By 2013, the old idea of “the McMahon-Helmsley Era” had jumped from fiction into reality, as Stephanie McMahon and Paul Levesque became major driving forces on the corporate side of WWE. Fittingly, the concept then returned to the fictional world of WWE, as McMahon made her full-time return to the promotion after SummerSlam 2013. Triple H, still a semi-regular performer at the time, had just turned heel by costing white-hot babyface Daniel Bryan the WWE Championship, and when Stephanie arrived, she defended her husband’s actions, claiming Bryan wasn’t good enough to be the face of the company. Together, the heel power couple, wielding their actual power within WWE’s fictional world, became known as The Authority. Alongside various lackeys, they ruled WWE with an iron first for more than two years — Stephanie even found herself in a feud with Bryan’s real-life wife, Brie Bella, who was ultimately betrayed by her twin sister, Nikki, giving Stephanie a victory in her return to the ring. While the Authority was disbanded in 2016 due to (what else) McMahon family drama, Stephanie continued to appear irregularly as an on-screen authority figure.

Advertisement

Outside of the realm of kayfabe, Stephanie announced in June 2022 that she was stepping away from WWE. It was only a few weeks later, however, that her father was forced to resign as WWE CEO due to reports of sexual conduct. Stephanie quickly returned and served as co-CEO alongside WWE President Nick Khan.In January 2023, however, Vince returned to the board and Stephanie stepped down as co-CEO. She has not held an official position in the company since, though Levesque has continued to serve as WWE’s Chief Creative Officer even following the company’s acquisition and merger with UFC.

Over the course of her 24-year career, Stephanie McMahon was everything from women’s champion to general manager to real-life CMO. The one thing that hasn’t changed in that time, it seems, is that she’s a woman to be reckoned with.

Advertisement