Stephanie McMahon’s Hall of Fame nod exposes WWE politics, claims wrestling veteran (Exclusive)

Former WWE head writer Vince Russo recently spoke about Stephanie McMahon's Hall of Fame induction. The star will be honored next year during WrestleMania season.

The Undertaker appeared at Wrestlepalooza to announce that Stephanie McMahon would be inducted into the Hall of Fame Class of 2026. The announcement came after her husband, Triple H, was added to the Hall of Fame earlier this year.

On a recent episode of Writing with Russo, the wrestling veteran questioned what prompted WWE to induct Stephanie McMahon into the Hall of Fame before Shane McMahon. Vince Russo pointed out that Shane was a TV character long before Stephanie, and he even had stellar matches in the ring. The veteran writer suggested that there was a lot of backstage politics involved in deciding who gets inducted into the Hall of Fame.

He believed fans and the general public would never get to know what politicking goes on behind the scenes in the company.

"Again, there are so many telling signs. Shane was a character on television before Stephanie McMahon, and Shane was a great in-ring talent. So what does it mean that Stephanie is in the Hall of Fame and Shane McMahon is not? What does it mean? There's just so many levels to this that we will never, ever, ever know about."

Stephanie is often regarded as the person who brought women's wrestling to the forefront in WWE and kicked off the Women's Revolution. She was a strong advocate for female stars receiving more TV time, compelling storylines, and prominent spots on major shows.

The Billion Dollar Princess also served as the interim Chairwoman in WWE back in 2022. This was when her father, Vince McMahon, had to step away from his role as CEO and Chairman.

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About the author

Prityush is a WWE news writer for Sportskeeda Wrestling who started watching wrestling in the later part of The Attitude Era. Although he holds a Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Prityush was a creative writer for his college, and his flair for creativity and love of pro wrestling eventually led him to the journalism field. After an initial stint in 2016-2017, he has been writing regularly for Sportskeeda since 2021.

As someone who loves and respects the business, he prides himself on factual, clean, and ethical reporting, free of plagiarism and AI usage. One of the ways he ensures this is by transcribing videos that he reports on.

Prityush had the privilege of interviewing superstar Matt Hardy in his career so far. Although, his favorite wrestler is CM Punk, as he relates to his Straight Edge philosophy.

When he is not reporting news, he loves reading and collecting WWE action figures. He currently owns over 500 wrestling figures and merchandise.

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Edited by Prityush Haldar