When "thousands in unison chanted sl*t" against Stephanie McMahon as 54 million fans watched on

Stephanie McMahon did a lot for WWE during her stint with the company. One of her assignments included being the announcer for XFL in 2001. However, that did not go too well for The Billion Dollar Princess.

WWE and NBC went into a joint venture to bring the original XFL to fans’ screens in 2001. It only ran for a single season as Vince McMahon and Dick Ebersol were forced to close it down after viewership nosedived following the first game.

Stephanie McMahon was part of the announcer’s team for the original XFL. While she and her team had high hopes, the crowd at the stadium knew her as the heel daughter of Vince McMahon from WWE. Fans started chanting against Stephanie from the moment she walked out to get in position for her role.

Former WWE head writer Brian Gerwitz wrote in his book about what went down during the first game of XFL. He was assigned a workplace in one of the production trucks to write a script for RAW when he came to know of the insulting chants against the former co-CEO of WWE.

"An earnest Stephanie, thrust into an announcer role much like her Dad was on WWF television decades earlier, gave it her all reporting from the actual stands as a cascade of “sl*t” chants echoed down. This was something that was actually encouraged in this decidedly un-PG era of WWE but just added to the disaster that was the XFL in 2001."

Gewirtz further described Stephanie McMahon's time in the football league:

"It was just surreal watching a smiling Stephanie McMahon telling the inspirational story on how a player overcame cancer as thousands in unison [men, women, and children] chanted “sl*t” while they high-fived behind her," Gewirtz wrote.

The debut of the XFL was watched by 54 million viewers around the globe. The chants would have been heard by all those watching live and at home.

The experience wasn’t the best for The Billion Dollar Princess. However, playing heel on television for several years would have helped her ignore the chants while carrying on her duty.

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Shane McMahon threatened to kill two WWE veterans before Stephanie McMahon took her spot

Shane McMahon was worried about his sister, Stephanie McMahon, before she made her way out as the announcer for XFL. Shane was aware of the threat that the crowd posed before his sister’s first appearance as a sideline reporter.

Shane went as far as to threaten to kill Michael Hayes and Bruce Prichard if anyone laid a hand on Stephanie McMahon. Brian Gewirtz went into detail about what went down between Shane and the two WWE executives.

"Before she did her first on camera in the stands, Shane pulled Michael and Bruce aside. 'I just want you two to know, I love you both like family, but if anyone lays a hand on my sister, I will legitimately kill you.' Just the type of thing you want to hear before leading a famous person into a drunken mob," Gewirtz wrote.

XFL was shut down soon after. It was a colossal loss for Vince McMahon. The football league was brought back to life for a few seasons in 2017 and will continue with another season in 2024.

Do you remember Stephanie McMahon as one of the most vicious heels in the company? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.