
and only one person can sit on it
but there are two kids of Vince McMahon,
that's what we as fans love, and that drama
and that tension is always being teased at us.
- It is my duty to inform you,
the new commissioner of the juggernaut,
the flagship, the three-hour flagship of WWE,
"Monday Night Raw's" commissioner,
Stephanie McMahon.
- Yes, yes, yes!
* *
- It reminds me of the fact
that sharks eat each other in the womb,
and she's one of the sharks that made it out.
* *
- The Authority back in control.
[dramatic music]
* *
- I think Stephanie McMahon has been face-forward
as far as, like, decisions that get made.
I obviously know her brother's involved as well,
but we don't think of him first off.
We think of Stephanie McMahon, and we think of Triple H,
and they've sort of become the face of the decisions.
And I, for one, enjoy that.
- Tear his head off! - Aah!
- Oh, yeah!
How's that feel?
- What fans see when it comes to Stephanie McMahon
and her possibly taking over for Vince
is Stephanie and Triple H as a unit.
- Ah! - How's that?
How's that, huh, huh?
- That balance of evil traits--
we have the guy who's been in the ring
and the businesswoman who's been behind the scenes
her entire life, them together as sort of this,
you know, let's say it, WWE power couple--
I think there's an appeal there to a lot of fans.
- Our ring, our house, our show!
This belongs to us!
- The thing with Stephanie is that she plays her role
of being the ultimate bad girl to a tee.
There's nobody that plays that role better than her.
She is totally open and willing
to let her character go as far as her character needs to go,
because she understands that her family's legacy,
family's business, is at stake.
[crowd booing]
- Shut up! Shut up!
- No, no, Dad-- - No respect!
- Dad, Dad, it's okay.
- You're animals!
- It's all right, Dad. You know what?
Quite frankly, I don't want their support,
and I certainly don't want their compassion
or their sympathy, because I would rather
be feared or respected than felt sorry for.
Because I am a leader, and all of you know it.
- I think it's fair to say that Steph has no intentions
of leaving the family business
and is planting the seeds to just secure that spot
for a lifetime and generations to come.
* *
- Absolutely, I would let my daughters join the business,
but they're gonna have to earn it.
- Even more so. [laughs]
Did you forget who you're talking to?
I'm a McMahon.
Nobody does crazy better than us.
- The McMahon family will always be synonymous
with doing whatever it takes to expand the family legacy.
- Oh! - Oh, my!
- As for Stephanie, she entered the WWE
as being handed everything,
but she has proven herself to be even more unforgiving...
- Stephanie's gonna-- - Oh, my God, no holds barred!
- More scandalous...
- Do you have any idea
how much power I have in this city?
- More unscrupulous, and more powerful
than anyone could have anticipated.
- AJ, you are the Divas Champion,
but please remember that I can take all of that away from you.
- No one really enjoys the entitled,
self-indulgent princess, if you will.
And she just happens to suit that role pretty well.
You know, she's the boss,
and she jams it down everybody's throat,
and people don't like that.
You know, in all walks of life, no one really,
really wants their boss or someone
to jam something down their throat.
It just doesn't taste good.
- And when the going got tough,
what did Shane McMahon do?
What did he do?
He abandoned every single one of you
for seven years.
That's a leader?
That's someone you want leading this company?
What's gonna stop Shane from doing that all over again?
- Stephanie McMahon being a villain, it's timeless.
It's something that everybody understands,
and I think the drama lasts because it's real.
And what's real is what resonates with the audience,
and when the audience sees Stephanie McMahon
on their screens,
they're not looking for a cushy, lovey-dovey,
happy-go-lucky moment.
They're looking for the [bleep] to hit the fan.
- Guys, lookit, from behind, Stephanie McMahon.
- Grabbing the hair of Rousey! [bell rings]
- I think Stephanie McMahon actually might be
even more vicious than her father,
because throughout her career and throughout her life,
she's been treated a certain way.
She's had to fend for herself and fight for herself...
- Aah! Aah!
- In very different circumstances,
in a world full of snakes and serpents,
so she knows how to do it better than anybody else,
and she knows how to do it with a smile on her face.
* *
- Oh, my God!
- I'll take care of you!
- Stephanie's got her locked in good.
Rousey's in trouble.
* *
- Oh! - Oh, my God!
- Does that make her evil?
Well, she is a McMahon.