10 Ridiculous Stephanie McMahon Ego Trips

4. The Main Event

Stephanie McMahon
WWE

Chris Jericho was set up to fail in his first significant run as WWE's top man. Though he beat The Rock and Stone Cold Steve Austin in one night (and wisely dined out on it for the rest of his career), it was only 'The Great One' from that point who seemed remotely willing enough to help keep him afloat in the main event club.

Impossibly entertaining as a babyface in 2000, Jericho would have at one point been an unstoppable force as a headliner, but his late-2001 heel turn had necessitated an in-ring adjustment, and unwilling and unhelpful opponents such as Stone Cold Steve Austin and Triple H were only too happy to see him flounder.

WrestleMania 18 represented a tragically fitting conclusion to his run. The third wheel in his own main event, Jericho's mere presence had been shunted to one side as the real feud unfolded between his new manager Stephanie McMahon and her ex-husband Triple H.

Having had spectacular chemistry as rivals, it was staggering how little the Champion and the 'Billion Dollar Princess' had as accomplices. Allegedly, there had been pitches for the pair to be romantically linked in the wake of the McMahon-Helmsley divorce, but this was predictably shot down by the (real life) happy couple.

The build-up was all about her. The match was all about them. Triple H's Pedigree to Stephanie was the undisputed climax of the match. The first Undisputed Champion merely was set dressing for their dramatic severance.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett