10 Steps WWE Took To Become The Most Toxic Wrestling Company Ever

3. ...And, In Harmony, Stephanie McMahon

Mick Foley Stephanie McMahon
WWE.com

Stephanie McMahon is chiefly responsible for the transition from booking to writing - and you suspect from her ever-present pompous gaze that she still thinks it's a good idea, despite presiding over an age in which there are fewer genuine wrestling megastars than there have ever been.

Stephanie's is a more insidious brand of toxicity. She anoints herself as this great agent of charity and progressivism when, in reality, she has revealed herself as a fraud. "Philanthropy is the future of marketing," as she once infamously retweeted. As she initiated the increasingly transparent (and problematic) PR drives in an attempt to soften her company's public image, she was only really successful in cloaking the underbelly, making it harder for many fans and observers to believe independent sources (the Wrestling Observer) than WWE affiliates (ESPN) in connection with this year's grim Mauro Ranallo furore. It is enablement through obfuscation.

She may not have inherited her father's wrestling nous, but she d*mn sure inherited his chutzpah; her onscreen character has done as much as anybody or anything to depict the new generation of WWE performers as losers who should count themselves lucky to be employed - or (un)independently contracted, as the very dubious case may be.

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!