The McMahon family has been the sole owner of the WWE till 2023. Vince and his family were everywhere. From behind the scenes to in front of our screen. We saw his and his family’s evil antics for the past two decades. Their antics ranged from the weird to the bizarre. Today is the 25th anniversary of one such bizarre scene: former WWE CEO Stephanie McMahon slapping her mother Linda McMahon(current US Secretary of Education) in an episode of Smackdown in 2000.
Stephanie McMahon slapped Linda McMahon in defiance
When Stephanie McMahon turned heel, she was defying everyone. Her father, her mother, and her brother. She and Triple H were the new hot-heel couple causing trouble everywhere. Triple H had just retired Mick Foley at No Way Out after a grueling Hell-in-a-Cell match(a match any wrestling match should watch).
The Rock, meanwhile won the Royal Rumble but lost his championship opportunity to the Big Show at No Way Out(due to Shane McMahon’s help). The Rock had to go through many hurdles to get his opportunity back. He faced Brooklyn Brawler and won.
Then, he faced both the Big Show and Triple H. The Rock won the match but was not added to the Wrestlemania match because Shane broke up a pin attempt which led to a disqualification victory instead of a clean one.
Two weeks later, Big Show accepted The Rock’s offer once more and promised to risk his career to get to WrestleMania. Shane would later designate himself as the special guest referee, but Vince McMahon, who was not seen since Armageddon 1999, came and neutralized Shane. He counted the pin and the Rock got his opportunity back.
A triple threat was made for Raw next week where Triple H emerged victorious after pinning the Big Show. However, Linda McMahon showed up after the bout and told Triple H that he would be defending the WWF Championship at WrestleMania against a newly reinstated Mick Foley in addition to The Rock and Big Show in a Fatal-4-Way Elimination bout. Then Foley came out and assaulted Triple H right away.
Linda, also, announced she would be in Foley’s corner. There would indeed be a McMahon in every corner in this match with Vince being in Rock’s, Stephanie being in HHH’s, and Shane being in Big Show’s corner.
In that same Smackdown, Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley retaliated against her mother by calling her a “conniving b****” and slapping her in the face.
It was a shocking moment and never seen before in wrestling television. Linda McMahon told the Telegraph in 2002 that it was very difficult
“She definitely slapped me for real. It was painful. It was really very difficult.”
McMahon added that they did whatever to please their fans and it’s because of their passion to the wrestling business.
Linda McMahon and Stone Cold helped Rock win the WWE title at Backlash 2000
The match ended up happening with a McMahon in every corner. Big Show and Mick Foley got eliminated first. This led to a direct fight between HHH and the Rock which is what the people wanted, in the first place.
The match ended in a big swerve. Vince, who was in Rock’s corner turned on him. He hit two chair shots on the Rock and allowed HHH to pin him and retain his title. “The Game” became the first heel to win the main event of a Wrestlemania.
Following the match, The Rock, who was heavily bruised and receiving assistance from official referees to go backstage, stormed back into the ring and gave Vince, Shane, and Stephanie McMahon Rock Bottoms before closing out the show with a People’s Elbow on Stephanie.
The Rock ended up winning the WWE title with the help of Stone Cold Steve Austin and Linda McMahon at Backlash in one of WWE’s most memorable moments ever.
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