10 Most Damaging Figures In The History Of Wrestling

6. Stephanie McMahon

Tripel H Stephanie McMahon Wrestlemania 33
WWE.com

Stephanie McMahon returned to WWE television in 2013 to co-head the meta Authority stable with Triple H.

Since that year, RAW ratings have plummeted beyond even downward trends in the wider TV landscape. That can't be a coincidence; Stephanie has done so much to dilute the roster of their star power onscreen. She continuously referred to Daniel Bryan as a "B+ player" on WWE television in 2013. This might have worked as a postmodern heat-seeking device, though Bryan was booked to live down to the moniker when he was removed from the WWE Title picture towards the end of the year. It took a uniform revolt of WrestleMania XXX to alter plans.

In 2015, Stephanie acted as a maternal figure to Seth Rollins, just stopping short of removing his long tights and spanking him every time he disappointed her. She slapped Roman Reigns daft during his feud with Triple H, at which point the whole Authority angle ceased to make no sense whatsoever. Why would Roman Reigns not be the perfect, shiny, corporate face of the company? He actually is. The result of Steph's onscreen behaviour - she scolded babyfaces and heels alike for reasons that cannot be parsed without incurring an aneurysm - was that the entire roster was portrayed as subservient weaklings. Why would we then want to see them engage in a simulation of combat?

Stephanie is more damaging in her backstage capacity; she ushered in the age of the scripted promo, which is perhaps the most crucial reason why so few stars reach their true potential within WWE.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!