Triple H interviews Steph before WWE Hall of Fame induction

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You know, who doesn't have a giant that shows up at their house, or free George the Animal Steel? Yeah. Oh, what's your story? Don't you dare be sour. Clap for Stephanie. And feel the power. This is a WWE and Fanatics original production brought to you by Game Day Men's Health. Today we have a special edition of What's Your Story? The host of the show, none other than Triple H. I'm fortunate enough to be his co-host for the day, and we get to interview the 2026 Hall of Famer. Soon to be. Well, soon to be. We're headed in. None other than Stephanie McMahon. That was very good. I refused to do the open. Yeah, you did. I'm sweating for the record. I did not want to have that responsibility. Yeah. So how do you do this? I don't know. I've never done a podcast. I've never I've never hosted a podcast before. So you know what's crazy is one year ago today, the Tuesday before WrestleMania was when we recorded our very first pod. And that was with Dom. Wow. Yeah, but we Dana was the first to air, but the first one we recorded was was Dom. They feel awkward. It was so fun, except Elise was like in the corner of the room. So like where Nicky's sitting is where my seat was. Because we were experimenting with formats and things like that. But she also was like in the dark. Like it's like couldn't see her at all. She was like, no, my co-host in Dom was like, I can't really see through the wires. And he was like trying to interact with me. And I was like, hey, chicken tenders. Like. And now you're like a pro at it. No, I wouldn't say that. But wait, you just start asking questions. What do you want to know? What do you want to talk about? Well, all right. So let's start there. How does it feel to be going in the hall of fame? My God, it feels it's such an honor. And I'm so grateful. It's the biggest. I never ever imagined it. And it's. Just the biggest thing ever in my career. And. You know, I'm really proud. It's funny because I could see it when. Well, first of all, the whole setup was so good. We take doing it and the whole thing and you had no idea. I had no idea. What was coming and the confusion on your face. But also, like I could see knowing you so well, the expression changes of. Trying to figure out trying to figure out how he's about to rib you. Yes, in front of the world. Because your relationship with Mark is so cool. And you guys are always messing with each other so much. He's like my big brother. Yeah. And so you're like trying to figure out like, how is he about to like. Screw with me here on live TV. And then knowing it's actually coming from you, by the way. No, but knowing that I was at least in on it. Yes, part of. But then the moment when he starts to say hall of fame. And I can see your expression change from. Wow. Or what should be wow to like, I don't deserve to go in the hall of fame. Why should I? Why are you putting me in the hall of fame? Like that that is was your immediate take on it. And it's just funny because I think to everybody else, at least. Especially for anybody that was behind the scenes through this whole thing. Like you're one of the most deserving people to go in there of anybody. In that. Especially in that time frame of what we're all in, but the contributions from. From childhood, so to speak, all the way through. Like, yeah, of course, it's. Not only deserving. I mean, like it's impossible to not have you in there in some manner. Right. But your instinct was to be like, why don't deserve that? I'm not a. Lucky you just so so much so don't see your performances as a big deal. You don't see your contributions behind the scenes as a big deal, but they're huge. Thank you, baby. You've been the host and everybody. We're fine. She's already gray. I know. He can always get everybody. So I always get a little bit. He doesn't have to try very hard. Do you feel worthy yet? Well, I don't know that worthy is a word I would use, but like I definitely am accepting and I'm in such a great place and I'm so excited and I'm just so grateful. You know, that's the thing. It's like no matter what happens in WWE moving forward, this has been my life. And I'm so grateful to have had this remarkable, incredible life surrounded by these characters and people who are probably the most honest, sort of truthful versions of themselves, right? Because when you're on the road with people and. I don't know. I love our community in this business, especially. You know, it's it's everybody. It's fans. It's all of that, but especially talent, crew, producers, staff, especially during that time frame, you're on the road so much together that it's like this. Big family at all times. Like, so it's it's so, so close knit. But did you find. Going like once it was announced and then you like it kind of settles in the Israel, then you start thinking, oh, shit, I got to come up with a speech. And that becomes a pressure thing, but it makes you reflect on all this stuff that you did. And it's this crazy, like revealing process. Did you find that? Yes. You described it exactly. I mean, that's exactly how you feel. It's like life moves so fast and especially in our business because so many things happen in any given day. You know, it's hard to like remember everything. So when you do go through, I went through several iterations of my draft and I wrote. I, whoops, I found that I wrote it in pieces. And what I remembered and what other people helped me remember. And even, you know, Adam talking to me about and Colleen talking about the package and how they were struggling because it's, you know, almost 50 years of my life and it's so much more than just like my career, right? Cause it's it's everything from growing up, you know, modeling in the magazine or answering phones or whatever it was. And, you know, then getting to this place and at some point in time, being the chairwoman and co-CEO and also having this incredible career in the ring, like as a performer, not, you know, in the business that I love so much, like it's just, it's hard to put into words. What? What's? What struck me different from anybody else's version of this in the first version of your speech that you shared with me was the part that was missing, that I don't think anybody can understand because it's hard. Um, it's hard to put yourself in that person's shoes. Like it's hard for anybody, probably other than you and Shane. To understand the crazy world in which you grew up in and having heard those stories for all these years, like you can sort of, I guess, imagine it to some degree, but, you know, when you grew up where Uncle Ernie was just the grand wizard, that guy that wore the big sparkly turban and had the crazy glasses and spoken a funny voice and, you know, Uncle Pat and, you know, he was never Uncle Pat actually. Well, but all his craziness. Yeah, no, no, yeah. Yeah. But it's funny. I've seen people speculate that he was my godfather or my uncle. Nope. He was just Pat. Yeah. But I think it's hard for people to understand that. Like what's the, the, the, like you literally grew up in the circus. Like, yeah, I mean, right? Yeah. So, so tell some of that. Like when you were a kid, like what's your, I don't want to give away anything in my speech. No, no, no, but I'm not asking. But like, what's, what's your earliest memory of like, well, I bet people don't, everybody doesn't have that coming to their house or. I think it's really the, the Georgianimal Steel story, which, you know, I've told before, but I'll tell again. Yeah, cause it's not in the speech. I'm not ruining. That's right. Yeah. Exactly right. So, um, I was anywhere between three to five and it was my first ever live event. You know, I always watched on television, but I didn't, this was the first time I got to go to the arena. And I remember walking in a side door and being very unimpressed by the side door and the linoleum and the concrete blocks, you know, I think, I think it was, I can't remember, but I want to, it was in Pennsylvania somewhere. Um, and all of a sudden around the corner comes a group of kids just screaming their heads off, running away from something. And I'm like, what on earth could that be? Cause as one does, right? So then I go and I look and then coming around the corner is this like furry man, all hunched over with a green tongue and like wrinkles. And he's, he looked like a monster and he, he sees the kids running and he like zeroes in on me. And then here he comes for me and I scream at the top of my lungs and I run to my dad and up his legs and I bury my head in his shoulders. Cause I'm like, if anyone's going to save me, it's going to be my father, my hero from this monster, right? And instead he started to laugh. And I didn't totally get it at the time, but like that was not the response I expected. And then he introduced me to Jim Myers, you know, who, you know, who was a teacher come to find out, which I didn't believe in the moment. No way, no way. Not a teacher at five. He was a history. I thought, oh, you might be right. History. Yeah. History or math. He taught and was a football coach. Um, so he would make sense. Yeah. He would like wrestle in the summer. Like, so he'd come in to like a three month program with Bruno or backlin or whoever it was. And then he'd go back to school and then he'd be schoolteacher. Isn't that cool? His vacations or his time off from school. He'd wrestle, you know, he was always a big jaw. So he could go in and do something. The character was so over the top, he could always go in quickly and do something with the top baby face or whatever. And they would, it would blow up. So he would just do that. But, you know, imagine that as a character, Jim's what? Six one. Yeah. You know, 280 covered in fur. Big man. Yeah. Yeah. Big scary look. He would always, uh, you'd always have these, uh, I can't remember what the name of the myth that those things that he used to turn his tongue green clorets or something like that. Yeah. And, uh, he would have these mince that he put his mouth, his tongue would turn green. He'd always be waving it around and crazy. You've never seen. No, I have. But I didn't, I definitely didn't know that he was a teacher that parts. Yeah. Just shaping the minds of, of course. Yeah. Yeah. Crazy. But so like that's your first. Yeah. And another story I've told is, um, when Andre first came to the house and I hadn't met him yet and I was, I was pretty little and my babysitter was in the house and she sees this and I was on the trampoline and she sees this van pull up and this giant man get out of the car and she starts trying to close the windows and lock the doors and she's yelling at me to come in the house. Because what prevents a giant from coming in your house? Shut the window. Is the wind, the window being closed. It's just funny. And so, um, good protection skills. Andre walked and I don't totally remember all of this is told from my mom's perspective. Um, but she said Andre walked all the way over to me at the trampoline and he held out his hand and I stepped in his hand and he brought me up to his cheek and I kissed him on the cheek and she called him my gulliver and she said, I was just never afraid of him. Like I just always had some kind of special bond with him. But that's every kid's life. Right. Who doesn't have a giant? That's how I grew up. No, who doesn't have a giant that shows up at their house or free? George the animal steal. Yeah. Yeah. And then there would be like photo shoots and video shoots happening at our house that, you know, I'd come home to from school. Um, you know, like Sunny's lingerie shoot was one of them. About, um, Moola doing the shoot by the pool. Oh my God. When they, and the tiger. They let the tiger, the photographer guy, I can't remember his name. Well, I'm not sure if we should say, we shouldn't say his name, but he's, but I know it's taking pictures of Moola by the pool. So he is on all like, you know, he's been over, yeah, taking pictures. He's working up. And they had a big bull mastiff named Tiger, who's a Brindle Tiger stripe. Right. It was about 145 pounds. And they let Tiger out and Tiger proceeded to jump on the photographer and go to work. And he couldn't do anything. Like he was biting him in the back of his neck. My dad's word was he hooked him. But my dad telling this story howls. He thinks that is the funniest thing on earth. The guy just had to keep taking pictures. Now that's some kind of lawsuit for sure. Maybe, maybe, maybe from Tiger. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Hey, best to just let him finish. But I don't know if people get that too. Like the, like sort of there was the office and then there was your house and probably 50% of the business was done at your house. Yeah. Right. Like maybe even more at one point. Yeah. Like everybody come in booking meetings in your dad's office at home, booking meetings by the pool, like in it would be long. And by booking meetings, you mean, you know, like writing meetings, writing the shows, writing, writing. For anybody who's listening. Yeah. Yeah. That doesn't understand our business. Yeah. They'd always be doing that. And then, you know, it's just a crazy world, which even when you tell these stories, people now are like, it's horrible or whatever. But like, you know, at some point they'd get bored or something or they'd be in a writing rut and they would call like some executive in a suit over to the house to go over something at Pat would hide in the bushes. And when he came walking down the aisle towards the pool, Pat would jump out of the bushes and push the guy in the pool. Definitely not HR appropriate anymore. Yeah. You know, but this is the world. It's funny because that's what I think about. Like when you think about lifestyles of the rich and famous. Yeah. Yeah. At my house and with my dog, Ted puts caviar in his bowl and my dog would love to eat anything right. So he goes over and then he's like, oh, he starts trying to spit out this caviar. And then they pour champagne for him in his bowl and he's like, oh, Oh. The poor dog. He was so cute. But that was the day today. Right. And that was Robin Leach. I got to meet him. Then that's the life. Leach. You lead growing up. Right. And that's just it's just a crazy world. So like, I don't even think when people talk about your. Contributions to the business. They just think about like you from the time you were on TV and then they know you did stuff in the office or whatever. But they don't really. Like it's been your earliest memories. Yeah. I mean, everything. Yeah. This isn't about hype or luck. It's about optimization, living stronger, thinking clearer and performing better every day at Game Day Men's Health. That's the standard. Game Day Men's Health helps men improve testosterone, energy and sexual performance with real testing and face to face visits. They help men reach their full potential with science backed care from testosterone optimization and peptide therapy to ED and performance support with personalized treatment plans. With over 400 clinics across North America, they've got you covered. No long waits. No online guesswork. When life demands you be at your best every day is Game Day. Learn more or book your visit at Game Day Men's Health dot com. Do you remember like listening in on those meetings? Oh, yeah. I remember one conversation, especially about whether or not it was time to bring in fresh blood and bring up the young upstart Kurt Angle from Memphis. Because that's where he had been. Yeah. And his story. And they talked about his story and who he was and that Kurt went to ask to go to Memphis to get better. He said, I'm not good enough. I want to go. I want to get better for him. I want to get better first. And they pulled him up before he felt he was ready. But I mean, that just that was Kurt's sort of mentality. But I remember that conversation specifically. It's wild. Like just being in all that stuff, like you're you're sort of in the learning environment without even knowing it. Yeah. But so at what age or did it even and I already know the answers to most of these questions. At what age did you first think to yourself like that's what I want to do? Did it was there ever anything else? Or did you just never anything else? This is the best business in the world. And you could do anything. Right. I mean, if marketing production, merchandise, live events, you know, media, and then you get to the executive level and, you know, everything you learn there and you have the opportunity to do, I mean, and then to actually have the chance to perform, which I never thought was in the cards for me, you know, but I always love to perform, you know, but I never thought of me as a wrestler. Right. And so to have had all of this, you know, it's just this is my world. WWE is my actual world and always has been, you know, was the first time they brought up to you being a talent. Um, I was that I remember. I mean, I've heard Jim Cornett tell the story. Um, then you know, it's true. I don't totally remember, but it was exciting because when I graduated, you know, I always worked in the business. I interned when I was younger and then when I graduated college, finally, I was really lucky because I always knew what I wanted to do and I had the opportunity to do it. Um, but, um, and I've lost my train of thought. When you first started working, well, it was the first time it was brought up to you. Oh yeah. So thank you. About being a character. I was, um, and a very unique sort of shadowing position and working, you know, observing and working with my dad and, you know, being a gopher also. Um, and we were just talking about, uh, different angles. And I believe it was, uh, the corporate ministry angle and they need, there needed to be a way to get some kind of sympathy for Vince because it was so hard to feel bad for him. And so they came up with this storyline that I would, that I was getting abducted. Um, not kidnapped abducted because semantics matter. Yeah. Um, as we all know. And I remember aliens abduct people. Right. Right. Weird people kidnapped. I'm sure that is the actual definition, but, um, that was really how it started. And then they lit the teddy bear on fire, which was kind of real. Cause I did have a little blue teddy bear kind of look just like that. Um, that you wound up and it would play a song at night. Not creepy at all. No. Well, this is my childhood. Oh, right. Um, because, you know, it was normal. It didn't get creepy. Didn't get creepy until the undertaker lit it on fire. So yeah. And then there was a scene where we were all running and getting into limousine. Um, there was the where to Stephanie with taker, which is one of my favorites. Um, cause it really, Mark really always has been like a big brother to me. You know, he just, oh, it's always been that kind of relationship. And I love him to death. I really do. No pun intended. That was great. But yeah, that was the beginning that I remember as the beginning. It's a funny thing. And like during that period of time, you're so encompassed in the things that you're doing. It's like, I vaguely remember the beats of that story. Right. You know, we were doing different things. Like I don't even think about it now. Like I remember them tying into the undertaker symbol, Steve coming out to save you. Well, I was going to marry on holy wedding. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. You always get married to somebody. I know. Yeah. But like that. But then Steve saves you, but then like, I don't remember like, I just remember it being your dad. Like, yeah. And then somehow he was the one. Everybody remembers that one. It was me the whole time. Like, wait, what? Um, so you were just ribbing yourself. Got you. Got it. Um, no, you just wanted to put me through torture, right? His daughter's in storyline for the business is breaking. Yes. But I don't remember like, I just for life, me don't remember how everybody got out of that story and then the tests, the, it's a funny thing. I don't remember most of them. The timeline of it. Well, I confused the timeline of it, but I remember a lot of the stuff with trust and we were supposed to get married, forbidden love, ironically. And, um, it's true, you know, and, but we didn't know what to do. It's well, and the writing team didn't know what to do. I wasn't really a part of it at that time. I was just sort of observing, but, um, they came up, they had to give me amnesia. Because otherwise we were rolling towards this wedding way too quickly. We didn't know what to do. So the British bulldog inadvertently hit me with a trash can and England somewhere. Amnesia. And then I got amnesia. So I couldn't remember who test was. No, no, I remember they just did that. Cause I just did that cause they had the storyline, uh, of the wedding coming up and had no idea like, how do we get out of this thing? Yeah. What does it become? And no one had any clue. Part of the writing team had left and like the, if there was a plan, nobody knew what it was. Uh, and he hits you with the can to get out of it, which is mostly the most ridiculous soap opera thing of all time. It was great. So horrible. It was great. Yeah. Which then led to, I was in a, uh, sort of an angle with your dad at that point in time where I couldn't, I don't remember the specifics of it even like, but for some reason. You couldn't compete for the title. I couldn't. Yeah. I had lost the opportunity to compete for a title. Um, the only one that could change it would be him. Um, so somehow, but that was like kind of our story and we were trying to get to a, a match between he and I somehow. And then I threw the idea about the, the wedding thing. Like what if I had, this is how crazy of a time that was. Well, what if I had gone to the bachelorette party and mickeyed her drink and then I end up with her and like, while she's out, I, I, uh, take her through one of those Vegas wedding chapel things and in order to get the wedding annulled, like I have to fight you. If, if you win, I annulled the wedding and she can go on and get married. And if, if I win, I get the shot back at the championship or whatever, which I had thrown at your dad at that point in time and he loved, but it was supposed to be like super just like, like a one-off, but one-off. Yeah. It's supposed to be like a one-off. We do this thing, you go about your business. I go do the stuff with Vince, which opens up a door for me to get back in the title picture and we just move on from there. And then it, you know, Look at you two now. Yeah. Yeah. I was just telling you the story as I was writing my speech and reminiscing of, um, being in Baltimore specifically in my dad's office and listening to the two of you talk about the angle and saying like, I don't know, it was you specifically. I don't know, Vince. I think this thing has legs and he agreed with you. I meant you. And like, I couldn't, I couldn't sell it, right? But on the inside, I was like, yes. This is very excited. Well, and, and the thing that was like, I very, you know, you remember bits and pieces of stuff. I remember very specifically after we did the pay-per-view where I wrestled your dad and, uh, Armageddon. Yeah. And you turn and the whole thing. And, um, is that the night like, uh, that you guys wound up outside in the parking lot and he fell on my leg off the scaffold in the afternoon earlier in the day. I broke my leg. Yeah. Absolutely. That was that. So that's a relevant point, but like, uh, I'll get to the part with the stuff, but, um, you know, that whole thing was supposed to just be quick done, easy. And we got done that night and it went really well and was this huge moment storyline wise and all that stuff. And then when you had to go, oh no, it was before that because I'm sorry. Before that, it was the night after the stuff aired, the TV after the stuff aired where I had drugged you and taken you to the wedding chapel. Can you do that voice again? Yeah. And yes, I do. And that next night when you came out on TV and the, the crowd was brutal. They were chanting, and stuff and, you know, the heat was so big. I just remember standing at gorilla. I don't remember. I was doing something a little later in the show, but I was at gorilla because I wanted to see the reaction and you went out there and they, man, you could barely get a word out and you were trying to yell over the crowd. And Vince just like elbowed me and went like that, like did the money, you know what I mean? And I was like, yeah, that's when I started thinking like, holy shit, there's way more to this than we'd like, this could be a really big deal. And then, you know, from there, they sort of took it and ran with it. Yeah. I've never felt anything like that ever. It was amazing that that heat that night. Like, really, and surprising, you know, and that's why when it happened for Dom, I was like, oh my God, I know exactly how he feels like he, I know exactly how he feels. It's the coolest thing in the world. So, but by far for you at that moment in time, right? Like you're, you've been a part of like the taker abduction. I don't want to say kidnaping the taker abduction, the Austin stuff, saving that all that stuff you've had some moments, but by far that's like the most positive or negative sort of nuclear reaction, right? Like that level. Well, and the turn that night was such a shock. Oh, at Armageddon. Yeah. But before that, even like when you didn't necessarily, like you were the victim here, right? So you didn't necessarily expect to go out and get like that level of negativity. So there was this one time, shortly after the abduction, I think what I think was the first time you saw me and my dad in the ring to talk, to cut a promo about what happened. And I remember saying something about my drawers had been rifled through and I was trying to be like, Serious. Yeah. Yeah. And he went through my personal things, crowd pops. And I remember being like, I'm not supposed to pop at that. And my dad and I looked at each other. He thought it was hilarious and he looked at me like, because it was surprising, got both of us. And so I just, they've never wanted me to be a baby face ever. They've always preferred me to be a heel and it works out. Because you never wanted to be a baby face. Yeah. No. What was that? Like so when they were, when they booed you that night, though, what was your, like, were you thinking this is the coolest thing ever? Like, hey, what the hell? No, no, coolest. Because it's, it surprised me and that's what I loved about it. Like it caught me so off guard and then I was like, oh, this is fun. You know, like they, and I, and then when I realized what I said, I laughed too. I was like, yeah, of course they're going to pop at that. You know, and, but it was, it was kind of like a moment where you can just feel what you can do. You know, the control that you have. Yeah. There at like, and, and how powerful it was. You know, so I thought it was the coolest thing in the world. I really did. And the slut chance. Yeah. Like where'd they come up with that even? Who's the first person to say slut? I mean, in the arena at me, like, who was that person? I don't know, but somebody brought it. Yeah. And then everybody was like, that's perfect. Yeah. The chance at the time were. Yeah, they were. Stout. They were stout. Yeah. She's a crack whore. Oh, that was Chicago. Yeah. I still enjoy the. Which may or may not have been towards Steph could have been anybody. It's messed up. We love Brooklyn betting here at What's Your Story because a good night's sleep is the key to being ready to do all our podcasts. Brooklyn betting designs and assembles every mattress in their Arizona factory. No middlemen and no gimmicks. Just top tier quality, honest pricing, and real American craftsmanship for a better night's sleep. Brooklyn betting is one of the few mattress brands endorsed by the American Chiropractic Association for Spinal Alignment and Back Health. So you know you're getting the support of sleep your body needs. Go to BrooklynBetting.com and use my promo code, Steph, at checkout to get 30% off site-wide. This offer is not available anywhere else. That's BrooklynBetting.com and promo code S-T-E-P-H for 30% off site-wide. Support our show and let them know we sent you after checkout. BrooklynBetting.com promo code, Steph. And so then at that point, like, at that point you turn at Armageddon and then we go on that heel run, which, you know, we had like nuclear heat at that point from firing Foley to the stuff with rock and all of that stuff. Everything. When, when, who's the first person you slapped? Was it after that? Yeah, right? Well, yeah, I mean the first person that I slapped in a main evil way. Yeah, I guess. No, Deborah. No, that was later. That was later. Yeah, I feel like it might have been Mick, Foley. At the rumble, right? In that unsanctioned match. I don't remember. I think that's where it may have been because I remember, well, and I hit him with the trash can lid. So maybe that's what I'm remembering. Jericho was early on. I slapped my brother and you in a funny exchange, but that was that. Joey abs. Oh, really? Oh, so you know this answer? Yeah. Oh, okay. Do you want to show it? And then if you guys can find, it's this funny series. I'm in between Shane and Paul and they are both giving me direction to slap each other. So Paul tells me to slap Shane first. So what's great about Steph at this time is too, she's super green. Yeah, I'm so green. I'll do whatever you tell me to do. So if I say slap Shane, she's gonna slap Shane. And I trust him more than anybody out there, right? So, well, and so very quickly after Steph, the slap thing becomes a great heat tool for us, right? And it's, it's such an easy gimme. And like Foley was probably the one you did it with, like with that intent early because that was almost the immediate program. Right? That's what I thought. And you know, Mick would like any, anytime anybody gets that big of a reaction of something like that's what you want to do, right? So Foley would always be the smart guy. If I was getting some heat on Mick and beating him up, you know, he would find his way to wherever Steph was and clean himself over the ropes and say, slap me. And you know, Mick was falling off of cages and lighting himself on fire. So the slap wasn't that big of a deal. But for anybody else that took it. Well, his ear was already gone. So you didn't have to worry about it. Literally gone. It doesn't even have an ear on it. But it quickly became like this thing where, because you know, we would tell Steph, like the worst possible thing you could do is miss or whiff or have the slap look, Weak or weak because then the person sells it and it's the worst thing you could do. You just got to haul off. Here's where you hit him. Here's how you do it safely, but you got to haul off and hit him. Cup. Yeah, you kind of cup it and, you know, for the sound effect. But this quickly becomes like the thing of legend of like people coming back and like, you know, it was like, when you're in there and you see your slap somebody else, that was a good one. Same point in time. Like none of the boys are going to come back and be like, Except big show. What the fuck Steph slapped me. It hurt. You know what I mean? They're not going to like, you know, you're working with these big, huge guys that you can't really complain that little Steph hits you and it was terrible and hurt you. And it became also the thing that we would do with each other. Like moments in time, like if you cringed before she hit Jericho, Jericho, they would become comedy fodder for everybody in the locker room. I'll never forget because it was DX and they were holding Jericho and he's Steph. Steph wound up, but she kind of stayed there for a second to talk some trash before she hit him. And about the time she wound up, he thought she was coming and he went, and then Paul stops me. He's like, no, wait, wait, wait. And calls it out. And he's like, look at his face. Look at his face. And then let her go. So by the time he stopped and relaxed, she slapped the shit out of me. Yeah. But it became this thing. So then it was, you know, Steph slap you or, you know, the time she's talking about with Shane, there was like this argument going on with all of us. And I don't remember who she was supposed to, I think she was supposed to slap Shane first or something. And then. No, I wasn't supposed to slap anybody. It was just, I remember specifically, because I was surprised when you told me to slap him. I was like, really? You want me to slap him? You were like, slap Shane. And then I turn around, I slap Shane and Shane was pissed. I see him look at me like mad. And then he goes, why'd you do that? And I said, Hunter told me, Hunter told me to do it. And he goes, well, then you slap him then. And I turn and I slap. Yeah. Wait, wait. Oh, this is where it happens. Yeah. Slap Shane. She starts slapping everybody. So now it just becomes a series in the ring. Oh, wait, maybe this isn't the one. Now there's a much longer. Yeah, there's one. And we're on the side of the ring, closest to hard cam. It just becomes a series of slap him again, then him slapping again. It was like she just turning back and forth, slapping us. It was like a Lucio Ball kind of moment. I had no idea what was going on, but I'm slapping the shit out of everybody. It's a funny thing that that time in the business too, I think was just slightly different. And it was so wild. It was so wild west. And it was such uncharted territory. And everybody was having fun. And for most of the people that were in there, they had so much experience and we all trusted each other. Been doing it for so long. Like, you know, just, just seeing that scene made me think of like the times when we would go off the air and Steve would hit, you know, Steve would probably hit 30 stunners between all of us because we just keep feeding him for more and what kind of goofy bump we could take off it and having fun, just having fun. And even like that with the slapping stuff. That was like live TV. Yeah. You know, and we were just like goofing around and doing it. And it, it does make me think sometimes we're like, the business has gotten so big and so there's so much sort of in a way on the line of it that you're like, feel like you can't take the same risks. You can't take the same risks. And also sometimes just don't know if we were doing it so much at that time frame, you know, we're in the road, 300 days a year is right, but also what started it was almost going out of business. Yeah. So I mean, we were desperate, right? Like we were going for it. And there was no stopping us because we were either going to die or we were going to, you know, blaze a trail and we were all on fire. Yeah. The stuff Steve is doing, the stuff rock was doing the stuff DX was doing the, you know, but it had to get there. And I think, you know, there's something interesting in where we were to be able to do it. Yeah. You know, it's when people talk about the scripted moments of them, like so much of that stuff wasn't, wasn't scripted. Like even that turn you talked about it, Armageddon with your dad, like we went over it, kind of went over the beats of it, but like what the exact, yeah, what exactly was going to happen was sort of at some point in time, I'll get the hammer from him. You'll ask me for it because you want to do it. Or I mean, sorry, your dad will get the hammer. You'll ask him for it because you want to do it. And at a certain point in time, I'll take it from you and then I'll get him and then we'll embrace. But like none of that was like, and I'll be here and he'll be there and you'll be here. Right. Right. Everything is so laid out. And you would just tell me to listen to you. Yeah. And so that's what I did. And that's where like that, that was one of the things that impressed me so much. Like even when, and is part of the reason sort of how we spend so much time around each other because she was such a sponge for the business. So once we did the thing where we were on the same page, like our storyline was threaded through so much throughout the show. And and you were on both like there was no separation of brands at that time. So it was all the time. It was like we were on raw and we were on Smackdown and it was. And then you'd sort of get the direction you wanted it to go in, but then we had to figure out what it was and sort of put it all together. And, but Steph was just such a sponge and she wanted to know like everything, like even if it was a scene that I was in that she wasn't in, she wanted to be there because she would be like, well, why would you do that? And why would you say it like this? And why would they do that? And well, and he was, um, he took extra special time to explain everything to me, which I was very, very grateful for. Yeah. Cause you didn't have to do that. No, yeah. But like and some of it, we were also figuring out the characters together. It was like what it was and what it could be. And like the, you know, also she would have these like great, she's just a great instincts for stuff. So even when you would put something out there or, you know, if I'd be going over something with rock or with Foley or whoever it was, like we'd be talking about something and then she might not speak up in the moment, but she would say after like, Hey, would it be wrong if this happened and like, it's fucking great. Yeah. Like now I go back to them and like, Hey, Steph just said, I, what about this? Right. And you could see also talent and very much starting to gravitate towards like, well, what do you think? And started asking her stuff because she was so good at it. And so quickly, like she had that, that gift. No, seriously, she had that gift of the creative. You still have it. And, and, and always will it. Pat used to say it to me all the time, this business isn't this, it's this. And you either, he would say it all the time, you either feel it or you don't. Most everybody doesn't feel it. They think they do, they feel it when it happens, but they don't feel it the same way they before when they're talking about it. They don't know exactly what that's going to feel like when it gets there. Most people don't have that. You said to me all the time, you, you for sure, one of those people that you just have a feel for it. And it's, it's 99.9% of the time, the right feel for it, my opinion. Thanks, baby. No, but it's, it's, it's true. But that was a, that was just such a crazy magic. Oh my God. It was so much fun. Time. It was magic. I mean, I don't know if you remember this or not, when there was one moment, and I don't remember, like, I guess we were trying to like show that we were the bosses or whatever. So we were like sitting on stage a lot or whatever. Yeah. One time that we walked out there to go, I believe we were going to like the big couch or whatever to sit to watch something. I think it was a chair. Something. And you made me sit on your lap. Yeah. Cause it was a chair. He's a gentleman. Smart gentleman. But do you remember somebody throwing a baseball? Yeah, that was Houston. Yeah. This Houston. Like, yeah. When you know you have heat, did it hit you? It, thank God it bounced first, but it bounced first and then it hit me in the belly. Yeah. It was thrown from the upper rafters. It's terrifying. Yeah, it was pretty scary. Yeah, it was a crazy point. Cause if it hit me in the head from up there, it would have done some more damage. Yeah. I remember seeing it like out of just out of the side corner of my seeing something coming down and being like, oh, shit. And but at that time we had to watch for fans jump in the railing. All the time. We had, I told you about the dips, but they would throw, not tax, what would they throw? Batteries. Yeah. And it bottle caps. In the time before people had phones that could take photos, people had cameras in those cameras. Do they come with a pocket full of batteries? No, like AA batteries. Because I remember you taught me when I took a bump, I had to roll over face down in case somebody threw something. Cause if I was laying face up, selling and you get hit in the back, you get hit in the head, it's bad. You get hit in the face. It's pretty bad. Really bad. Yeah. That's why they take the caps off the waters now. Maybe they're plastic anyway. Now, probably, but like even so, I used to boggle my mind of the things that fans would think of. Like, I remember we had a, this was Sean and I were in DX and we had a riot in Little Rock, Arkansas, and couldn't go there for a long time. And they started by throwing batteries. But as we were walking, going towards the back, like a big fight broke out, we kind of had to fight our way to the back. And as we were getting back there, something hit me. I thought somebody punched me, boom, hit me right in the face. And I remember thinking like, what the fuck? That was hard as shit. Like, what was that? And looking down and somebody had taken like a paper cup and drank all the drink out of it. And then like screwed it down. So it was like a big ball of ice inside this paper cup. And it just, I don't know where it came from, but it just boom right in the eye. And I remember, you know, just thinking like, as we're going back through the curtain thing and it's really great of like, you know what I mean? Like, I wouldn't have thought of that. I wouldn't have even gotten in the back. Yeah. Well, and we've heard stories about in Puerto Rico, them pulling knives. Oh yeah. Like, that's before, you know, that's a generation before us. But yeah, like, look, I remember as a kid going to the Boston garden and always seeing this big net up and wondering why, like, why is this a big net? Like, I don't get what the net is for. And so they were trying to prevent people would throw stuff from the upper deck at the ring and, you know, bottles and all this stuff. So they would, you'd see the net and there'd be all these bottles in there and all this stuff. Like, yeah, when we talk about the evolution of the brand, like it's really come a long way. Our audience has evolved with us, you know? Yeah. Yeah. But anyways, that was the start of our working relationship would then would become more than that, which I've always said is why we have such a successful marriage because we had a dry run on TV. Married and divorced on TV. We knew what it was like. We got it all out of our system. We all know the feeling hunger strikes and you're exhausted. Eating healthy isn't a willpower problem. It's a setup problem. With factor, I'm hitting my nutrition goals this season without the planning, the grocery runs or the cooking. Ready in two minutes. Factor shops, preps, cooks and delivers straight to your door. So you have more time for everything you love this spring. Fresh, never frozen, over a hundred rotating weekly meals, including globally inspired flavors like Mediterranean and Asian. So there's always something new to look forward to. Head to factormeals.com slash Steph 50 off and use code S T E P H five zero O F F to get 50% off and free daily greens per box with new subscription only while supplies last until September 27th, 2026. See the website for more details. I love my factor meals and I know you will too. The War of the Roses was fun. Right. I cut your Corvette in half. Didn't I or something does well you didn't I do that? Well, like when, when, when I came back from my injury, yeah, that's when you were such a baby face. And again, I just never be and everything was divide in the middle. And I want to believe that TV one time you had said, and I want my car and I want my this and I want my that. And I said, Oh yeah, I gave you half of it. They had taken a car and cut it straight down the middle. Everything 50 50. Yeah. And then Jericho accidentally ran over our dog that you loved that I didn't like, which is so funny because I love dogs so much, but I had to act like I didn't love this bulldog. What was the dog thing? Lucy Lucy. Lucy. Well, here's what I remember about the Lucy the dog is never worked with animals. But you and Jericho were cutting a promo and the dog was supposed to have taken a shit. And I'm on the floor laid out like army crawling while they do this promo. Like this is all hands on deck, right? I'm army crawling under where they are to put the brownie things that we made in the dog shit. Yeah, underneath the thing. And the floor was uneven in the locker room. And like I kept putting this one and it kept rolling. I was like, fuck, fuck, fuck, I got every other because they're almost done. And I'm like trying to get it to stay in like a little dog pile and it wouldn't stay there. So funny. Yeah. And then they wouldn't they I think Chris put the dog down or something and I was thinking, oh, he's going to eat the brownie. Yeah, because little known fact brownies, especially if they have nuts in them mash up to look like poop for anybody. I mean, we would ever like to try that part. It's an educational show. Not just informative. Infotainment. Do either of you remember the exact moment that this chemistry turned in like from onscreen to real life? Maybe stuff. I want you to go first. Sorry. So I don't remember an exact moment, but it's funny because we've had this conversation a million times like her mom asking her like, what's going on with you in Triple H and she was like, nothing, he's a talent, right? Yeah. And my mom saying the same thing to me like something there more than what's on TV with you and and and Vince's daughter. And I'm like, mom is Vince's daughter. Absolutely not. I remember my mom saying one time like, because you're not that good of an actor like saying like, I can see it and you're not that good of an actor. And I was like, one, thank you to no, don't be ridiculous. You know what I mean? But I think that was sort of the first time of putting it in your head of like, you know, I often think it's like the movie scene where the the the movie where the guy and the girl are into different things and they don't really like their best friends or something and they don't realize that they're falling for each other, you know, in the movie. And then later on, it turns out they're the right people for each other or whatever. And it's been there the whole time. They were the only people that didn't see it. It's kind of what it seemed like to me is that it was this. Like, yeah, we were spending all this time together, but also I find my I would find myself like, I gotta go find Steph, run that buyer. You know what I mean? Like clearly once that thing with my mom happened, I sort of think like, sort of I don't need to go run it by her, but I kind of want to just go find where she is and spend time and sit and talk to her for a while. And I would be so happy when he would. Oh, so what are we doing tonight? Okay. Yeah. Yeah, so it just it just became a just became a thing, but I think it was probably a thing before we realized real before, you know, logically thinking to yourself like, she's interesting. Like you just you're already there with it. I talk about it in my speech a little bit, so I don't want to say too too much, but I think I'm just so grateful and I feel like destiny is kind of a hell of a thing. And there was no denying our chemistry. I mean, I think that's one of the reasons why the angle works so well is because people could feel it. Right. Even before we could feel it and realize what was going on, we just had this like intense chemistry right off the bat. And there was nothing either one of us could do about it. It just was what it was and it only grew. Yeah. What are your friends asked you about it early too? Right. So it was so my mom made the first comment, right? Actually, yeah, I don't remember with order, but it was the night we shot the Vegas wedding. It was the bachelorette party and Mandy was my best friend at the time and she was sitting next to me because she was a part of my real life bridal party that was about to happen. Yeah, but because in our world, like as as weird as it is, it's like sort of this bridal bachelorette party, but it's like some of her actual friends, like my real friends and family. Yeah. Real people and then like May and Moolah and like crazy. Which if you really break down our wedding was sort of the same thing. Yeah, I just remember the food fight at my bridal shower with cake everywhere. My poor mom that was still shot at my house. I was shot at my parents house. Yeah. Yeah. But so, you know, we were just sitting there all day, right? And then all of a sudden it's time, you know, Paul arrives, you were coming in from a show or something like that. And we had been there for a while and he just walked in the door and that was it. And I guess I like sat up straight or I must have made a face or something. And I'm like, Oh, that's triple H, you know, and she goes, Oh, she's from Boston. She's like, Oh my God, you like him. And I looked at her and I was like, what? No, I don't like this. We're doing a story and she's like, you like him. I can tell you like him. It was so funny. And I had never really thought about it. But that night it was cold out and I was in a short sleeve shirt and he offered me his jacket, which I graciously accepted. It's just like that's just being a gentleman, right? Like it's cold. It was, it gets cold in the desert. And I remember it smelled so good. I mean, it smelled like stale sweat. It smelled like you. And Steve Austin's beer all over it. No, it smells like you. And it was warm. Yeah. But, you know, and it takes off from there, right? My new legacy title is an original fully custom design from the ground up to commemorate my career inside and out of the WWE ring. The belt features 907 crystals, golden metallic prints, a black velvet strap, and the center and side plates contain artwork and reference to the McMahon family crest. You can get my legacy belt now at WWE shop and fanatics. It feels like a lifetime ago, but also feels like yesterday, right? Yeah, it does. In some way. And then, you know, you flip forward through all of that to get to like where we are now and like on Saturday night, sorry, on Friday night. So there's a lot of shit going on this week. Yeah, it's a big weekend. We understand. On, you've got a lot going on. On Friday night, like the girls will be there putting you in. And it's like sometimes when I think about like if somebody was to say, oh, how long ago was that? Like, I don't think it's that long ago, but then I go like, words can be 20. 20. Yeah. And, you know, so you start thinking, well, this is way before that, right? And it's just goes quick. It does. Yeah. I say that the town in this business all the time, it all seems so like never ending and big and all this stuff. And it's like it blink and it's done. Yeah. Blinking. You're on the other side going like, what happened? How did this, you know, and I say to town all the time about, don't, don't get so caught up in the minutia because you'll have these amazing great things happen that you don't think of as being amazing or great in the time. And you just, you're angry and you're this and more and you're all these things happen or yeah. Yeah. The way I wanted it to. You realize you're miserable through all of it and then you get to the end and hopefully you look back and like, man, that was amazing. Right. Yeah. But you don't see it. Somebody said that to me the other day. It's like, I wish somebody could tell you it's the good old days. Right. But you wouldn't believe it. You wouldn't believe it at the time. You know, when people talk about the attitude air at all the time, like we knew business was good. Yeah. But it was just Thursday. Yeah. This is the shit we were doing. We didn't know, you know, it was every now and then you'd be doing something really cool and you think, wow, this is kind of blow people's mind. But it wasn't like when, even like when we did the DX stuff and went to WCW or like this stuff with you, turn on your dad, it wasn't like you thought about it like, oh, they're going to, this is going to work. You did think about it and go, oh my God, they're going to lose your mind when you do this. But you didn't think like, oh, like 25 years from now, people are going to be talking about it or, you know, talking about that time frame. Now, it's, it's, it's not, it's not how people are wired to think that way. I don't think, but you know, I try to say that's a talent all the time to enjoy it. Yeah. Enjoy the moment. And so that's, at least you asked me how I was feeling. And at first I very much felt like I didn't deserve it. I mean, like really very much felt I didn't deserve it. I haven't done what our talent have done and endured and sacrificed and in different ways maybe, but that's how I felt. And it's taken a while, but all these conversations with people remembering these moments, believe it or not, even Bill Aptor sent me a Facebook link to an interview he recently did saying all the stuff that I used to do and how I've grew up in the business and everything. And it's everybody's support and just not letting me, not letting me not see it. And now I'm just, I'm so grateful and appreciative and accepting and trying, especially at this point in my life, to enjoy every minute, even this podcast with you, Elise, with my husband, anything I get to do with you. I mean, So let's talk about that. Okay. Uh-oh. I'm gonna head out. I'm gonna watch. No, because I think. Can you dim the light? I want to watch. No, you appreciated that one. Yeah. I mean, it's, yeah, a viewing audience. So, so far we've talked about like your, you know, your sort of family life and the stuff of us getting together and becoming a character and all that stuff. Obviously, there's all the business side of it, but it's also the, what I don't think a lot of people give you credit for is the ability as an in-ring performer, bell to bell, like as an in-ring performer. And if you really break it down, especially at that period of time, you're, this is my opinion, but you're one of the best female performers in that generation. Um, Barnana, and part of that is the reason why you saw then, like all the women were pitching to do angles and storylines with you. And it's why you still see it now. Like, you know, three quarters of our roster has, have probably asked me at various points in time, like, we think Steph would be interested in doing something at WrestleMania or, you know what I mean? I'm like, I don't think so. You can ask her. I highly doubt it. Yeah. Talk about that. Like what was the first, and I know there was like some tag things and stuff, but like, what was the first big match, match you remember? The first really, really big match was me versus Lita with Rock as the referee. And that actually was the first women's main event on Raw. And it did like a 7.3 rating, which can blow everybody's mind at this point. And of course Rock was our, was our guest referee. And of course you were involved, Kurt was involved and the Hardy Boys were involved, but that's, it was so much fun. But I remember putting that match together and really going back to learning how to take a bump because my dad and my brother did not want me to wrestle. And, you know, I kept saying to them, like, I have to learn how to take a bump because I have so much heat at some point. I've got to get bumped around. Like I at least have to know how to take a punch or whatever, you know? And finally under that, you know, sort of logic, I was allowed to train. And it was Tom Pritchard who trained me. And it was, you know, an incredible experience. And it was, it was hard, right? And it was not the same type of techniques that we have now and how we train our talent and how it's, it's done. It was more the old school style of, okay, throw yourself down backwards and take a bump. Like, okay, bam. And what you don't realize is typically you hit your head when you do that. Yeah, this is the match with Lita. This is my first really big match where I actually wrestled. It was so much fun. Oh my god, this is so much fun. Oh, oh, slapped the shit out of Lita. Okay. Oh, did it again. But see how I'm like tugging those? Those are my working slaps. Yeah, she beat me for the title because of the rock. I mean, come on. It's bullshit. Still bullshit. How had you gotten the title? I beat Jacqueline. So Jacqueline was the champ. But really because Tori Pock came in and gave her a DDT. I did nothing in that match, but run away. And then you guys told me to get in and what to do. This was the worst part. I remember that now. I mean, and I so appreciate the accolades, but I think you are a bit biased in this regard. So this is your first match ever. Yeah. Well, like first singles, full match. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, when you break that down to what's going on here and all of the things that are taking place in the moments. This was the move that Paul was the most scared of me taking. Yeah, look at the bump Lita took. Oh, get over here, Hardy boys. I mean, it's so fun and exciting. Pure chaos. It was chaos. Absolute chaos. I remember I had that shirt too. I liked that one. Someone gave it to me. Oh, the one I had on. Yeah. Oh, incoming. He rock, you're the referee. That's messed up. Yeah, it's so fun. Oh no, Kurt, what did you do? Oh, see again, dirty ref. Oh, I had to take a spine bus now he puts me in. Like, come on now. Such cheating. Oh, so much fun. I can you be the bad guy there. So much cheating. Right. This is what I'm saying. Kurt and I were just trying to be helpful. Right. And then all these people run in and the referee gets involved. The referee put his hands on me. Yeah. You were just swinging the title trying to give it back to him. Right. Here you go. Here, take this. Take this, right. Someone else was attempting to cheat. But so like at that time, if you wrestle, lead it, then you have the big match with Trish. Right. Yep. Big angle with Trish. So much fun. Well, we relived this recently, which was so much fun. We watched our matches back and like we talked about, you know, how green we were and we had the first big match. It was no way out, I think in Vegas. And then the night, like it was like the next night or something on raw. We were in a mixed tag and we thought we were pros now and we knew exactly what to do because our match was successful. This highly orchestrated choreographed match that was like all of the bells and whistles were carefully added. So we now believe we can do this. And we stunk the join out. I mean, it was bad, like really bad. Who's in the tag? I think I don't think it was the one with my dad and Regal in the slot bucket, but it could have been. It could have been in Phoenix. I mean, the you and Trish was at Thomas and Mack, right? Yeah. Yeah, Trish and I were Thomas and Mack. So it might make sense then in Phoenix. The hay, animals? No, no, that was Oak City. No, Kansas City. Kansas City. The barn. So then you had some other, you know, and that's my thing. And then, yes, Sable was a big match. Big stuff with Sable. Yeah. Oh yeah. Okay, that's where it happened. It was brute. But thank God for the payoff of the bucket. Well, at least you had Vince to blame that. There is this one, we watched it back with Trish. There's this one woman, my dad, honestly starts to laugh like, what are they even doing? We had this horrible, like missed spot. We tried to cover it up. It was so bad. It's really bad. And that was always my biggest fear, is that I was going to embarrass the business. And that's why matches to me are like sacred, pinnacle. And it's funny because a lot of our talent would say to me the opposite, right? Like the promos are what make them the most nervous. And the physicality is what they're the most comfortable doing. And I'm the opposite. But you were doing the promos all the time. The average talent. Like I remember when I came here, when I very first got here, probably cut four promos in my life. When I first came to this company, and got like a couple for WCW, prior to that, just working on the indies and cut promos. No one did promos then. You just, you were just on the show when you just wrestled. And then, that was it. And the talking was a completely different skill set. And you had to get used to it. Practice makes perfect, right? The more you do it, the better you get. And then, sometimes. But that was me with matches. I had what? Like 10? That's the thing. So the things you were experienced at were the things promos and the things that you were inexperienced at were the actual, you know, matches and stuff. But you crushed them. You know, you had the big one with Brie Bella. Yes. At SummerSlam. At SummerSlam. Yep. Which I remember going really, really well. That was a good one. And then. And what was so cool. And I, sorry, at least I told that, I told this story recently. I forget when. But during that match, it would have been 11 years since I had been in the ring and the audience started chanting, you still got it. And that was so cool. And then even cooler was backstage. Here I am now kind of like, you know, just waiting. And I hear three little voices. You still got it as they're walking towards me down the hallway. And there were my baby girls and they got to see me perform. Like that's the, it's, it's so magical. It's just hard to put into words, you know. Yeah. I think about that sometimes when you were, and I were talking this last week, week before something, and you were talking about your speech and talking about growing up in the business and stuff. And it made me think about Aurora, you know, coming to the shows and sitting backstage for every show playing patty cake with big show or something like that. And before I would have to tell, okay, Mr. Big Show and I are going to go pretend to fight now. We're going to push each other down. And you know, wasn't she the one who came up with that description? Who's going to push you down tonight? Isn't that cute? I thought that was the cutest thing. Awesome. But and I've told this story before too, but I remember because the only way we could ever really be together was if I went on the road with you because you were a full time talent at the time. And I'd often come on the road with Aurora like Friday, Saturday, Sunday, we do raw Monday, and then you'd fly home. I'd do Smackdown Tuesday, and then I'd bring her home. But I remember it was a live event in Waco, Texas, and Aurora was sitting on my shoulders. And we were watching it was you and Sean DX at that time, just the two of you against I can't really remember who. And they were getting the heat on Sean. And I could feel her like start to get like really, really nervous and excited. And then here he is, you know, making the slow crawl over over to, you know, triple H to save the day. And then, you know, the bad guys make the tag first and I can feel her getting nervous. And then in the last minute desperation, Sean gets the tag and then here comes daddy and she is going nuts on my shoulders. And she just like reacted in all the right places. She was young. She was two. I mean, she was a baby. And then you were so excited coming back from the ring and you just kind of, you know, forgot that we weren't gonna show our kids off. And you take you were so excited. He was so excited and he comes over and he takes her off of my shoulders and parades her around the arena. And people were going nuts and they were cheering and it was amazing. And I remember the look in Aurora's eyes as you handed her back to me. And I was like, Oh, no, she was just bit by the bug in that very moment. Yeah. Yeah. Road to gold is the latest WWE exclusive from Fanatics Casino bringing WrestleMania thrills right to your fingertips. It is the most star studded casino game ever built. Spin Reels featuring 20 WWE superstars from Cody Rhodes to John Cena and my personal favorite Triple H. And for the first time ever in an online casino game, you'll hear the voice of WWE himself, Michael Cole, battle to the top for rewards with bonus spins, mystery wins, and cash collect moments. This is WrestleMania Road to Gold and it only lives at Fanatics Casino. Must be 21 and over gambling problem. Call 1 800 gambler not available in all states. See Fanatics Casino app. WWE just announced the waitlist launch of club WWE, the ultimate insider membership designed to bring fans closer to WWE than ever before. With club WWE, you get early access to tickets, exclusive merch drops, rewards, members only content and a community built for the WWE Universe. Join the waitlist now at WWE.com slash club WWE. That's WWE.com slash C L U B W W E for the opportunity to become a founding member and be the first to access everything club WWE. Get in early and join the waitlist now. So let's talk about Rhonda. Okay. Yeah, we'll talk about that much. So that's that's a full right. That's a full year. Or is it more when she does WrestleMania years? Two or three? Yeah, because it was Levi's right. When we when we did the first angle and that was with rock. And then he I slapped rock pretty good. That was a really hard slap. And it was one of my all time hardest laps, I think. And then he for a shoot. And then he says, well, I'm not going to hit a woman, but I know somebody who would and the crowd knew she was coming. And they forget what they were chanting at me. Like I was gonna, you're gonna die or something. Rhonda's gonna kill you. Rhonda's gonna kill you. Rhonda's gonna kill you. Like, even before he looked over at her, it was so great. Yeah. Yeah. But and it was so fun. Work with her and to get to work because I was a big fan of Rhonda, you know, always have been. And used to love to watch her fight. And, you know, I read her book and it made a big impact on me what she's lived through. And, you know, her her dad committed suicide when she was young. She didn't speak her first words till she was like four. And ironically, her first word was like an attempt at Hulk Hogan because she wanted this doll. And then she kind of found herself in sports and jujitsu and her mom is a, I believe a gold medalist. She's a she's a in judo. And she started to train Rhonda and then Rhonda was shipped off. And I mean, willingly, I don't mean to say that in a negative way because she wanted to train for the Olympics. And that's a huge commitment. So here she is in, I think, Massachusetts. And she's away from her family. She's lost her dad who meant everything in the world to her. And she's alone training in judo, really tough training, you know, to make it to the Olympics and sort of everything that happens in between. And, you know, my heart just always is with her because she's so strong in many, many ways, you know, mentally and physically. And then also, I think she has broken pieces too, as we all do, right? And so I'm a big fan of hers. And she was the one who requested the match. So it was like a couple years later, originally, she was going to come in sooner, but then there was a movie or I don't know, something happened. And then you sign her. And Rhonda was the one who said, we need to finish the story with stuff. So she's the reason I ever had a WrestleMania match. And, you know, it was her first match. And so we had to really train and really put it together. And it was stiff. Safe, but stiff. You talk about like, so we just talked a few minutes ago about Steph having her first match with Lita TV, all that stuff and all the pressure of it. Rhonda is going to have her first match ever. WrestleMania. WrestleMania. Right. This woman is like legitimately one of the baddest women on the planet, if not the right, like she is physical on every single level. And one, we got a teacher kind of how to do this. And then put this match together. And Steph is on the receiving line, end of 90% of it. You know, I felt bad for her. She would come home. It would look like she was shot. A buckshot or something. Just bruises all over her from Rhonda, just lighten her up, you know. I think I've told the story before. She's in the office, sitting at the table and like rolls up her sleeve. And her elbows are just like black and she's bruised. That's my own fault though, because I take bumps like that. But like you're covered. And like, you're like, yeah, are there any ice packs in here? Like just to like take a meeting, like put your arms down. Paul would tease me. He told me I was like, DDP. I said, I would always be packed in ice. Oh my God. She's like ice head to toe ice. Well, I mean, it was, it was a lot, you know. And then, and I was training like three a days, because I'd never trained like that ever. You know, cardio, strength, the conditioning and then the ring. I was going to say, and then in the ring, and then additional to that, then training with Rhonda. Yeah. Yeah. You know, so like on the weekends, we would go to the warehouse or whatever to get with Rhonda or wherever we were to train with her. And you know, we would bring in some other people to take bumps and do stuff. But at a certain point in time, they have to like do this stuff with each other. Yeah. You know, and it's physical enough. When you haven't done this in a while, it's physical enough trying to get back in there and hit the ropes and take bumps and do all this stuff. And you're making mistakes and trying not to get hurt. But then when you're doing it with somebody that will also as, you know, sort of zero idea what they're doing to some degree, it's really tough. Yeah. It was Dakota Kai and Lisey Evans. Yeah. They were primarily the ones who helped. They helped a lot. Yeah. And Sarah Amato. Yeah. And yeah, I remember because Rhonda threw her clotheslines high. One time I got, I got busted in the mouth and was bleeding a little bit and we were trying to decide if we wanted to try to keep that in the match. And I was like, no, I will absolutely lose consciousness. But so I had Dakota one day through like what felt like a hundred clotheslines at me. Rhonda wasn't there that day and she just kept throwing high clotheslines so I could learn how to take it and how to protect myself. You know, so yeah, I just, I wanted to mention them because they helped me so much. But again, that match was, you know, you break down that WrestleMania and it was, that was like an incredible match. That's again, one of the ones that you put on, on your list of like all these incredible matches you did. And Rhonda was phenomenal. You were phenomenal. Kurt was phenomenal. Everybody just did their thing. You were phenomenal. Well, but everybody did their thing and did their piece. You're ripped. I'm gonna shoot you out, Rhonda Rousey. Oh my God, being the heel in this match was so fun. Like pie facing Rhonda. And then the ref like, no, you can't do anything. Rhonda being like, what? What do you mean? I can't just go beat her up. They were awesome. Well, and they were, Rhonda's talent was so surprising. Yeah. No, no, this is not quite the finish yet, but I haven't seen this since we did it. Really? I'm just remembering all this because I think I haven't seen it. I used Kurt here to get, I used Kurt to get Rhonda off you here. Oh, that's right. Look at you, baby. Oh, for Rhonda, good thing she's tough. Pretty sure one of your girls just popped up, stand in there. Yeah, they're in the front row. Yelling. This is so much fun. Oh, ads. Brought to you by Slim Jim. I cannot believe you don't have YouTube premium. Like Joe. Oh yeah, she's going to break it. Nope. No, Rhonda, please no, Rhonda. Don't break it. Don't break. Don't break my arm. I've seen what you do. Oh, no, no, no, no, I can hang on. I can hang on. Oh, shit. Don't. No, please. Oh my god. Don't do it. That's one of my favorite, you know, certain mania moments that stick out, but that's one of my favorite nights, just because being able to do that with you and the entrance and you doing the water spit and the, like just the whole thing was just so surreal, cool. Like when you get to the end, you know, at that point I'm doing stuff like what, once a year, maybe or something like that. And it's brutal, but like they're all just like these little moments that you savor. So to think that I would have that time, that late in my career to like, oh, I get to go out there with you and do all that cool stuff and all that fun stuff. And, you know, for me, it's funny. I remember that day thinking at one point time, I don't remember where we were in the ring, but you were in there doing something with Rhonda. And I remember thinking like, oh, shit, like I can't, like I was watching from the floor or wherever I was, but I'm thinking like, big smile on my face watching this in the Toronto thing. Oh, I can't. Cut away to me and I'm like over there like a fan enjoying the spot. You know what I mean? Because it was just so much fun. And I was so, I almost, like my performance aspect, I didn't even like think about it because it was just, I was just so, Curt and I were both like, yeah, like it's not about us. It's like about them. So like, let's just go, like let's just make our parts be the glue a little bit. So just hold the pieces together. As long as we get that part done, like everything else they do will be off the chart. And it was like, you know, watching, watching kids go out there and kill it, you know, it was so fun. It was so fun. Again, such an honor and a privilege. Yeah. And you took an ass whipping to get there. I did. So the funniest thing is when I came back up to gorilla, Taker was there and he looked like he felt so sorry for me. And I was like, Hey, how you doing? And he's like, he just talked to me. Yeah. There was very little, um, not live round in the Ronda Rousey. Yeah. Not live rounds. Yeah. Yeah. Again, safe, but stiff. Yeah. Very safe. She was easy to do stuff with and, and amazing, especially considering she had done it. But like, yeah, it certainly was in there. Snug. I learned what all those definitions are. Because otherwise, I mean, pretty much like Trisha and I were kicked the crap out of each other actually. Um, but that was really, I think the only super physical match I had had, you know, until Ronda, like everybody else was pretty like talented workers and not that Ronda wasn't, but she was just learning. You used to say to me all the time, like it would be amazing. Like some of the biggest, strongest guys that the stuff looked the most intense. Yeah. From like never touched you. Never touched me. Yeah. Yeah. It was amazing. Uh, Baldo. Crushed you in the corner. There's no way to do that. Right. You just got to take it. Without doing it. And I was told, put your arms out in front of you a little bit, absorb the blow. And here comes a train all what how much probably like 350 at the time. And he's what six, seven, six, eight, like, yeah. No, here we go. I mean, in all fairness, if you took his head off, he'd probably only be like 302. But yeah, I mean, it's physical. Yeah, it's physical. It is. It's fun. So fun. It's the greatest business in the world. How could anybody want to do anything different? Honestly? Well, I don't know how to wrap it up. So that's where we're going. I guess, yeah. I get to the end, but like, to me, I know we started off by saying, you know, you and the, and the moment of going in the hall of fame, like I can't, I can't, you know, I mean, obviously I could make a list of some people, but like there's very few people that I could look at and say deserve it more like truly. And I don't say that because you're my wife. I don't say that because it's you. I say that because of your accomplishments and what we've done and, you know, the things you've accomplished and especially the stuff that you've accomplished that people don't even see the, the people come along and participate in the business. People come along and add to the business where a few people change the business. There's still Jesus Christ. I can't get through any hall of fame, mine or yours with a lover. I gotta get my estrogen checked again. You put the culture in what we do. It didn't exist before that. It was just a fucking wild west. It's just what the business was. And then you came in and sort of changed it. All of a sudden there was a different take on it, a different perspective of it. It wasn't the, it wasn't that wild west business anymore. All of a sudden it was a family. I don't know that it was a family before that. I think it was a business before that. You had people on the road that you worked with that were like your family, but it was very much a business treated that way, hard, cut through all those things. And then you changed it over time. You made the changes internally. You made the changes on the road. You were the person that listened. You were the person that knew everybody's families and kids and the crew and, you know, how many times your dad and I joke with you leaving the building about Jesus, we got to wait for Steph for 45 minutes because she's got to talk to every single person on this crew and ask them about their families and we'd be like, come on, we got to go. We got to be in a drive six hours or whatever it is, right? Like, or get on a plane and we got to do this again tomorrow and you guys have to be up in the morning to write and, you know, all that stuff, but you changed that culture and you still see it today. There's a component of it that no matter what, you will hear people say it that we're here and some of the people that are newer don't get it, but anybody that was here through that period of time all the way through to when you left the office that man, Steph was the heart and soul. Steph was the heart and soul. Steph was the heart and soul. You hear it all the time. I still hear it. Everybody still asks people light up when they see you when they, when you come to the buildings and you're at the arena and I see people later in the day and they just come over to me and like, oh my God, I saw Steph earlier, you know, and they're just so excited and happy and, you know, it's, um, if, if none of the other things were there, but that was there, then you changed the business. So how could you not be in the whole thing? I think you have a talent for wrapping things up in the biggest way possible. Thank you. Thank you. Well, and I'll just say, um, don't ruin it now. If that was good, I don't know. I don't want to try to put it over, but if that was good, just call it a day. Let's get the fuck out of here because I got a pee. One last thing because it takes everybody to make it happen. You know, it really, really does. It takes every single person and every single job. Well, I believe it to be true. Barton Zoll. Thank you.