Stephanie McMahon Says Her Family Was Never Supposed To Be In WWE Hall Of Fame

Stephanie McMahon recently joined her grandfather, Vincent J. McMahon, in the WWE Hall of Fame alongside the 2026 Class. However, unlike her grandfather, Stephanie and her family, most notably her father, Vince McMahon, all played characters in WWE, which was the main reason why she was inducted into the Hall of Fame.

“The McMahons were never supposed to be in the Hall of Fame, as I was always brought up,” Stephanie claimed during an episode of her “What’s Your Story? With Steph McMahon” podcast. “We were characters that were intentionally designed to get other characters over. So, it was never about us, you know? And that’s just sort of ingrained in my brain…”

Last year, Paul “Triple H” Levesque was notably inducted into the Hall, and while not a direct McMahon family member, Levesque’s relation to the family through his marriage to Stephanie means she will be the third family member inducted. Only time will tell whether or not Shane McMahon gets inducted next, considering that he was just as involved in the promotion during the “Attitude “and “Ruthless Aggression” Eras, or if Linda McMahon will similarly be inducted because of her few contributions on screen and mainly behind the scenes.

However, many have debated the possibilities of former WWE Chairman Vince McMahon being inducted someday, but considering his recent history with the promotion and his lengthy sexual assault and sex trafficking civil suit, this might be out of the card for a long time, if not forever.

If you use any quotes from this article, please credit “What’s Your Story? With Steph McMahon,” and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.

UFC Fight Night 275 Results: Della Maddalena Vs. Prates

Welcome to Wrestling Inc.’s live coverage of UFC Fight Night 275, headlined by Jack Della Maddalena versus Carlos Prates in Perth, Australia. 

No. 1 ranked welterweight Della Maddalena is returning home against No. 5 ranked Prates, fighting his first bout since losing the UFC Welterweight Championship to Islam Makhachev in November last year. That fight marked his first loss in nine fights since joining UFC, having earned his place with the promotion through Dana White’s Contender Series in 2021. His overall record sits at 18-3.

Prates similarly came through the Contender Series in 2023, having since gone on to carve a 6-1 record – only losing to Ian Machado Garry in April last year. 

Prior to the main event, the main card will begin with heavyweight action between Tai Tuivasa against Louie Sutherland. That will be followed by Shamil Gaziev versus Brando Pericic at heavyweight, Marwan Rahiki versus Ollie Schmid at featherweight, and Tim Elliott versus Steve Erceg at flyweight. The co-main event will see Beneil Dariush taking on Quillan Salkilld at lightweight. 

UFC Fight Night is available to watch via Paramount+ in the US, with the preliminary fights due to begin at 4 AM ET and the main card scheduled to begin at 7 AM ET. 

Prelims:

  • Lightweight: Kody Steele def. Dom Mar Fan via Submission in Round One 
  • Welterweight: Jonathan Micallef def. Themba Gorimbo via Split Decision (29-28; 28-29; 29-28)
  • Middleweight: Wes Schultz def. Ben Johnston via Submission in Round Two
  • Bantamweight: Colby Thicknesse def. Vince Morales via Unanimous Decision (29-28; 29-28; 29-28)
  • Middleweight: Jacob Malkoun def. Gerald Meerschaert via Unanimous Decision (29-28; 29-28; 29-28)
  • Light Heavyweight: Junior Tafa def. Kevin Christian via TKO in Round One
  • Middleweight: Cam Rowston def. Robert Bryczek via Unanimous Decision (30-27; 30-27; 30-27)

Tai Tuivasa vs. Louie Sutherland – Heavyweight Three Rounds

Round one begins Louie Sutherland gets the advantage over Tai Tuivasa relatively early on, hitting a spinning elbow followed by a clinch knee before dominating on the floor and asphyxiating Tuivasa’s movement in between shots. Tuivasa is squirming to get out but Sutherland is giving barely any quarter, popping off elbows to the face and he wrestles him back to his back. 

Tuivasa tries to get some elbows off from underneath Sutherland, but he’s up against it from this position. Ten-second clapper goes and Sutherland is content to keep on top burrowing elbows in. The round comes to an end with Sutherland in control. 

Round two begins with Sutherland throwing a high leg kick and shooting for the takedown. Tuivasa rolls with it and returns to his feet, leaning on Sutherland. Sutherland pushes Tuivasa up against the cage and maneuvers him to the ground with his weight. But Tuivasa once again finds his feet. 

Sutherland corrects and drops Tuivasa to the floor again. He has the side control, hammering his fist against the side of Tuivasa. It doesn’t look like much but these shots will be sapping the breath from his opponent on the ground. Sutherland trying to find space to get those shots in on the head, mounting up and pinning Tuivasa to the ground with his forearm. 

Sutherland clasps the waist, Tuivasa looks to try and reverse the situation but he just gets put back to the floor again. Sutherland continues to lay the shots in as he looks to create space for the submission. A failed attempt at a guillotine is the last action of the round. 

Round three begins and Sutherland is taking his time here, catches a quick shot to the chin from Tuivasa but sure enough the fight is taken to the ground and Sutherland has the advantage again. Tuivasa briefly reverses into a guillotine but he never has it cinched in, throws an illegal knee to the head and gets audibly warned by the referee. Sutherland resumes control on top. 

Over 10 minutes of ground control in this fight from Sutherland. The referee breaks the ground work apart and gets them to resume the stand-up. Tuivasa looks shot as the fight goes to ground again. But now he’s in control and throwing shots at the head of Sutherland, to no avail though as the buzzer sounds. Tuivasa threw an illegal strike in that exchange and the referee has taken a point, compounding what should be a Unanimous Decision for Sutherland.

Louie Sutherland def. Tai Tuivasa via Unanimous Decision (30-26; 30-26; 30-26)

Shamil Gaziev vs. Brando Pericic – Heavyweight Three Rounds

Round one begins and Shamil Gaziev edges closer to Brando Pericic, following a right straight with a grapple against the cage. Gaziev maintains the waist control even as Pericic gets back to his feet against the cage. 

Gaziev now digging knees into the back of Pericic’s legs while maintaining control against the cage. The referee breaks them up and the stand-up resumes. Pericic opening up now with shots upstairs and kicks to the leading leg. Relentless shots coming in from Pericic and Gaziev is wobbling back-and-forth, but he manages to survive for now. 

Gaziev now grappling Pericic against the cage again, but the referee breaks it up as he stands idle. Pericic welcomes the stand-up resuming and continues to rock Gaziev with shots. Gaziev catches Pericic with a right uppercut and Pericic is wobbled now, but his only defense is offense and he ends the round having rocked Gaziev a little more. 

Round two begins and Pericic is back to throwing and looking for the finish. Gaziev counter-punching every time. Both men are rocked and punched out at the same time, Gaziev doing the stalking and walking through punches as though they’re not there. A huge counter-right changes that gameplan and sends Gaziev a few paces back, but he comes back in for the clinch against the cage. 

The referee is imploring them to make something of the position, but they don’t and he makes the break. Immediately back into exchanging headshot for headshot. Pericic lands another great shot snapping the head of Gaziev back, and he follows up with the shot that drops him at last. The referee calls it, the fight is over. 

Brando Pericic def. Shamil Gaziev via TKO in Round Two

Six Woman Tag Match Confirmed For Next SmackDown After Fatal Influence Attack On Charlotte Flair

Six Woman Tag Match Confirmed For Next SmackDown After Fatal Influence Attack On Charlotte Flair

Jacy Jayne just scored the biggest win of her SmackDown run and she did it at Charlotte Flair’s expense.

On the May 1, 2026 episode, Jayne pinned Flair in 10:05 after chaos broke out around the ring. Fallon Henley’s well timed interference snapped Flair’s Figure 8 and opened the door for Jayne to land the Rolling Encore and steal it.

Backstage, the tension was already brewing. Charlotte Flair and Alexa Bliss were mid interview when Rhea Ripley stepped in, offering backup after being jumped by Fatal Influence the week before. Bliss was open to it. Flair shut it down instantly.

“Just because we teamed before doesn’t mean we’ll team again,” Flair told Ripley. “All I need is Bliss. Three’s a crowd.”

That decision came back to haunt her.

Jayne entered with Fallon Henley and Lainey Reid and wasted no time ripping into the Tulsa crowd, promising to embarrass a legend. Once the bell rang, she backed it up. Flair had control early, even hitting a top rope moonsault, but Jayne kept finding counters, including a slick springboard tijeras that shifted momentum.

Flair eventually locked in the Figure 8 and looked seconds away from the win until Henley got involved behind the referee’s back. Bliss neutralized her briefly, but Reid jumped in next, dragging things further off track. Flair cleared her from the apron, but the damage was done. One turn around later, Jayne connected with the Rolling Encore and stole the pin.

After the bell, Fatal Influence piled on. Bliss was overwhelmed at ringside while Flair took more punishment in the ring.

Then Rhea Ripley hit.

Ripley stormed down, dropped Henley on the floor, wiped out Reid in the ring, and blasted Jayne with a headbutt. She went for Riptide, but Jayne slipped free and shoved her straight toward Flair. Ripley pulled up just in time.

The moment hung in the air.

Flair stepped forward and extended her hand.

Ripley accepted.

Sami Zayn Destroys Gingerbread Man As Backlash Match Set

Sami Zayn Destroys Gingerbread Man As Backlash Match Set

Sami Zayn took things to a bizarre new level on the May 1 episode of WWE SmackDown, destroying the Gingerbread Man character in a chaotic segment that has quickly become one of the most talked about moments heading into Backlash.

Zayn appeared with the Gingerbread Man costume dragged to the ring and unleashed a violent outburst. He tore into it with punches, delivered a low blow, and ripped one of its arms clean off before completely dismantling the outfit. The segment was played completely straight, with officials and medical staff rushing out as if a real competitor had been injured.

Earlier in the night, Zayn delivered an unsteady promo that blurred frustration and denial. He compared himself to Bob Dylan being booed for going electric, insisting he did not understand why fans had turned on him despite everything he had done.

The situation escalated fast once Trick Williams hit the scene. The United States Champion charged to the ring, forcing Zayn to retreat through the crowd. Williams then dropped to his knees beside what remained of the Gingerbread Man and signaled for help, throwing up the X as WWE doctors flooded the ring.

Backstage, the angle pushed even further. While being checked in the trainer’s room, Williams was informed that the Gingerbread Man “did not survive.” That moment immediately led to a challenge, with Williams announcing he will defend the United States Championship against Zayn at Backlash on May 9. Nick Aldis later made the rematch official.

WWE doubled down on the absurdity with an “In Memoriam” graphic and confirmed that Williams will hold a funeral for the Gingerbread Man on next week’s SmackDown.

The storyline itself traces back to WrestleMania 42, where Williams defeated Zayn to win the United States Title. In the weeks since, Zayn has spiraled, using the Gingerbread Man disguise to ambush Williams before finally turning his anger on the character itself this week.

Fan reaction has been split, with many questioning the tone of the angle while others see it as part of Zayn’s increasingly unstable heel direction. Regardless, the segment has put a spotlight on their Backlash rematch, which now carries a mix of personal animosity and pure unpredictability.

Williams continues to build momentum on the main roster, while Zayn’s descent into chaos has added a new edge to his character. With a title match set and a funeral still to come, this feud is heading into Backlash with plenty of attention.

Ricky Saints Pushes Cody Rhodes To The Limit In SmackDown Debut

Ricky Saints made a bold first impression on the May 1, 2026 episode of WWE SmackDown, stepping straight into the spotlight against Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. He pushed the champion hard, but when it counted, Rhodes shut the door.Once the bell rang, Saints tried to outsmart Rhodes with a fake handshake before firing off quick offense, including a shoulder block and slick arm drags. Rhodes regrouped, landed a knee, and looked to take control, but Saints stayed one step ahead, slipping free and keeping the pressure on.

The pace picked up fast. Rhodes knocked Saints to the floor with a sharp elbow, but Saints answered right back, sending the champion outside with a clothesline. From there, he slowed things down, working over Rhodes and even targeting his injured eye to gain the edge.

Saints kept building momentum with a hangman’s neckbreaker and a knee drop that nearly sealed it. He even walked the ropes in a nod to Old School, only for Rhodes to catch him and swing the match back with a powerslam.

Both men traded counters in a frantic closing stretch. Saints nailed a springboard tornado DDT and came close again, but when he went for Roshambo, Rhodes had the answer. A quick counter led straight into Cross Rhodes, and that was all she wrote.

Despite the loss, Saints proved he belongs, going move for move with one of WWE’s top stars in his first main roster outing. After rising quickly through NXT and capturing both the NXT and North American Championships, his arrival on SmackDown already feels like a big deal.

The night, however, ended in chaos for the champion. Moments after the match, Gunther stormed in, locked in a Sleeper Hold, and stood tall with the WWE Championship raised high, making his next move crystal clear.