Stephanie McMahon appeared on a special episode of WWE’s The Bump, in which several guests celebrated Women’s Evolution Week. McMahon reflected on how women’s wrestling in WWE has changed drastically in recent years. Here are some highlights:
On the Women’s Evolution:
McMahon: “From a professional standpoint, it means the world to me. From a personal standpoint as the mom of three daughters, it means the world to me. I think representation is so incredibly important, and I think that our women have been given the opportunity to shine , nd they have taken that spotlight to a whole ‘nother level.”
On trying to make a difference for women in the wrestling industry:
McMahon: “Well I don’t know that I deserve the accolades that you’re giving me. I certainly always try to stand up for what I believe in, I try to voice my opinion, I try to have a strong voice in the room, but I wasn’t alone in that and yes, there’s been many times, many conversations that I’ve had where I have tried to take a stand for the women in our business, particularly on-screen, and it really wasn’t until our fans started to use their voice in the #GiveDivasAChance, which I know I’ve talked about so many times, but I can never express my gratitude enough to our fan base for really making this happen.”
On women regularly main eventing shows:
McMahon: “I got goosebumps while you were talking because like you said it is a regular thing for our women to be the main event across all of our programming, and that’s exactly as it should be. It’s not positioning women just because they’re women, it’s because they deserve that spot, it’s because they’re the best athletes with the best storylines with the most engaged fan base at that time for them to be the main even, and it’s the reorientation of our women, it’s where they should be. You know, at WrestleMania last year at MetLife Stadium, I actually pulled Charlotte [Flair] and Becky [Lynch] and Ronda [Rousey] aside, and I was just overcome with emotion because, when I was a little girl, and I would sit and watch WrestleMania, the women were certainly nowhere near the main event, and for my little girls who are gonna be sitting in the front row later that night, for them to be able to see women competing at the main event of WrestleMania in a building, by the way, which six years before, when we had WrestleMania, the only women’s match that was on the card was cut for time, and now here they are six years later, competing in the main event because that’s just the way it is, because that’s just the way it should be, and for my little girls and for all the little girls and boys in the audience to just see that, I just got really choked up. And I thanked them, and I thank all of the women who have paved the way and men, by the way, this doesn’t happen alone. Any movement, any change, it happens with everybody making it happen, and again, our women deserve the opportunity, they deserve the spotlight, and they sure earned it that night and every night.”
On her WrestleMania 34 match:
McMahon: “To get in there with Ronda and not only physically have to at least be able to compete at a level enough to showcase her athletic abilities, but also in her first ever match in WWE, in the event that my father created, alongside my husband, who is arguably one of the most iconic superstars ever in our business, and of course across from Kurt Angle, Olympic gold medalist just angle, it was just one of the biggest highlights of my career, and I’m really proud of it. ”
On WWE Evolution:
McMahon: “I think that night was, it was something so incredibly special that had never been done before. Again, I’ve got goosebumps just talking about it. Walking around backstage that day, whether it was a security guard at the building, if it was someone working the box office, if it was an employee of the arena or our superstars, there was just this energy that you knew you were a part of something really, really, really special, and that’s what it felt like. It felt line we were all a part of history, and we were, just even being there. And seeing our fans and seeing so many dads with their daughters, you know, all of the celebrities that turned out, selling out Nassau Coliseum, trending for over two-and-a-half hours number one worldwide during the last game of the World Series and NFL Sunday Night Football, I mean, our women have in the past been doubted as being able to carry their own show, and I think they proved everyone wrong and then some that night. It was truly a highlight of my career to be able to be a part of that and to be able to be there that night.”
The full video is available here:
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