AMERICANWAY
FEBRUARY2016
45
crowd. Itwillalso, though, showcasethe idealon
whichthesport’ssuccesshasbeenbuilt:Forall its
showbizrazzmatazz,WWEremains,at itscore,old-
fashioned familyentertainment.
AT8YEARSOLD,
StephanieMcMahoncouldn’t
graspthe financialandprofessionalstakesofher
father’sventure,butasshemadeherwaytoherseat
atthe inauguralWrestleManiaevent, sheknew it
wasdifferent fromtheotherpro-wrestlingcardshe
hadtakenherto.Therewasanewkindofbuzzabout
theevent,partlybecausethecrowdofnearly20,000
atMadisonSquareGarden includedpeople like
MuhammadAli,Liberace,Mr.TandCyndiLauper.
Stephaniewasusedtoattending liveeventsat
theGarden,oftensittingwithmanagerandwrestler
ArnoldSkaaland’swife,Betty.AndretheGiant,
7-foot-4andwellnorthof500pounds,washer
favoritewrestler,andtheaffectionappearedtobe
mutual.The legendary fighter(dubbed“theEighth
WonderoftheWorld”)wouldwraphismassivehand
aroundherankleandgive ita littlesqueeze,hisway
ofacknowledgingthe littlegirlwithoutbreaking
character.
“Tobeabletorootandcheer forAndretheGiant,
my friend,whobody-slammedBigJohnStudd
thatnight,”sherecalls. “Ihavegoosebumps just
talkingabout it. Itwas justoneofthemostexciting
nights.And itwasoneofthekickoffsofwhatwould
bemycareer.”Today,StephanieservesasWWE’s
chiefbrandofficerand isthe fourthgenerationof
McMahons inthegame.
Oneofher favoritematcheswasstagedtwoyears
later,whenAndretheGiantmetHulkHoganat
WrestleMania3,heldatapackedPontiacSilverdome
inDetroit.Fromherseat intheskybox,Stephanie
watchedAndremakingthe longwalkdowntheaisle
and intobattle. Itwasstillsixmonthsbeforethe
releaseof
ThePrincessBride
, inwhichAndreco-
starredasthe lovableFezzik, sohewasstillplaying
theroleofvillaintoHulkHogan’sgoodguy.Fans
booedandhissed.StephaniecheeredAndreon,even
afterhe lostthebout.Because, inthis instance, it
reallydidn’tmatterwhocameoutontop.Beingthere
wasall thatmattered.
“Whenyousitthere inyourseatandyou lookout
atnearly100,000people,”Stephaniesays, “it’sas if
youaresitting inasmallcity.”
Thissenseofspectacle—whatMcMahoncalled
“gobigorgohome”—washisbiggestmasterstroke.
Beyondthetheatricalityofthepresentation itself,
hisWWEexcelledatcreatingcharacterswhowere
lovable, loathsome—andalwaysentertaining.He
calledhisperformers“superstars”andgavethem
madcapcostumes,outlandishpersonasandtheir
ownrock-and-roll thememusic.MachoMan’s
sequinedattiremade itveryhard forthefansto look
away. “Itwasprettymuchthemostamazingthing
I’deverseen,”saysJohnCena, recallingtheHulk/
THISPAGE:Mark
Henry (top) and
TheBellaTwins
PHOTOS
RANDALFORD
