Stephanie McMahon Announced For WWE Hall Of Fame 2026 (WWE News)

Stephanie McMahon will go into the WWE Hall of Fame next year.

by Andrew Pollard
WWE WrestleMania XL Stephanie McMahon
WWE

In a somewhat surprising development, one of the biggest stories coming out of WWE Wrestlepalooza last night was the announcement that Stephanie McMahon will be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame next year.

This announcement came just before the main event, where Cody Rhodes successfully retained the WWE Championship against Drew McIntyre. Receiving a huge reaction from the Indianapolis crowd, the Undertaker made an appearance, riding his motorcycle down to the ringside area, where Stephanie McMahon just so happened to be sitting. The Phenom hopped the barricade with a microphone in hand and promptly gave McMahon the news that she was the first name in the 2026 WWE Hall of Fame class. An emotional Stephanie reacted in shock at this news, as she and the Undertaker shared a hug.

Of course, this comes on the heels of Stephanie's husband Triple H being inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame earlier this year as a solo act, following his previous induction as part of D-Generation X. This year also saw 'Taker's wife Michelle McCool inducted alongside the Game, and now Stephanie and Hunter will follow suit as a Hall-of-Fame couple.

For Stephanie McMahon, she's obviously been involved in the pro wrestling business since childhood, ranging from modeling for the old WWF Catalogs to answering phones at Titan Towers, to her introduction to TV in 1999 as an innocent babyface, to a power-mad heel alongside Triple H, to a General Manger, to the Authority, to her own in-ring work, and her various roles backstage in creative and as a company executive.

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Already, this news has split opinion amongst fans, with some pointing to the likes of Mickie James, Jazz, and Victoria as female performers whose absence from the WWE Hall of Fame has long been a hot discussion point, whilst the induction of Stephanie is also a rarity in how WWE has often steered clear of inducting people for their work behind the scenes, bar exceptions such as Sue Aitchison getting inducted with the Warrior Award back in 2019.

Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks/Saints, Jamie Hayter, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.