Stephanie McMahons Slaps The Hell Out Of Cody Rhodes In Raw Return (WWE News)

Stephanie McMahon made a rare WWE Raw appearance last night.

by Andrew Pollard
WWE Raw Cody Rhodes Stephanie McMahon
WWE

With last night's WWE Raw taking place from the iconic Madison Square Garden, that MSG return brought with it the return to TV of Stephanie McMahon.

McMahon made an incredibly rare WWE TV appearance, sharing the ring with Cody Rhodes as the American Nightmare gears up for his WrestleMania 42 match against Randy Orton. There, Rhodes will put the WWE Championship on the line against his long-time mentor.

However, this heated Raw exchange saw Cody play down talk of that student/mentor relationship, stating that he stopped being the student a long time ago, when he was having to drive a drooling Randy Orton around the towns. He said he knows the danger of Randy, of his prior actions that can't be shown on current WWE programming, and how some of those heinous acts were carried out towards Stephanie McMahon herself, not to mention how Orton once punt-kicked Cody's father, Dusty Rhodes. But Cody Rhodes is not his father, and, with all due respect, Stephanie was not hers.

Advertisement

That prompted Stephanie to deliver one of her trademark heavy slaps to the face of Cody, before she talked about Randy Orton beckoning the voices in his head, and also referencing the mystery someone who may also be giving Randy advice. The exchange ended with Rhodes saying he had "two words" for McMahon: "Thank you."

While WrestleMania 42 will see Cody Rhodes defend the WWE Championship against Randy Orton in the expected Night 1 main event, Stephanie McMahon will take her place in the WWE Hall of Fame the night before 'Mania 42 kicks off.

10 Most Unexpected WWE Burials Ever

TNA Just Let Its Best Wrestler Slip Through Its Fingers... (TNA News)

AEW Releases: Every Wrestler Released In 2026

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.