This guest post by Robert Aldrich appears as part of our theme week on Unlikable Women.
Stephanie McMahon Helmsley is the most powerful person in the WWE.
A fourth-generation wrestling promoter, Stephanie McMahon is the current Chief Brand Officer of the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) and one-half of the power couple (with her husband Triple H) that make up the heart of the Authority, the on-screen powers-that-be which attempt to steer the company down the path that is “best for business.” And while her father, Vince McMahon, may have more family/corporate power, or the rarely mentioned Board of Directors might have more business power, all control in the WWE flows from one of these two places and the person who commands the most of both forms of power is none other than Stephanie.
Not quite following? Don’t feel left out. The world of professional wrestling is confusing, and the monolithic WWE – the world’s largest and most successful wrestling promotion – it’s even more confusing. The story of the WWE is that of a giant, on-going tournament to determine and crown the best performers in the wrestling/sports entertainment business. The reality is that it’s a colorful pageant of athleticism and grandiose drama, of brutality and silliness, of action that is as fake as it is real.
To understand pro-wrestling, you really have to understand the concept of “kayfabe” (rhymes with “hey babe”). Kayfabe is the fictional reality in which the WWE (and all pro-wrestling) takes place. It’s a world where all matters are solved in the squared circle, where a person’s value is determined by the championship belt they wear, and where a contract signed under duress is a perfectly legal and binding affair. It’s a world that utilizes the most cutting-edge of technology (except the instant replay for referee to review), and also settles matters in the most barbaric and ancient manner there is (action).
Everybody knows kayfabe is “fake,” but then, you know the ballet is fake too, right? Live theater and television? They’re fake. Wrestling is just as fake…except for maybe the action, because while the punches may be pulled, the slams may be practiced, and the action is choreographed, there really isn’t any way to fake jumping off a ladder onto another person in front of a live audience of hundreds, thousands, or even tens of thousands. Wrestling may be different from theater and television because we buy into the larger-than-life personas, the over-the-type melodrama a little more fully than other forms of entertainment. Perhaps the best description was writer-poet Gabriel Ricard describing kayfabe as “self-aware suspension of disbelief”; you know it’s fake and yet you knowingly and willingly buy into it for the fun of.
Back to Stephanie McMahon Helmsley. In the 1970s and 1980s, Vince McMahon cobbled together the WWE by systematically buying out rival promoters. Vince’s daughter, Stephanie, got involved in the stories in the late 1990s. Initially, she was a victim of kidnapping by the malevolent forces of evil threatening to take over the WWE, known as the Ministry. After a subsequent rescue, she turned into the object of affection for two rival wrestlers (one of which would become her future husband, Triple H). She got married, then divorced. She competed in the WWE Women’s Division for a brief period (and even held the Women’s Championship) before she turned up again a few years later as a corporate figure and remarried (the WWE has an on-again/off-again relationship with narrative consistency).
At the turn of the millennium, Stephanie brokered a deal to usurp her father’s power by buying a rival wrestling company (Extreme Championship Wrestling, or ECW) and having those wrestlers “invade” the WWE, leading to a long series of matches and feuds over control and ownership of the WWE. While Stephanie did not prevail, this established her to be just as cutthroat as her father and perhaps even more resourceful.
Stephanie disappeared from the story’s eye for a little while, only to return as the general manager (a sort of catch-all boss) of the WWE’s late-week Smackdown, and then later for their flagship show, Monday Night Raw. As the boss, she would either be a voice of reason and ambitious sanity, or a draconian witch who would punish any that got in her way. She would continue in this role for a long time, then disappear for a bit, only to return most recently where she confronted fan-favorite Daniel Bryan about his ineligibility to compete for the title. It’s at about this point that the Authority storyline (currently going) would begin, with the Authority overtly taking control of competition. Stephanie, along with her husband Triple H, would try to guide the active roster of wrestlers towards their preferred ideals, by hand-selecting the champions rather than letting the fans decide, or letting the matches play out. She’s proven herself to be as diabolical as she is brilliant, manipulating wrestlers against one another and circumventing any and all rules to reach the ends of her choosing. She’s pit wrestlers in matches with their jobs on the line, or the jobs of their spouses (in the case of a short-lived feud with Total Divas darling Brie Bella), added heinous stipulations to matches, or just flat-out fired anyone who disagreed with her.
This is, of course, Stephanie McMahon Helmsley. Stephanie McMahon Levesque is quite a different woman.
Who is Stephanie McMahon Levesque? Well, she’s the real-world woman who plays Stephanie McMahon Helmsley in the WWE. She is the real daughter of Vince McMahon and she is a real fourth-generation wrestling promoter. And she is the real Chief Brand Officer for the WWE, responsible for promoting and growing the WWE’s brand through every avenue, be it reading challenges at local schools to embracing the first-ever content-specific streaming service (the WWE Channel). And she is really is married to Paul Levesque (the wrestler who goes by Triple H, or Hunter Hearst Helmsley)
The difference is that Stephanie McMahon Levesque is a decorated business woman, named four times by Cable magazine “One of the Most Powerful Women in Cable TV.” She is an Eisenhower fellow, chairperson for the Connecticut Special Olympics, and even has her own workout DVD. She also has three daughters with Paul Levesque.
Stephanie McMahon Levesque’s career has been a little more traditional than her on-screen persona. A communications degree from Boston University (along with probably at least a little nepotism) enabled her to work for the WWE as an accounts executive. She would work primarily behind the scenes and in the corporate office, until 2002 when she would make the switch to working on the creative side of the WWE, working as a writer and then head writer to develop the talent and storylines that would play out before audiences and before the cameras.
In 2007, she became the Executive Vice-President of Creative, which allowed her to spearhead multiple initiatives, not the least of which was the WWE app, which helped to pave the way to the WWE Channel. In 2013, she was promoted to Chief Brand Officer, making her more or less the face of the company’s business side.
So, Stephanie McMahon Levesque isn’t quite as dynamic as Stephanie McMahon Helmsley. But then, few actors are ever as dynamic as those they play on TV or on stage. In reality, Stephanie McMahon Levesque is the public face for a multi-million dollar, International Corporation. Within the kayfabe of the story, Stephanie McMahon Helmsley is not only this but also heiress to the entire kingdom, both family-wise and corporately. She is a woman who rules with intelligence and conviction, as well as brutal sincerity. When she speaks, the mightiest of men falls silent, listen, and then do as she says. Or they challenge her at their own peril.
Hail to the queen.
Robert V Aldrich is a novelist and speaker based out of North Carolina. His most recent book, Rhest for the Wicked, is now available, and he publishes a blog and serials at his website, TeachTheSky.com. You can follow him there, or on Twitter @rvaldrich.