THE ED MYLETT SHOW - Stephanie Mcmahon - WWE's Branding Powerhouse

Episode Date: August 15, 2018

Stephanie McMahon is Chief Brand Officer of WWE, a publicly-traded (NYSE: WWE) global media company. In this role, she is responsible for WWE’s Brand, Community Relations, and Pop Culture strategy, which includes celebrity integrations and partnerships within the entertainment industry. Stephanie represents the company as its global brand ambassador, and also plays a character who appears regularly on WWE programming. Among her many contributions, Stephanie has been the driving force behind WWE’s women’s evolution, which has given female performers an equal share of the spotlight both in and out of the ring. Prior to being named Chief Brand Officer, Stephanie was Executive Vice President, Creative and was responsible for overseeing the Digital and Creative Departments. She was also the first woman to lead WWE's Talent Relations, Talent Brand Management and Live Events businesses. She is a member of the 2017 Class of Henry Crown Fellows within the Aspen Global Leadership Network at the Aspen Institute and is also a member of the 2015 Eisenhower Fellowship class. Adweek has included Stephanie in their list of the Most Powerful Women in Sports for the past three years. She was named a Stuart Scott ENSPIRE Award Honoree at the 2017 ESPN Humanitarian Awards and was selected as part of Sports Business Journal’s 2017 class of “Game Changers: Women in Sports Business.” In 2014, Stephanie and her husband, Paul “Triple H” Levesque, established Connor’s Cure, a fund dedicated to fighting pediatric cancer. In partnership with The V Foundation and Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, Connor’s Cure has raised more than $2 million to date. She is a mother of three daughters ages 11, 9 and 7.

Welcome to the Ed and My Let Show, the place for leaders, dreams and champions. Welcome back to Max Out with Ed My Let. I have a special program today and a lot of you have asked me, can you please feature more prominent beautiful business women? And I have, I think, one of the great marketing minds, man or woman in American business today, marketing, branding, business, digital media, television media, print media, sitting to my left here. And so this is, if you don't recognize her,

although most of you already do, this is Stephanie McMahon. So Stephanie, thank you for being here. Thank you for having me. I'm real excited about this. But I do have a complaint, though. I mean, in spite of that incredible introduction, that we are not at your house in front of the beach

with the beautiful blue water in the background. I agree. And so we need to make maybe more of this. And it's well branded. It is well branded, everybody. Which we're going to talk a lot about today. So. But I would prefer to beat the ocean, too.

And by the way, that's a great intro. Speaking of branding, that's what this lady does. She is the chief brand officer for WWE, which is a huge global brand. And so we're going to talk about that today, and that's why my introduction about her background in business and marketing and branding fits because she's the CBO of one of the biggest brands in the world. But she's also a mother. She's a wife. She's very philanthropic with all of the different work that you and Paul, her husband, Triple H, do together. So we're gonna talk

about all of those things today. This is a very unique woman and she can bring you a lot of value today and hopefully some inspiration too. So you ready to roll? I'm ready. Okay. Thank you. I hope I live up to that. You will. You will. So I'm curious about you growing up because it wasn't normal, right? So it was my normal. It was your normal. So what did that look like? So you grow up in this company, right? And so you're around, you know, all of these brand names that I grew up with as heroes, your dads, one of those brands as well. Your mom and dad worked in the company. What was it like growing up around all this? So there's never been a boring day in my life ever.

And I tell the story all the time, I'll just Andre the giant. So he was one of my best friends. That's amazing. And I know it. For me, it was the norm, right? So my mom actually had told me the story originally when Andre, for the first time, came into our driveway,

the first time we ever met. And he had this customized band because of how big he was, right? He gets out and he's so big, it's almost like his head blocks out the sun. I'm like three jumping on the trampoline. Three years old. And he's walking towards me,

and it's as if the ground is shaking, you know, here comes this giant. And it's so funny because I just wasn't scared. Really? Not scared of him at all. But why do you think that it was? I think we were meant to be friends. And I think, I don't know, it just he never scared me.

Huh. And it actually was one of the reasons for our connection, you know? Because other people responded in a different way to you. Yeah. And he held out his hand, and I stepped into his hand. Oh my gosh. He brought me up to his cheek, and I gave him a kiss on his cheek. Oh my gosh.

And my mom always referred to him as my gulliver. Look at your face even when you talk about it. Yeah, I love Andre. Oh my gosh. And the documentary on HBO is awesome. I was going to ask you that. I would about it. Yeah, I love Andre. Oh my gosh. And the documentary on HBO is awesome. I was going to ask you that. Relatively accurate then. Yeah, oh, it is.

And it's, I don't think he would have wanted it to end the way that it did. That's just my personal opinion. But it was how it ended, you know. And it was a beautiful story. It was so well done. Bill Simmons really did a great job. I love Bill.

He's a nice person. Yeah. He's a great job. I love Bill. Jason Aaron. Yeah. They did a great job. So it was your normal, but were you aware, had to become a point where you knew this wasn't normal, right? Was there a point where you're going, I assume you're going to some shows, you're around the talent from time to time. Was there a point where you went, hey, this is not like every other kids at my school's life, I don't know. Was there a point where you realize that?

You know, I suppose, I don't know that there's ever one life, I don't know, was there a point where you realized that? You know, I suppose. I don't know that there's ever one moment. You know, kids in school, they would always ask me questions about wrestling. I was either kids love me or they hated me. You know, W.W. is always been very polarizing. Yeah. Just because of who my father was.

And it's actually interesting because I used to feel really bad about that. And I'd say to my dad, like, you know what? I want people to like me for me. Yeah. You know, and some people don't like me without ever knowing me. And my dad always told me, you know what, Steph?

Not everybody's gonna like you. And as long as you're a good person, and you can look yourself in the eyes in the mirror, and know that you're a good person, that's all that matters. It was your dad a big influence on you. This is great because I think a lot of the fans of WWE only see the character version of you, right? Which we'll talk about. Mostly, yeah. We're going to talk about that. But it's interesting. I think it's a great peek inside just what's turned you into this force you are in business too, right? So what kind

of influence was your dad? Your dad is as larger than life figure, obviously, right? He's a hero of mine for a lot of reasons, but not the least of which I'm serious is your dad's fitness level at his age. It's something that I aspire to. He's 72. I know. It's amazing. And he's a stud, right? At least from not knowing him on the outside, I'd look at him as like, that's what you want. He's got business. He's got a great family. He's been married to the same want, he's got business, he's got a great family, he's been married to the same woman, he's super fit, he's went from Rags to Riches, but for you,

how did your dad have an influence over you when you were growing up? It's funny because I actually talk about my dad all the time and the influence that he had on my life. To the point where some people say, what about your mom? Yeah. You know, because my mom is a force of nature in her own right. Yes.

But I idolize my dad, you know, growing up for sure and, you know, well into my adult life, I just absolutely idolize my dad. And he's my dad, and I don't know if you have a daughter, right? That dad daughter connection, there is just something so special about it. And just to tell a personal story he now has because we have three girls as you mentioned we do this daddy daughter dance every year and because of how close in age my kids are there's always two going to the same dance and my dad comes and he'll take the daughter that my husband's not going with.

And there's this beautiful song that they played, that they play all the time. I actually recommend people look it up. It'll make you cry about dancing with Cinderella. And he dances with my little girls. And he has those moments with them that they will never forget. And to me, that's what it's all about, you know. That is what it's all about. I'm really glad you shared that with me. I don't know why that gets me emotional. Because you think about your little girl properly. Yeah.

I do. Wow, that's a great story. And so you're like helping lead into all these questions I have because I think our past sort of gives us some future, you know, prediction of where we're going. And you come from this, you mentioned your mom, you actually come from at least that I'm aware of, three generations of super hard working women. Like, your grandmother was a working woman in the 40s when that was not the norm. Not just a working woman, she was a budget analyst

for the Navy. I didn't know that. Yeah, and she had to prove herself in that role. And I asked her one day, I said, how did you do that, Mema? We call her Mema, M-I-M-A. And that's my brother named her when he couldn't pronounce grandmother. So it became Mema, and she still Memaed me.

And she said, well, I just learned how to do what my boss did, and I did it better than they did. Wow. That's true. So she had all the answers. She was, I've watched some of your social stuff, like she was a real influence in your life too, right? Oh yeah, my grandmother, I love my grandmother.

She's so strong. You talk about strung, she's no filter. She'll say anything to anybody. And it can come off rude to some people. We've been out to dinner before and she'll say something and to the waiter wait just like, you're staying here. It's interesting for all of you guys to see her character to know that she's the one explaining away the intense behavior.

I think that's pretty cool. So you got, I love in this. So there's grandma who didn't just work, but did something very substantial. And then your mother, even when your mom started building a company with your dad, your mom, that was not necessarily the norm in the early 80s for women to be working to that extent outside the home all the time too. And so you've really followed in mom and grandma's footsteps now into this role that you're in now. Was there a point where you knew I'm going to step into this business? So two things I want to say on that. One is I think it's so important

for girls today to see women in leadership positions, whether it's in business, media, sports, entertainment, because then they know that they could do that if they wanted to. And oftentimes you don't necessarily think of something that you can do if you don't see someone else doing it. And I think because of my grandmother and because my mom was the CEO of WWE, it never occurred to me that I couldn't be a leader. I assumed actually that that's what I was supposed to do. So it was quite the opposite, just because my mom was in that position.

And in terms of working for the company, I've always wanted to be a part of the business. You did? Always. I have watched since I can remember. And that's where you mentioned as a little kid, right? I just thought everyone's dad was on TV. Just wasn't the case. Right, right. But I just grew up loving our business. And the other thing is because my parents

were building our company, my dad took it from a regional business into a global phenomenon. And dinner conversations were always about business. I'm sure. So I was always listening to them, always listening to them talk about business. And we didn't have nannies or anything like that. So I was always with them.

Is that right? Oh yeah, Saturday mornings, I'd go with them to the office. No kidding. And I'd sit with the receptionist most of the time. I'd draw pictures. My mom still has this framed picture of a dog that I drew in the art department. And I named it Scruffy. And she framed it to this day, hasn't it?

So it was sort of like, there was going to be this path. You were going to end up here probably, right? Yeah, but I didn't, you know, the funny thing is I didn't picture myself in any particular role. Okay. You know, I didn't say, oh, I'm gonna be on TV or oh, I'm gonna, you know, do this or do that. I just wanted to be a part of it. Wow. And I think part of the reason why is because to me it was a way to give back to my family.

You know, I wanted to be a part of what they loved so much and what they were growing and what they were doing. I wanted to be a part of it. You know, and I loved it too. Yeah. what they loved so much and what they were growing, what they were doing. I wanted to be a part of it. And I loved it too. So we share this passion for this business. You have to forgive me on something. I really watch people when they talk. Right.

And your face changes every time you talk about your family. Yeah. Yeah, it does. There's a deep love in your family that I sense. And it's on your face even now. When I talk to you, I don't know why that affects me when I see it on people because I love mine so much Yeah, and I think that's one of the secrets of WWE and because we have mutual friends

Kristen and other people and so I'm familiar with the company. It's this really interesting thing I think people say that you say Kristen you mean Kristen Proudy. I do okay. I'm just Kristen Proudy Let's give her a shout out. Okay. She might be in the room right now. She might be she might be sitting right there You have the camera but she doesn't want to be in front of the camera. But yes. And JJ, I have to say because she's also sitting right there. She's coming up to the lake this summer. You know that she'd never been in a lake just so you know in her life. Ever? So she's going to jump in my lake this summer. It's actually not my lake, but it's in front of my house. So I call it my lake. So she's coming there. But you can see even in the environment in the room everybody. And so one of the things I've learned about WWE is that,

although it's became this publicly traded thing, it's this big, huge entity, it really is a family business, and there's a family environment in the business too. And I think for all of you fans that are watching this, this has to be so insightful for you, but I love great American business stories. And so what you said about being a prominent woman, it's why I do the show.

I want more young business women to see people like you. I didn't know. She's not in the number 27 position in the company. This is a woman helping drive this company. She'll be humble about what she does, but she's helping drive this company. This is one of the most front and center. She's a character on the show.

She's the branding officer. She's this kind of global ambassador for the entire organization. And so, but the seeds of the company, I think tell you a lot. I was reading about your mom and dad and like when you, your mom and dad, when your mom was pregnant with you, your parents were broke, they were becassed. They declared bankruptcy. They declared bankruptcy. So this is actually a great story.

My mom is eight months pregnant with me. And she was on her way to go meet my dad at the courthouse. And she walks out of the house and there's a boot on her car for unpaid parking tickets or whatever it was. Because they really just had no money. And the tow truck comes to get the car. And my mom said, can I please ask you to just drop me off? For a month's break.

We need to declare bankruptcy, would you mind? Oh my gosh. So this tow truck driver was really nice and drives down. So now can you imagine my dad who's now mad? Because she's way right. I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, who was about six. Oh my gosh. So. And when you see this, you guys, you watch the different TV shows. You see the big stars. You see the rock and his movies and to think that it came from a time. Just for those of you that I want hope because there's entrepreneurs out there.

Sure. And they're thinking, you know, I'm close to BK. I'm broke. I've got these family issues. Picture this eight month pregnant mother of hers, right? Picture this. She's going to the courthouse to file bankruptcy.

And it turns into what you see today with all of these offshoots, this global brand, it's this, and it's got the feeling still in vibe. In other words, as this is another key for businesses that have grown, as it's gotten bigger and bigger and bigger, they've worked very hard to maintain its culture. Because as companies get bigger, as brands get bigger, so speak to that just for a second from a branding perspective too and how focused you are on the culture of the company, not just the inner workings, the show, the talent,

all that, just the culture. So what do you do to do that and how do you stay focused on it? So a few different things. One, I'll talk about the notion of family and that culture as it relates to our audience and then I'll talk to it as it relates to our talent. But as it relates to our audience, we actually call our audience the WWE Universe. And they are fans but fans seems to be an exclusive term whereas the universe is inclusive.

And I've taken that term even more broadly because I think it's not just our fan base. I think it's also our talent. I think it's also our employees. I think it's anybody who loves or touches our brand, our business partners, anybody who's a part of WWE, is a part of the WWE universe. And you can feel it when you come to a show. I did a few interviews to talk about WrestleMania

this past year where I wrestled Ronda Rousey, by the way, she won. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, anyway, that's not only to be a shame, though. No, no, no, no, I'm just hammering it up, but it was such an incredible opportunity, it was amazing. But what I talked about is why WrestleMania is so important to me and what it means to me because that is where everyone comes together to share this passion. Yeah. You know, and it's so unique. And so for example, this past Monday, we announced our partnership with Special Olympics and support of the USA Games.

And our entire audience got to their feet when these athletes came out. It was Team Texas because that's who they are. And it is this inclusive, supportive, amazing environment. I mean, in spite of what you may read on Twitter as it relates to storyline, they really are this amazing group of people.

And I believe in humanity, I really do. But that's the family environment, you know. And that's what WWE is. So from a branding perspective, even calling them the WWE Universe, making sure they feel included, giving them the opportunity to have that standing ovation for those athletes. Because how does that feel to them?

But you feel good when you support somebody else, right? You're pushing, yeah. It's a gift to be able to be there for someone else. It is. That's wonderful. And from a talent standpoint, my husband has taken great care actually to cultivate this culture even in our performance center where we're developing future stars. You know, it's all about professionalism.

You know, the way you dress, you shake people's hands, you look them in the eye, you pick up trash, you know, you support one another. He's looking for emergent leaders. You know, he's looking in talent tryouts. You know, not just, are you gonna make it physically, right, but then once you're really worn down, who are the ones who are in it for themselves and who are the ones that try to pick other people up?

Really, you know, so for the culture inside of the building. Part of the culture grown from the very beginning. I wonder because you grew up around it that you just have this maybe unique respect and admiration for. It's almost like in WWE there aren't really, you're right about the fan thing the more that you said I was thinking about. It's almost like we're all in on this together. That's right. It's kind of even on the storyline stuff too.

It's like we're super entertained by it. We kind of both know what's happening, but yet we buy in and love it so much too. So it really, that is unique. And I never thought of that. And if you ever come to a show, anybody who ever comes to a show, and you ask a question to anyone sitting around you,

like so who's this guy or who's that girl? You will suddenly, five people will turn around and give you like the full background of the whole storyline from their beginning. Yeah, that's totally true. Because we want you to be a part of this. Yeah, is there something about someone watching this, because there's the rating fans that are watching this and they're going, well, I'm so excited and inspired to hear this side of you.

But then there's people that are watching this that know of WWE, but may not know much about it either. So what is WWE? Like let's not assume everybody knows that. What would you say, WWE is what? So, well, WWE world wrestling entertainment, for those of you who really don't know, you might not even know the acronym. But it's like a live action adventure soap opera.

And when I'm out there and I'm speaking to influencers, brands, potential partners, and I need to give a little bit of an education and an overview, I say we're really no different than a great opera, ballet, play, TV shows, sitcom, movie, it's protagonist versus antagonist with conflict resolution. Only our conflicts are settled inside a 20 by 20-foot ring with some of the greatest live action that you can see anywhere, and any sport or entertainment.

That's how I talk about that. It is, but if I would add, even though I know 1 million to 1% of the greatest athletes have ever seen in my life. They're amazing. The combination of, it's interesting. WWE's got these, the twi, I love it. It's got this combination of all of these different elements to it.

And even the characters themselves, they're great athletes. They've got to be able to perform. They've got to be able to inspire. They've got to have quick, one minute things they say that get things they got to do. And a ring in front of a live audience. It's also got to translate through a camera. It's really unbelievable.

Some of the talent in the way that you could. It's actually really interesting. I just heard Jody Foster say about wrestling, how it's a great foundation for anybody who wants to perform in film. She was talking about hotel Artemis, which is her new movie coming out, and Batista's in it.

Yeah. Oh, I saw that. Yeah, yeah. Am I saying that correctly? Yeah, okay, great. I'm just making Oh, I saw that. Yeah. Yeah. Am I saying that correctly? Yeah. Okay, great. I'm just making sure. Get it right.

Yeah. And it's going to be, you know, if you want to watch the video, it's going to be on our dot com site. I'll get the plug in there. But it was really interesting to hear her say it. I'm prompted, you know, about how it really gives you all of the tools you need to be successful in any genre, really. Right.

And when you think about it, if you ever hear rock or John Cena who now have transcended what we do, you hear them talk about those tools, right? Because think about public speaking. You're speaking in front of thousands of people all the time, right? So you get your chops from doing that. You need to show up on time.

You have to be professional in WWE, or you're not gonna make it, right? If you have your chops from doing that. You need to show up on time. You have to be professional in WWE, or you're not gonna make it, right? If you have lines, they're memorized. You come prepared. Plus, you have been doing interviews and media interviews, even from the time that you're a developmental talent. Because we're training you constantly in all different platforms and all different avenues

or training you to build your brand and social media. We're training you to do other types of media interviews, radio, TV, etc. We're training you at the local level and then we're training at the national level and then the global level. Yeah, unbelievable. So it's you come when you are a WWE superstar, you are one of the most well-rounded business people and entertainers and athletes that you could possibly be. It's so true and they love it. You hear Dwayne talk about the WWE. He still has a heart for it. He still loves it. Or John, the Bella twins on my show.

Yeah, the Bella's as well. They just love it. And what you said is really, they exemplify that too. They're just really unbelievable women. They're great business women. They are. They're the branding women. And they love this, right? They have a heart for it. There's this passion for it. That kind of leads me down a road I want to talk about because this is, we didn't just feature a woman on the show but just because she's so successful

but also you've helped, you may not take credit for it. But when I used to watch wrestling, it was a totally male dominated enterprise, right? And I got to believe that you had something to do with this transition, the last call it decade or so, where frankly some of the most well-known people are the bellas, are the female talent, are Ronda Rousey. So did you consciously start to take the company in that direction or did that just sort of the market dictated it?

I've been a part of it. So definitely I've had a voice for a long time. But and not just by myself. There's been a lot of other voices, a lot of other female voices, trying to fight for this and some male voices as well. But it wasn't until our fans spoke that we were able to truly affect the change. You speak with ratings like we like this, or something? So there was a match with the Bella's with actually Nikki Bella and it lasted all

of 30 seconds. Okay. And unfortunately that was the norm, right? This was in 2015. Okay. And it was supposed to be a tag match for 30 seconds. And our fans had just had enough and they started a hashtag called Give Divas a Chance. And it trended worldwide for three days. Wow, I didn't know that. Specifically asking for more athleticism, longer matches, better character development, better storylines, specifically demanding those things. And my father, the chairman and CEO, responded, we hear you keep watching hashtag Give Divas a Chance.

Then that WrestleMania, which is like our Super Bowl, which was our biggest live audience ever over 101,000 people at AT&T Stadium, we had Hall of Famer Lita go out and announce the rebranding of the Divas Division to the Women's Division. She unveiled a new championship belt, which was more akin to the men's, but still feminine. And announced that we'd be rebranding our women.

We're now going to be called superstars, same as the men. Wow. And since that time, our women have been more regularly main eventing television and pay-per-view events. And this is an awesome story. Just this past. Well, and then, of course, we signed Ronda Rousey, one of the world's greatest athletes. I mean, because of all of this, right?

And she then now wants to take it to another level. That's so good. It is. It's awesome. And I can't wait to see what we're going to do together Together. You know, but when I say together, I mean with the audience. I know it's because they are so much a part of making that happen. They are just as invested in the women's evolution if not more so than anybody else. It's something they believe in. And our women are, they are rising to the top. They're just being given an opportunity, but they're then taking that opportunity and a lot of the time stealing the show.

My husband also, it was a lot of what he started to do at NXT, which NXT, for those of you who don't know, started off as our developmental show and is now really evolved into a third global touring brand in and of itself. And is one of the most watched programs on WWE Network which is our OTT service. But my husband started recruiting elite athletes, men and women. And he started training the women same as the men and giving them the same opportunities because like anything else, repetitions are how you're gonna get better, right? So at our live events that we do our local live events which is where our talent often non-televised, where

our talent often learn, you know, the skills. That's where they hone the craft, the live audience gives reaction, that's how you learn what's working, what's not working, and worse, what they don't care about. Yeah, the silence, cricket, I hate those cricket. But so he started giving them those opportunities. And then our audience responded in kind, because these women were so awesome. And they started chanting, this is wrestling. And women's wrestling. What a cool movement.

Right? And I get goosebumps talking about it. So then when that, so here's this huge movement happening in NXT. So then when that 32nd match happened on RAW, our fans were like, no, we see what can happen and we want that. We want that opportunity for these women, men and women. And they started that hashtag.

So now my story, in December, for the first time ever, our women competed in Abu Dhabi. We're allowed to compete in Abu Dhabi. I saw that, okay. And they had to wear different gear because they'd cover a lot of their skin. And that's totally fine, actually, their gear was so cool. And the audience started a chant. This is hope.

Oh my goodness. This is hope. Men and women in Abu Dhabi. Wow. And then Sasha Banks, who was wrestling Alexa Bliss at that time, said she saw tears in the eyes of little girls in the audience. I mean, can you imagine that? No, that's transformative. It's transformative. It really is. Oh my gosh. The kind of impact that that can happen. I did not know that. I knew that the event happened, but I didn't know that to I did not know that. I knew that the event happened, but I didn't

know that to that extent that it changed things. My gosh, like, what's it like for you? I mean, this is having a real impact on culture, right? I mean, and by the way, great companies listen to what the market's telling them. And so great companies listen to their fans, their fans, right? When they're consumers or what have you. And most don't. And so kudos to you guys for responding to. And then to know that it's making that kind of transformation worldwide. That's just incredible. Those you ladies out there that whether you're Stephanie or you're Ronda Rousey or you're the divas or you're a woman who's got a bakery in your town, just know that you really do make a difference.

You are transformed. If you're more of a hero and a role model than you realize. And you realize. For the girls who come in there and see you. They see people like them winning and they know that they can then go do it. And so. I'll tell you one other quick, Shy Bar on that. Yeah.

Because when my oldest daughter was two, so this is nine years ago. OK. I went to the two this is nine years ago. Okay. I went to the two's class party, right? Yeah. And it was right around the time we were getting ready for Halloween. And one of the other moms who was about 10 years older, she asked, you know, oh, well, what's your daughter going to be?

And I said, oh, she's going to be a doctor. And this other mom said, oh, how interesting that she's going to be a doctor. And this other mom said, oh, how interesting that she's going to be a doctor and not a nurse. And I thought, oh, how interesting that you would even say that. Right? I was surprised to get to meet. But then I thought about it.

And my oldest daughter's doctors had always been women. You're old. That's interesting, isn't it? So that was her perspective. And that's exactly the point. Yeah, it is. It is so important for women to be in these roles. Yeah, it is.

And for girls to see that. And for you ladies that watch this too, to know like, that metaphor applies to you. Like, you do really give hope. You do. I mean, that's a big scale when you're hearing about them abroad and that the, you know, the women are still wearing their different, you know, traditional guard, but to be able to create hope like that. But you do that in your way.

You business one. When you get up and speak or you walk into a business meeting, it's transformed the globe the last few years. And so I hope you're proud of that and I hope you hold on to that. Even in the times where maybe the money's not coming in like you'd like it to and people are telling you to go back where you belong, go back and get a job or go back to just doing what you're doing before. I want to encourage you to remember, you're giving more people hope than you realize. Just your effort gives people hope. And so, for you, I'm curious what it's like.

Here it comes. Well, you play a character that's like totally believable to me. So that's a little bit, it's like, it's like really weird about that. I get to be in my job, but. I'm like, man, I love her. She's like a great mom.

I'm a believable business woman, but I'm like, I've seeing this other person on TV forever, right? So what's it like for you to be like this great mom business woman, even though you won't accept any of the praise? I'd like to believe I'm a great mom. I, from everyone else says you are, and I know you wouldn't say it about yourself.

We weren't talking about how you balance that in a second, too, by the way, but what's it like playing a character that's kind of like a villain all the time? What is it like? Yeah, well, it is. See, it's a villain, right? I mean, our audience wanted me to be a villain from day one. Thank you.

They did not like the super sweet vanilla little daddy's girl. It never worked. Is it weird for you to do that or not here? No, so much fun. I love being the heel. I love it. I love interacting with our audience and them getting me and me getting them. I mean, that's what it's all about. You know, and you know, to me, it's way more interesting and fun to be that energy.

I'm just curious because I don't get to ever do that. Is your energy change like when you're done? Are you still like kind of that person for an hour after all? No, no, no. You're like you just done. No, I can go in and out. Yeah. Well, I've been doing it for a long time. Yeah, really a long time. But basically you know unfortunately there's a lot of stereotypes in this world right. I just play in to the stereotype. That's all I do. Right. Right and and have fun. Yes. I mean and that's when I think we're at our best in our business. So we're having fun because our audience can feel it when you

talk about the energy. Yes. There is no greater energy on earth than interacting with a live crowd of hundreds of thousands of people like it is. It's just got to be a rush. It is amazing. Amazing. People ask me how to I love I love doing the podcast. But it's not the same as when I get to speak in front of 30 or 4,000 people because that you feel it. You want to think about your characters. I want to say everybody to about WWE that they do sometimes, and this is a positive thing that you wouldn't notice about the company that I like.

You do play in stereo types. And sometimes when those stereo types are magnified like that, it actually takes away its power and society to be validated. A little bit. What also because this is one of the things I do love about playing the bad guy too. Ultimately, I will always get beat.

Right, you do. Right. So, speak on that. You just did this match. You just did this thing with your husband. Yes. And so your tag team deal with your husband and Rhonda. And there was like a message attached to that.

It's a triangle. Yeah. Like a curve. And there was a message attached to that whole kind of story behind that too. Can you tell them about that? Yes, so gosh, the whole story. So, first and foremost, it was such an honor and a privilege to be a part of. My husband is arguably one of the greatest of all time. He's triple H, right?

And to actually team with him in such a high profile match, I mean, there's WrestleMania. It's the first time I ever competed at WrestleMania. I didn't know that. Yep, and WrestleMania is the event my father created and mortgaged everything he owned and my mom owned to make it happen, WrestleMania one. Was that a turning point in the company, by the way?

Absolutely, and it was available on closed circuit television which ultimately pioneered the whole paper view industry. Wow. Yep. Was that a tree point in the company, by the way? Absolutely. And it was available on closed circuit television, which ultimately pioneered the whole paper view industry. Wow. Yep. Yep. And then we were one of the first to launch our OTT Director Consumer Platform behind Netflix and Hulu.

So really, my father really is visionary. And in terms of entrepreneurship, his message is always to take risks, but to calculate risks. Yeah, if you paid attention, WWE, the McMahons, is one of the great American business stories of the last two or three decades in our country is this family's business. As an absolute fact, it's one of the great American business

stories, but then the daughter comes along and did modernize and evolve the company as well, even though you won't take the credit for it. So I'm just gonna say it, she won't respond to it. That's an absolute freaking fact. Even the platform you're watching this on right now, they're embracing by being here today. So I take direction well, okay? And you know, my father really saw social media because he, back in his day, when he first started promoting, actually, my grandfather never wanted my dad to be in the business. And when you talk about growing, right, my dad grew up in a trailer park.

And he didn't meet my grandfather until he was about 13. But to go from a trailer where they didn't have any running water, my dad said the outhouse, he doesn't know if it was worse in the summer or the winter. So you let your imagination go wild on that one. Oh my God. But then to become who he is, you know, and what he builds. It's one of the great events. With passion and believing in yourself and surrounding yourself with great people and not being afraid to take calculated risks and staying true to who you are, all of those elements, right?

And building that culture. But he, so my grandfather didn't want him to ever be a part of the business. And then finally one day he said, you know what I tell you what, if you can promote Bangor main and make that a success, then I'll let you in the door. So my dad took over Bangor main and he made it a success, right? But so that local promotion, that grassroots promotion, that social media is, it's direct to consumer

and he saw that before anybody else. And at that time, I was running digital and I had gone out to a conference and I had listened to someone a conference, and I had listened to someone, I wish I could remember who it was, but he said, you know, social media, the speaker, he said, social media, is not 100% of one person's job. It's 1% of everybody's job. So I brought that to my dad, and he goes, no, he said it's 100% of 100%.

And then he issued throughout the company, every single department had to every week give a report to Vince specifically to the chairman and CEO about what they did on social media to promote their line of business. And it was met with great resistance because people didn't know the platform or they didn't want it to a report and who wants to do a report, you feel like you're in school, but the chairman asked for it so we're all going to do it. And thank God we did. You know?

Well, I relate to that in my own company. So your dad did have the vision. He did. And then you continue to take it to them. So this is going to give you some credit. Well, I appreciate it. But yeah, I take it to the next level. But I, by the way, it's, it's, it's such an inspiring story to me. And then the, the company's done with all of it's good. We're going to get into it in a second, but I'm not letting you get out of here. Okay, great. So now here's the Ronda story. So, you know, we've had our eye on Ronda forever. And Ronda is a huge WWE fan. And it goes back to also, well, she's been a fan of her life, but

WrestleMania 31, when we were at Levi's stadium. And my character goes out with my husband, Triple H, and we're of course, gloating and taking credit for all of the success of WWE. When surprise, surprise, the rock's music hits. And he comes down to the ring and we kind of get into it. He and my husband have a little tiff for tat and then I get into it and I slap rock as hard as I possibly can. It's actually the hardest I've ever slapped anybody.

My adrenaline just must have been through the roof. I didn't mean to slap it so hard, but it was a good one. And then he turned and he looked at me and I said, what are you going to do, Rock? You're not going to hit a woman. And I said, go ahead, go ahead and DJ, get to step in. You know, like, so evil. You go right into this person to get by the way.

He's just chasing front of me. It's just fun. But it's so evil, right? And then what does he do? He goes, well, you know what, Steph, you're right. I would never hit a woman. But I know somebody who would. And then he gets out of the ring and who's sitting front row. But ronda roud. That's bad ass right there. And the whole crowd 76,000 people start

chanting, Ronda's gonna kill. That was the chance. Like she's getting into the ring and it was it played out perfectly wound out with her like hip tossing my husband and then putting me in the arm bar but I got I get away and they have their great moment right. So now we're really actively watching Ronda. And we had been for a long time anyway but you know could could it ever work would it ever work we were we you know we would each have conversations she wanted to you know but how how's it going to fit in with her fighting and her movie career and all that great stuff.

And then finally, for whatever reason, the star is aligned, the opportunity was there. And my husband was really the one who made it happen. And Rhonda signs with WWE. It was so incredible, and now take a step back, right? Out of storyline, here's Ronda Rousey, you know, a woman who has built her own empire, I mean, you talk about empowerment. Yeah. Just by being who she is, by the way,

she does, there's nothing false about her. She is who she is. She speaks her mind. She stays true to herself. You know, she's a shining example for girls everywhere, for boys, for everyone. She really is. And she's signing with WWE. She's taking a transition into a world she's never been a part of. And she is going to have her first ever match ever at WrestleMania. Our biggest platform are super bowl.

Can you imagine the pressure? Yeah, no, no. Look what she, but she thrives on it though. She thrives on pressure. You know, she's, I think she's at her best when she's under pressure. And she just trained and trained and trained and trained and so did I because. I mean, like, okay, I'm, you know, 41 year old mom. Like work out all the time but come on you do work I'm not the same league as Ronda Rousey maybe the grace female athlete the last

decade one of her in serena and a couple absolutely absolutely hands down so I have to at least get in good enough shape to give her a good show you know what I mean like I didn't you know and I was there I was I was there pressure on you girl pressure on me yeah because. Thank you. Thank you. I mean, yeah, because that was the story, right? And that's where going back to the villain, ultimately, I helped kick off her WWE career. Do you guys call that heat?

So what does Colby call that? Yeah, it's when you're a bad guy. Yeah, it's okay, okay. Yeah, I got a lot of heat. That's fascinating. You've been a person so many cool things. Like, what a life. I'm really blessed. You's fascinating. Yeah, you've been a person so many cool things like what a life I've really I'm really blessed you are blessed. I am so grateful for my life in in so many ways talk about your life for a second

So you because everyone's watching this that they know about you, but there's this now. There's the you That's the character and there's the you so I'm curious because people watch this navigate life too So you are a mom I am You have three young daughters, right? And you're your business woman. And you're a character on the show. How do you do have strategies you use to navigate all of this stuff? Plus you, we're in California now,

but I know you're back east too. So there's a state. You would I call it big life, right? It's a big life. So how do you navigate all of that? You know, it's challenging, right? But I think it is for anybody. I think it is for women who stay at home,

or dads that stay at home. When you couple that with traveling and that kind of thing, maybe that's what makes it different. But life is hard for everybody, right? And different aspects. And I think the best strategy really is to prioritize, right? Because my mom taught me a long time ago that pendulum is never going to be in the middle. I agree with that.

It's always swinging. Yes. So it's not a balance as you would think. It is a balance in essence, but it's always shifting. It's never balanced. It's never balanced. It's never even. And I just do everything I can.

Me and my husband both do to maximize our time with our kids, to prioritize each other as well. We went on a date the other night and unfortunately it's like the first date night we've had in four months since before the holidays. Special life in two and three months. Yeah, but which we need to do better job of that. But, you know, being there for our kids, putting them down at night, taking them to school in the morning, taking them to school is one of my favorite things to do. The only thing that tops it is picking them up from school. Seriously. Yeah, and sometimes I'll leave work just to go pick them up. Just for that experience. Just for that. And they love it. You're kind of a badass though, like you're downplaying you. Like I'm watching your social media, you're working at like midnight. That's the only time we have to train. People often ask like,

is there some type of biological, you know, like no, there's no advantage. I don't recommend it. Yeah, but sleep is important. But that's crazy. Like I, you're so humble. It's striking because it's totally different than your character, right? But like, like, guys, you're so humble. It's striking because it's totally different than your character, right? But like, guys, just so you know, this woman is crazy. Just, I mean, we're talking about this. Crazy alone.

We're talking about, we're talking about, I mean, a totally devoted mother. You can hear how much she talks about her husband. So you're getting a sense of the relationship there. This massive enterprise of WWE and then fitness, right? Because she's a character on the show too. And I'm telling you, if you go to her Instagram, you're going to see midnight workouts. And so- But even if I was a character, I'd train at midnight.

Why? Because it's a part of what makes me me, I feel good about myself. When I train, I think that the more in shape you are, the more you can do. So do I. And just in general, I think it clears your mind. Training is my church, you know. And I think also this is just, I don't know, I think human nature. I think it is important to accomplish goals, right? I think you feel good about yourself.

It builds confidence when you set goals and you can achieve them. And even though it's a, you know, it's a set, it's a rep, it's whatever it is, whatever that goal is that night, no matter how simple it might be, I'm killing my goals. Yes. You know what I mean? And pushing myself past where I think I can go. And I love that. It's training is as much a mental challenge as it is a physical one. Totally. You know, and I love that feeling. I love this interview. I'm serious because it's hot under this light. It is. I know. I'm going to use one a little bit more. But like there's all the make up on site. There's all of these points though guys in one interview we've covered you know this great American business row we've covered branding we've covered marketing we've covered there's

really no balance but you seek balance and then we've talked about fitness and the storylines and the respect for culture. There's a lot here today, right? For you all to be taking notes and hear this a couple more times. There's this other element of you that I love because it's a big part of my life too, which is that it's probably the part of my life. Other than my family is the fact that like I want to pay forward all these blessings that have come. I have a blessed life too. Totally different life than yours I have a blessed life too. Totally different life than yours but a blessed life. And so, you know, Stephanie's had all kinds of different

awards for film, throttpick stuff that you won't get her to talk about, but like there's the Stewart Scott award, the humanitarian awards, all these different things, and there's all the work you've done. But this thing that you've done with Conner's Curr and there's the little boy everybody, and I want to make sure I say Conner's name right, because I knew about this before I met you. I remember this, but Conner Mahalek. Mahalek, yeah. And Conner was a little boy suffering

from a very unique type of tumor, but he ended up passing away from brain cancer. Prior to that time, his fan, his hero was Brian. Daniel Bryan. Daniel Bryan, I'm thinking, I know Brian the other way, right? But Daniel Bryan, the character of Daniel Bryan, and it became something that just got into the hearts of WWE universe, not just you and your husband, but you and your husband then did something about it. And so can you talk about that little

boy and how precious that causes to you. Yes, so I met Connor backstage after the Royal Rumble, which is one of our big pay-per-views in Pittsburgh, and one of our referees, Justin Roberts, introduced him to me. And I saw him, and I could tell he was sick from his physical appearance, because he had to scar the back of his head, he was bald, his physical appearance because he had to scar the back of his head. He was bald, he had a big lump up here.

But he was talking to Batista when I walked over and I met him. And Justin said, Connor, I'd like to introduce you to my friend, Stephanie McMahon. And he looked up at me. And he started telling me about the shirt he was wearing, which was shame is this shirt. Shame is who's like six, five, 300 pounds

had come back from the ring and given Connor his shirt. So the shirt was dragging on the floor. And he starts to tell me very excited that this was his shame is shirt. And underneath that shirt, he had his Skylander shirt on. And underneath that shirt, he was wearing Daniel Bryan's t-shirt

and how proud he was. And I thought, oh my goodness, you're the cutest little thing I've ever seen. He was so vivacious and he is the same age as my oldest daughter and I just fell in love with him. And I asked him for a hug. And he said, oh no, I can't do that. And I said, oh, why? And he said, well, because I give choke out hugs. And I don't want to choke you out. And that was like, try me buddy. And he came over and gave me the most wonderful hug. And then, as I was standing up, his dad leaned down.

And I can't help but cry every time, because I just remember it so vividly. And he said, we'd like to come back when you guys are in Pittsburgh in June, but Connor's probably not gonna make it till then. And I couldn't believe he was that sick, just because of his life force. I mean, he looked sick, but he didn't act sick. And then I started just watching him,

he's shadow-waxing, and he's just, he's having a great time. And I went to say goodbye, and I gave him a kiss on the cheek, and it startled him a little bit, and I'll never forget how soft his little cheek was. And then he looked at me, and we said goodbye,

and he started to walk away, and then he looked back at me. And I swear, this is gonna sound great, but I swear our souls touched in that moment. That's okay. And I just feel like it all happened for a reason. And that night we were on our bus, my husband and I, and I just, I couldn't sleep because I was thinking,

like, what can we do for this little boy? And there are a lot of kids like Connor. But, like, what can we do for this little boy? And there are a lot of kids like Connor. But what can we do for him? How can we help him? How can we help him hang on? And we came up with the idea to invite him to WrestleMania. So we did. And we did that all through Justin.

And the doctors had said, I didn't know any of this. The doctors had said, I didn't know any of this. The doctor said, it's like, Connor would never make it. He would never make the trip from Pittsburgh to New Orleans. And if he did, it would really be hard on him that he wouldn't be himself. They said, they really recommended against it. So we brought him to this event in Washington, D.C.

ahead of that, ahead of WrestleMania. And he wasn't doing very well. And at that time, he made, for me, and a few other people, these necklaces that took him eight hours to make. They were very similar to these bracelets. They had round beads, and they had square beads, and they all had different messages. He did all of that because of his surgeries, his small motor coordination was off, but he did that.

And he came in and we gave him a full entrance. He came out with Daniel Bryan, to Daniel Bryan's music. He came down the ramp, this is during the day. All of the superstars were surrounding him. My husband was in the ring. He jumps off headsets, my husband gets into the, and he says, come on Connor hit me. Hit me here, and Connor's like, I'm not going to hit you. I'm not going to do that.

And he goes, come on. Connor haules off and gives him a little punch. My husband goes down. And a referee who was standing on the side, Mike Hilda, dives in the ring, and he counts one, two, three. And everybody cheers, and they go nuts. And Connor said to my husband, you gotcha.

Isn't that so cute? So fast forward to WrestleMania, he made it. And not only did he make it, his dad told me he was able to feed himself. He was, he was himself again. And this little boy had had cancer since he was four. And Steve said, that's Conor's dad. He said it was like I had my little boy back.

And after Daniel Bryan won the championship, that night, Daniel Bryan was the whole story of WrestleMania that year. And he had overcome the authority after like, the storyline after six months of oppression, and ultimately he defeated Triple H ironically, and then went on in a triple threat match against Batista Randy Orton to win the WWE World Heavyweight Championship,

and he got out of the ring. And the first person he went over to was Connor. And he said, you help me win this. You keep fighting. and he went over to his Connor and he said, you help me when this. You keep fighting. And Connor died in his dad's arms a couple weeks after that. And again, I was struck with, what can we do? How can we help?

And that's when we decided to start Connor's cure. And it started off as a fund with Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh because that's when we decided to start Conner's Cure. And it started off as a fund with Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh because that's where Conner was treated. And just it's how you a lighthearted story about Conner. His favorite nurse's name was Stacey. And when she would come in to give him his chemo, he would boo her. It looked great. This little kid just booing her. It just called everything out for what it was, right? Made her laugh, made him laugh.

Like it just, it sucked, right? There was no getting around it and he just called it out for what it was. But, so that's how we started Conner's cure. And then to your point, because he was a WWE fan, because there was just something so special about him, I truly do believe he came to WWE for a reason

that we could help. And we've now partnered with V Foundation and we've raised over $2 million. We've helped over 200 families with things like parking vouchers, food vouchers, things you don't anticipate you're going to need, you know, because children should not get cancer. They should not be sick with cancer. And anyway, that's my story. That's Connor's story. Thank you for being here to tell everybody about Connor's crusher.

I'll talk about Connor, the crusher all day long. I love that little boy. And so do so many people. And hopefully we'll be able to make a difference. And I'm actually, this is a very premature kind of thing, but I'm a Henry Crown Fellow with the Aspen Institute. I'm right in the middle of my seminars. And part of what you have to do when you're a Henry Crown Fellow

is start a venture. And my venture is around pediatric cancer and it's bringing together, I want to disrupt what's happening. I want to get people out of their silos and get people thinking differently because only 4% of dollars allocated by the government for cancer goes to pediatrics. 4% right? 4%. It's horrible. There have only been 10 drugs in the past 40

years that have been approved and developed for kids with cancer they are given adult doses they are given the same and because of that it's just over 90 percent of kids who do survive cancer in 30 years will develop some other type of disease because of the treatments that they're given. And everyone's trying, right? Everyone's working on it, but what can we do differently? How can we incentivize pharma to look at their models, to create these drugs that these

kids need? How can we leverage biotech? How can we look at all of these different things? And by the way, if you solve cancer for kids, that applies to the entire population. We look at it backwards because more of the adult population is affected than kids. So that's where the dollars go.

It shouldn't go there. It should go to kids who have their whole lives in front of them. So there's nothing formal to announce yet, but we're in our initial stages. And I have my first meeting, bringing together experts in all of these different fields at the end of June. So thank you. Thank you.

And more to come on that. Good. God bless you and Paul. I might tag you in just to be helping so many. I want to tell you that. So I want to say that. And I want to say that to everybody watching too. I you and Paul. I might tag you in, you know, just to be helping so many. I want to tell you that. So I want to say that. And I want to say it to everybody watching too. I want to know how I can help you.

And so please ask me. I will. I will. And our audience too as well. And UWE fans that are watching this as well. I know you're aware of Connor's story. And you're such a beautiful young man. The thing that you'll see in Connor when you go to the site too.

Is this the passion this little boy had that you brought to life here. For life. Yeah, it was. We had a passion for life. So, I want to just tell you, I think it's so wonderful that you're honoring his life by doing this. So what we're trying to do. And you know.

And so, by the way, is there a place they can go to get more information on Conor. Yeah, sure. I mean, it's ConorTheCrusher.org. You could go to V Foundation. You could just Google ConorTheCrusher. Such a wonderful story. Oh, and, yeah, and the bracelets.

Thank you, Kristen. Yeah. Such a wonderful story. Oh, and the bracelets, thank you, Kristen. Yeah, such a wonderful sword. All of the proceeds of bracelets, these bracelets that are purchased, go directly to Conor's cure. And the thing that I love about V Foundation is every single dollar goes to research. Yeah. That they have a separate endowment fund. So all of the money that you give goes directly to research.

It doesn't go to salaries or overhead or any of that kind of stuff. We call that a pure foundation, everybody. The money goes purely to the cause. And so it's not very common and special. So that is an important thing that we're pointing out here. Thank you so much for doing that. And I do want to help you anyway that I can. So this has been, we're all, we're, you know, I'm speechless to some extent because of just the breadth of what we covered.

But let me just say, right? So WWE does do a lot of philanthropic work. I know, go ahead. But the reason is because that's just, I think it's a privilege. We reach so many people. We're in 180 countries and 25 different languages. Across all different platforms, you're nearly a billion social media followers. We have this huge universe, right, this huge audience, and I think it is so important to do everything you can to give back.

And I just think it, I think it's what life is really all about. I really do. It's like you with this podcast, right? It's about helping other people. There's no, you know, financial incentive to you? It's about helping other people. There's no, you know, financial incentive to you. It's about helping other people, helping your audience and giving them tools, you know, to be successful. I think that that's what life is all about. We're here to help each other. And WWE's mission is to put smiles on faces.

Simple. You know, whether we do that through our entertainment or we do it by giving back. And you think about, you know, Connor and, you know, I said, that through our entertainment or we do it by giving back. And you think about Connor and I said many times, even if for those few hours, he forgot that he was sick and forgot about his treatment or what he was going through. And his dad told me stuff, it lasts a lot longer than that. That's so special.

But what a privilege it is to be a part of a company that can do that. It is a privilege. And in small and big ways, you guys do that all the time. There are people that just come home from work and they've just not happy in their life. Right. And it's an escape for an hour or two for them.

And I just think it's wonderful. I knew a lot about you because we do have some mutual friends and I read about you, but meeting you is so much more impressive and inspiring too. So I had a lot of people knew you were coming on and we're running out of time too. We are. It's flew by. You said you were hot, so I'm giving you a break. I'm just kidding.

I'm kidding. But a lot of the ladies knew you were coming on and there was some excitement about you coming on, the program. And you, I on the program and you I'm a man and you're inspiring me so I don't think this is gender specific by any means however whether you admit it or not you are one of the more prominent female business women in the country and the reach of what your business and brand does reaches millions of people as you said around the world and has reached billions of people in this

totality if you added up the collective reach and so you got three little girls. I do. You're a girl. We've talked about your mom. We've talked about your grandmother and there's just women watching this young women that are watching this. They've got dreams and hopes and ambitions and I'm wondering if you were speaking right to them. What would you tell them about? They got a dream in their heart. They want a chase too. These ladies that are out there. And men, you're allowed to listen in on this, because all of us go apply to you too. But to these young women out there, what would you say to them? If they got a minute with Stephanie McMahon, they said, I have this dream,

whatever it is, I want to be an actress, I want to start my own business, my dreams to be a mom of three little girls, whatever that dream is, what would you say to those ladies that are listening to you now? So I'd say turn your dream into a goal and first and foremost because goals you can achieve, it's just the way you think about it, the way you formulate it. If you turn it into a goal, then you can develop your plan and your strategy to get there, to achieve it. You have a goal, make it happen. Right?

How are you going to make it happen? I would also say to them to believe in yourself. Confidence is, I think I've heard this quote, that confidence is like 90% of the journey. If you have the confidence to get there, and then the skills on top of that. But confidence is huge. Also, passion is so important.

You know, do what you love. Believe in it with everything you are and make it happen. You know, because if you don't, it might not happen. You know, you've got to bring your whole self and then some. You know, I think that those are really, you know, those are really the building blocks and believe in yourself. Know that you belong.

You belong anywhere you want to be. You belong in the room. I don't care who it is. I was in, you know, I've been trying to build the WWE brand, not that it hasn't been built on its own, but that's my job, right? And I was at the milk and conference a year ago. And I had the opportunity to be a part of a private conversation with many different commissioners of the sports leagues.

Now this was a male-dominated room. I mean, it was all guys, except for some of their wives, right, who were sitting on the sideline. And originally, when I came in, I was seated at a table with some of the wives who were wonderful, but we were having this conversation, I said excuse me. I'm going to go to that table. So I went to the bigger table, and you know what, it's my job to have a seat at that table.

It's my job to speak up, and that's exactly what I did. So when the time was right, and it made sense, I didn't speak just to speak, I had the opportunity to say, so I'm sorry to interject, we were talking about fan engagement, which is what I believe WWE does best. And something I believe very much in.

And I said, so guys, I just want to say, in terms of WWE, I'm chief brand officer, we have the number one sports channel on YouTube, we're the second most viewed YouTube channel in the world. We're in 180 countries. So I rattled off all our stats, and I said, and I'm not giving you these statistics to be competitive.

I'm telling you them so you know why I belong in the room and why what I say is going to matter. And then I explained what it was. And it was really interesting, and I won't get into the sidebar conversations I had after. Some appreciated my comments, some did not. It was this woman from the WWE. conversations I had after some appreciated my comments some did not who is there's woman from the WWE you know but there were a lot of really very positive things that came

out of that that are still coming out of that so the point is have a seat at the table you know you have to do it stand up for for yourself. Say what you believe. Say what you feel. Have a voice. It's so important to have a voice. You guys getting this? Are you kidding me? You should see my camera guys. But the reason it's real, I love congruency.

So someone says something that they are and that they embody and that they do. So I look at you and you're talking about not just have a dream, have a plan. Clearly, you're constantly executing plans, right? And this confidence thing, earlier in the interview, I just want to add to something, you said, one of the things that I get out of my fitness is,

essentially what you said was, I'm building myself up. I'm keeping a promise I make to myself. I really believe self-confidence is built through keeping the promises you make to yourself. That's how you build it, right? And then you're talking about the fact of having that passion, giving all of you to something, it is obvious to me that you don't like WWE, you love and live it, right? It's like it's part of who you are

literally. So there's this passion level that it actually is infectious, already a fan, but like I like love the company more. Like I have an appreciation for the nuance of the company more now, the ancillary things about it. And then, like, you clearly belong at the table. The question is whether or not I belong at the table today. Oh, come on. No, but seriously, it's, it's, I just, I want everyone to have heard that. It's one of these parts of the interview is everybody where if you're driving, you go, I'm going to note,

I'm going to come back and play that part again. Everything that you just said right there was so spot on. And so, a couple of things about you, I'm just curious about myself. Okay. Because like you're this like driven successful scene to have it all together, do you get down? Oh yeah. And like, would you be willing to share with me a moment where you were down specifically? Oh, so it happens all the time, actually. Can you give us one and how do you turn it around when you do get there? Sometimes I don't know. I actually am not sure if I don't have a mild form of depression sometimes.

Though I can't say that I have symptoms to the level of that I've read about that I've seen people so I wouldn't classify myself like that but I potentially could. Sometimes I get really down and I really struggle and I don't feel like doing anything and I want to be a recluse and I want to climb into like one little corner of my room. But I don't let myself do it. This is why I say I don't think I'm clinical, you know, because I am able to kick out of it myself. But it takes time sometimes. And, you know, and I keep it inside. I don't talk about it and that also is not good. And I keep it inside. I don't talk about it. And that also is not good.

Because then it can feed and fester and on itself. And I find when I do finally tell my husband, he can't relate to what I'm feeling, but he gives me great advice. And he helps pick me up. But it still is something I have to write out. And I can't explain it. I've never gotten help before and maybe I should.

But I think that nobody is ever black or white. We are all conundrums of all different things and I can be so positive and so confident on one hand and not on the other. And I just think that that's a part of human nature too. Thank you for sharing that. I've never publicly spoken about that. I don't think. Thank you for sharing that. Can I say something to you? Yeah. Just be interesting for you to own me too. Yeah. And it's interesting when people look at someone like you and I

their lives, I'm also guilty when I have this time. Yeah, me too. So who am I to feel this way? Right? You know, I think my gosh, and I think, boy, what if life wasn't as good? Where would I really, is it? It's not the conditions of your life that typically create these mental states, but I just want you to know I really value you saying that and really can people relate to that.

And I just want you to know that I can't. I have it too. And how do you come out of it? I write it out sometimes for me. One of the things I do, I'm glad, yeah, it's one of the things I do. I have wondered in my clinical sometimes. I have friends that I think that are, I see, it's almost like compared to what, you know, maybe that's not even healthy. You think, well, even alcoholics says, well, I go to work every day,

so I'm not one. That doesn't mean you're not a no. Because you and I eventually pull out of it, I do have two things that work for me pretty well. One is I, and it sounds cheesy, but I actually do force myself to go through a gratitude exercise. It sounds corny I, and it sounds cheesy, but I actually do force myself to go through a gratitude exercise. It sounds corny. Sometimes it doesn't work, but often it does. I just literally begin to flood in my brain and my mind, the pictures of the people and things that I'm grateful for, and the people who love me and then I love back. And I do do it. I actually, what I do now is I inoculate it from coming, just to give you one tip. So every morning, I have this on I inoculate it from coming, just to give you one tip.

So every morning, I have this on my podcast and it's not to make you all watch it, it's just to tell you, I actually do it every morning. I do through a gratitude exercise and I do it at night and it kind of wards it off more often than before because I don't know that I know how to get out of it when I'm in it until I ride it out. So I try to do things that keep it away for me as much as possible. So two things on that. One is I have some very good friends

who are studying mental mapping and neurology. And they're, no, I'm not a scientist. I don't even know enough to be dangerous, but I do know that you reinforce the mapping of your brain with whatever you do, right? So that gratitude exercise is reinforcing and actually sometimes remapping your brain to be more positive.

That's correct. It actually makes you more aware. There's a part of the front of your brain. Oh, see, I don't even know the details. There's a party, a brain called the reticular activating system. We won't get corny here today, but this is just from the beginning.

It's from me and you. What it is, it's a filter. And so what it does is it filters out all the things that aren't important to you so that you're sane. So you don't feel the blood in your left ear, whatever. It's a survival mechanism built into humans. So the reticular activating system, RAS, I'll give you some info on it.

I'm actually writing about it right now. But what it does is if you're cognizant of things, it will filter those things in. So that's why when you bought a new car, all of a sudden you see that car all over the road. It was always there, prior you filtered it out because it wasn't important to you. So if in the morning you do do things

where you get in a state of focusing on what you're grateful for, the RAS flips on and throughout the day it's identifying and noticing things. It changes the life filter. It changes your life filter literally. I usually do it at night. And you do it at evening. And I do them both now because it could get so severe with that.

But to what you just laid out, the importance of doing it in evening, and I do them both now because it could get so severe with that. But to what you just laid out, the importance of doing it in the morning, I'm just not, I can't function very well. Right, my daughter wakes me up and I'm like, you gotta take the five minutes at some point though because it opens your awareness and so does the same thing. But you know what, it does actually happen inadvertently

because I drive them to school. Okay. And I'm so grateful in those moments, driving them to school, just the things that they say or watching them, you know, Murphy, my, my nine year old now, she was looking at the window one day, and it was a really drab Northeast like winter day. And it was gray, and there were no leaves on the trees, and it was raining, you know, that cold rain that kind of gets in your bones. And she was just looking out the window.

And I said, Merff, you know, what are you looking at? And she said, mama, isn't it just a beautiful day? And I was like, yes, it is beautiful day, baby. Life is all perspective, right? It's all perspective. And that I was so grateful. All perspective. Yeah. And that I was so grateful for that moment. Yeah. And every day I've dropped them off,

I bring my littleist into school because I still can because she's at the lower school. I've got one more year, I'm able to do it. Nice that out. And that's, we have a little, we call it the kiss shake, that she invented. Mm-hmm. She kisses my nose, and I kiss her nose,

and we go through this whole series, right? But so in a way. Yes. And then I actually, when I walk out of, I'm like, we go through this whole series, right? But so in a way, and then I actually, when I walk out of that school, I breathe so deep. And I am just so grateful. Yeah. So I'm not doing it intentionally, but I'm doing it. Yeah, and I bet you those are the days

if we tracked it when you get the gift of doing that, those are the days where it stays away. Yeah. So maybe you can give yourself that. And then the other one and you do it, is the other way that you move your body. You change your physical state. Because depression is actually, and just down this is a thing you do.

It's a move. It's your breathing. It's how you, so when you change your physicality, it's very hard to be depressed when you're breathing deep. Because that's deep breathing and chest back is laughter. It's ecstasy. It's orgasm. It's all those things.

Literally, it's hard to get depressed in those moments. So if you can create a state, it's true that you get in that state in your body when you're training and working out, it's hard to be depressed. I have never been depressed in that moment. That's a second. Absolutely. So if you get kind of math, that's that state in your body. I'm just telling you. So, but it's interesting because I'm going to say something to you like, well, the reason I love you is that I have people share this with me off camera in so many interviews. And so I just want to give someone hope on this. I'm gonna tell you guys a secret.

The majority, not the large majority, but the majority of the guests you've seen on my program have shared that with me off camera. Really? Yes, because they like my help on it, because I do life strategy stuff. And so I'm gonna tell you that it's not all of them, but I'm struck by how many people that are mega successful still struggle with this. You're the first person, second person actually, to be willing to share it on camera. So thank you for doing that,

because it really reaches people, because a lot of people come to the show today in that condition, and they struggle with it too. And so just know we do too and we still have happy functional lives and we're trying to figure it out just like you are. So thank you. I just believe in people.

Me too. I do. I really believe in people. So thank you for doing this podcast, not because of me, but thank you for doing this podcast to help people. Thank you so much. You know, because I think we need more of that.

So do I. And you're doing that obviously and everything you do. This is like this is really taking my breath away today just so you know so thank you. I want everyone to be able to get more of WWE and more of you and so is there any platform out there that we want them to go look at specifically to find the companies or one or many that we want to make sure they know about. Yeah, but I don't want to make it promotion. You can 100% do that. They want to know. By this point, everything you've shared, and how honest you've been, and how transparent you've been,

you've opened your soul up to them, and so they want to engage, I promise you, I know them, they want to engage more with you. They want to be able to find you, so please tell them where to find you. Okay, so well, you know, our flagship programming is three hours of on Monday night from 8 to 11 on USA Network and then 8 to 10 p.m. is SmackDown Live and that's also on USA Network on Tuesday. So live Monday, live Tuesday. Of course, the WWE Network, which is, you know,

9.99 a month. Currently, it's just one price model for all of what were our paper view events. Now are available on that platform as well as a ton of libraries we just launched this new show called Hidden Gems which is the these matches that you know people have heard of but haven't ever seen. Like Vintage Match. Yeah because we own most of the libraries at least domestically. So that's a really interesting new show. The lore of these matches now people can actually see.

Wonderful. So it's pretty awesome. And then of course social media, Twitter, Instagram, et cetera. I hope today that you all saw side. I know you did of Stephanie and the company that you didn't know about. And that you love it more. And you you did of Stephanie and the company that you didn't know about. And that you love it more and you love her more than you're inspired. And then also that

you picked up a bunch of tools that you can use and strategies to. I loved today. I'm really so glad we did this in Kristen. Thank you so much. Like it's a little bit emotional for me because of some of the things you were willing to talk about today. And I'm really grateful for you doing this today. I mean that like very much. I'm grateful. So thank you so much. So glad we've met. Me too. So everybody already know. But you should tell everybody how we met. We met through Kristen.

Well, but you said, well, okay, we're going to tell them the real, do you want to know the real story? Because the power of a truck. Because that's, that's what I'm saying. I think it's another very important tool. Taking away what the entity was, you all know that follow me, know that I bought a new plane. This is, here's two people talking about depression. We're talking about depression.

This is why I'm always playing. But it's not conditional, everybody. And so anyway, I went to pick up my airplane. And when I went to pick up my airplane, it was in New York. And as I was, why was a rainy day day and as I was walking to this plane, there's this beautiful family getting on a more beautiful plane than mine. In fact, the paint scheme I showed you all that was black and red, I stole from them. That's how much I liked it.

It's the exact same paint scheme, by the way. But anyway, so I walked by the airplane and you waved at me and it was just this beautiful family with their little girls getting on the airplane. And then I realized when I saw the logo that it was you. And so for some reason, this entire flight, this is the power of just thoughts and attraction, I couldn't get you off my mind. And it wasn't the WEE part, it was the beautiful family part. And I'm just always struck and I'm weird. I'm always struck when I just see spirit or soul, like just a beautiful, loving family. I was like, that's a real family right there. And it just struck me. And so my wife and I actually talked about it on the flight back that I love also seeing people who can on the outside, they are successful

in other areas. So this whole flight, I ended up really thinking about you, I prayed about it, I meditated about the whole flight back and within a week a mutual friend of ours Kristen reached out to me whom I did not know at all before and started this introduction to the two of us So that's the power of just connecting soul-wise and thinking about something repetitively and when you're in a powerful state Yeah, when you're not in the state we described you're but you're in that powerful creative goal setting planning state Visualizing. Visualizing. Visualizing is so important. And what happens is it will appear into your life.

It won't look like you pictured it, but that feeling and that thing will appear in your life. It's not going to look. Most great things in your life don't show up like you picture them. It's true. You know, even your spouse. It's not what you pictured when you were a kid, but it was the blessing that came into your life.

And so that's how the two of us ended up meeting. And like, if you had told me that day, I walked by you that it would lead to today in this conversation, just the world's amazing, God's amazing, and this has been amazing. So this like changed me for the better. So thank you and I want to help you with all the great work you're doing. I mean that. So everybody I know you enjoy today as well. Always ask you, you know where to find me. I want you to go find her. You're watching this because you can find me. If you're watching this on YouTube,

give it a like and a comment, right? Engage with me, subscribe there. If it's on iTunes, make a review on there. It moves it up. We were number one in the world last month, and the more reviews you write, more people around the world, not just in the United States, in North America, or even the developed world, get access to this stuff. And I want them to see it. And every day on Instagram, two minute drill when I make a post. If you make a comment with hashtag maxout, we do a drawing daily. You get access to gear, coaching calls with me.

Sometimes an introduction to some of my guests as well. It's a really special thing we do every day. So engage with me on Instagram. God bless you and max out everybody.