Chris Jericho’s live podcast returned to the WWE Network last night with a Stephanie McMahon interview, and Y2J is more or less proving himself to be the safer alternative to the somewhat unpredictable questions of Stone Cold Steve Austin. Over the course of an hour with Stephanie, we got some pretty cool information on her life on the inside of her father’s empire. Spoiler alert: She is a wonderful person, even when Jericho is going over all the times he called her a whore on national TV during the Attitude Era, and in a perfect world, we’d all be lucky enough to sit down and chat with the Chief Brand Officer. Here are some highlights:
- On emulating her father on television: “I think I’ve just studied him. I look up to my dad so much, and in terms of in the ring, I’ve studied him so closely just watching him because he’s my dad, and I love him. So, if I do emulate him, I’m actually unaware that I am, but it makes sense that I would, given that I’ve watched him so closely all my life.”
- On growing up in the wrestling industry: “It’s how I grew up, so I don’t know any different, really. Like, Hulk Hogan and Mr. T came over for dinner before WrestleMania 1, and I remember two things about it. I remember my mom had to make liver for Mr. T, and she hates liver, apparently. And I had never even eaten liver, but my mom is, like, nauseous in the kitchen making this liver. And Mr. T wanted to sign everything I had. I wanted his autograph once, and then I had something else, and he signed it, and something else, and he signed it. And even though I was really little, it kind of became funny to me.”
- On her favorite classic WWF stars: “The standouts were The Killer Bees, I loved The Killer Bees. I loved Tito Santana, I loved all those guys. I gravitated more towards the heels, though. I did not root for Hulk Hogan.”
- On her bond with André the Giant: “André and I had a bond. My mom actually tells a story, this one I don’t remember… When I was about 3, I was outside jumping on a trampoline. André pulled up in his customized van and he gets out, he’s 7-foot-5, 500 pounds, and apparently, my nanny started rolling up all the windows and locking the doors and everything. In hindsight, that’s not a great nanny. But I’m out there to fend for myself… André walked over and held his hand out, and I stepped in his hand, he brought me up to his cheek, and I kissed his cheek.”
- On her childhood crush: “I was in love with Bo Duke. I was devastated, one time. I saw Barbara Mandrell’s Christmas special, and they kissed.”
- On answering phones for the WWF as a teenager: “This fan called in because, at the time, fan services was also handled by reception. This woman was very upset because Bobby Heenan had said that there was no such thing as Santa Claus. And her best friend had said, ‘Look, I don’t want my kids watching.’ And sure enough, look what happened. Bobby Heenan says this lie that there is no Santa Claus, and now my kids believe it.”
- On her rivalry with Jericho: “It was hard not to laugh… I feel like that’s the role of my character, to help get other people over if I can, right?”
- On her breast enhancement surgery: “What had happened was, at one point in time, I was heavier. And then I had lost some weight, and I didn’t like the way I looked, and I wasn’t confident in how I looked. So, it was my own personal decision to have that done, and I was proud of what I did. But, that being said, I know our fans…”
- On slapping her mother on TV: “I pulled it, you can watch that and see that I did not extend or anything. But still, it was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do. That, and kiss Eric Bischoff.”
- On Ronda Rousey’s involvement: “In terms of the overall plan, I don’t know. We’ll see if anything ever happens with it, but it was just so much fun at WrestleMania… I am a legitimate, huge fan of hers. I mean, she is amazing. She’s inspiring, and I want my daughters to be able to look up to someone like that.”
- On A.J. Lee tweeting about gender equality in WWE: “I was proud of A.J. for speaking up. That was clearly something that she wanted to get across, and I am fully behind this movement.”
- On her oldest daughter wanting to be a wrestler: “[She] wrote a whole book, ‘I Want to Be a Diva.’ She’s trained with Nattie. Nattie says she has real promise.”
Jericho points out the fact that if any of her daughters end up deciding to get involved with WWE, that would make five generations of McMahons in the business. Suddenly that “Then, Now, Forever” title card before WWE programming doesn’t seem like much of an exaggeration.
