Stephanie McMahon appeared on The Rich Eisen Show on Peacock on 4/16 to discuss this weekend's debut of WWE's Most Wanted Treasured on A&E.
Eisen asked her what her first wrestling memory growing up a McMahon was. She said it was her whole life. Her first memory is her first live event, which was at the Philadelphia Spectrum. She was in a hallway backstage as her parents were working nearby. A bunch of children ran past her screaming in fright at the top of her lungs. When Stephanie looked, George Steele was lumbering, chasing the kids. George scared her and she ran to her father, ran up his legs and buried herself in Vince McMahon's arms. Vince was her hero and he laughed and at that point, he introduced Stephanie to Jim Myers, who was George Steele as George dropped character. It was her first inkling into the world of WWE.
Stephanie was asked if she had any Andre the Giant memories. She grew up with him and at one point, thought of him as her best friend. Her mother used to call Andre Stephanie's "Gulliver." Stephanie told a story of playing inside the cast for Andre's broken ankle because it was as large as she was at that point. At Wrestlemania 1, which really was her father's vision for WWE and it was to put the company on the map. She gave a recap of all the celebrities appearing on the show and said, little did she know, her parents "mortgaged everything they owned" to make it happen. There was a post-show party at the Rainbow Room. She was sitting outside with Andre and she fell asleep in his arms. People Magazine shot a photo of the moment but her parents wouldn't let them identify her in the caption.
Eisen asked that they really mortgaged the future. She said her parents have a history of betting on themselves and mortgaged everything the entire family had. Eisen had he wasn't aware of that but now here we are, just passing Wrestleman is 37.
Eisen asked if Andre's cast was one of the most wanted treasures. Stephanie laughed and said it wouldn't be this season and that she might know where it is.
She was asked what treasures would be the ones she and Triple H begin searching for this season. She said there are am few different ones that the cast of stars and legends will be searching for. It's cool to hear their memories and nostalgia for an object. They have Undertaker's gear when he debuted for the company, which is very iconic for what that character comes to mean.
They go looking for Andre the Giant's passport. She didn't think the thought of it would make her emotional, but it did, making her think about everything that he endured as he traveled the world. Growing up in the life that she's had, she's very grateful for everything and hated judgment. It bothered her how some would treat Andre like a sideshow freak. She asked him once if it bothered him when she was young and he told her that it did. She told a story that her mother shares of her being super young when Andre came to the house and walking up to Stephanie as she was leaping on a trampoline. Andre put his hand down and she stepped in it and he raised her up so she could kiss him on the cheek. She doesn't remember it personally but her mother tells the story. She said she had a great friendship with Andre and noted he grew up on a small farm in France. His passport brought back a lot of emotions for the man, the stories of the different territories and everything he lived through in his huge life.
She said you'll hear the story of The Undertaker meeting Kane on a local show (Smoky Mountain Wrestling) and how that launched Kane's original character before he made his debut. Finding the story of the artifacts and those behind it and it takes you on an amazing ride. They joked Stephanie was a real-life Princess Bride.
TJ from the show, who is a massive WWE fan, asked Stephanie if there were any celebrities she'd like to see involved with WWE. Stephanie said athletically, the Williams Sisters, either individually or together. She thinks it could be really cool to work with Cardi B as she's so colorful, vivacious and full of life. Cardi could bring it up a notch in WWE. Matthew McConoughay has been "really catching on" with WWE, talking about his interaction with Drew McIntyre. There are so many young influencers and gamers. WWE is like a gaming world come to life with all these characters and back stories and there's tons of untapped influences she'd love the company to work with.
They brought up the debut of Pat McAfee debuting on Smackdown and plugged Most Wanted Treasures. They asked her to come back regularly and she said she was in.
Thanks to Mike Clocher.
If you enjoy PWInsider.com you can check out the AD-FREE PWInsider Elite section, which features exclusive audio updates, news, our critically acclaimed podcasts, interviews and more by clicking here!