In this WWE Evil: Stephanie McMahon review, some thoughts on the sixth installment of the newest Peacock series from WWE.
Let’s jump in.
– They quickly dive into Stephanie learning heel tactics from Vince McMahon. He was the best heel of the Attitude Era, so there was plenty to pick up from Vince. There’s no denying that.
– And now it’s Stephanie’s on-screen storyline debut with the whole Higher Power angle with Vince and The Undertaker. That, of course, culminated with Vince being revealed as the Higher Power. Stephanie explains that Vince using her as a pawn brought out the dark side in her.
– That leads to the story of Triple H secretly marrying Stephanie, which led to Stephanie eventually turning on Vince to join Triple H. That Armageddon 1999 match with Triple H and Vince is a guilty pleasure. I loved the start of that angle, even if it went off the rails after a while.
– They focus on Stephanie’s December 1999 promo on Raw to explain her motivation for marrying Triple H. I’ve reviewed that Raw (REVIEW), and even as someone new to the game, Stephanie cut a quality promo.
– Fast forward to Stephanie’s run as an on-screen character (and wrestler) in the early 2000s. She recalls training to wrestle and her first match on SmackDown against Jacqueline for the Women’s title. She won that one via shenanigans without doing a thing. Stephanie notes the crowd reaction made it clear they embraced her as a heel.
– After that, it’s SmackDown GM Stephanie. I do like the tie-in to her using similar business practices to Vince. Shane McMahon adds his own touch calling her the “Vincess” instead of a princess.
– Then it’s Stephanie slapping a bunch of people. Obviously, this has been one of the knocks on her character over the years. She gets hers, and they can’t get their revenge. That was an understandable criticism.
– Turns out Stephanie and Triple H were actually doing it and it wasn’t just a storyline. Enter their run as The Authority. The less said about that the better. They play up the power getting to their heads, and Vince makes a cameo appearance to share his thoughts on Stephanie’s character.
– Paul Heyman loves that everyone has to play on Stephanie’s level or they’re finished. There’s probably a lot of truth to that. Just ask Dr. Phil, who is back again and thinks Stephanie ultimately embraced being evil.
– Speaking of Dr. Phil, he dissects the success of Succession and Game of Thrones to point out the intrigue of family relationships. I don’t disagree with that if it’s done right.
– They address Shane’s return and how he became the protagonist while Stephanie portrays the antagonist. And once again, everything comes back to the tension between the two when it comes to their relationship with Vince.
– Stephanie mentions that she thinks her character may actually be more vicious than Vince’s character. I can’t say that I agree with that opinion.
BLAKE’S TAKE ON WWE EVIL: STEPHANIE MCMAHON
The actual character explanation of Stephanie was fine at times in this episode. But I don’t know that they put it all together the way they did with the Brothers of Destruction or Randy Orton episodes. She’s not a legendary “character” in WWE, even if she is one of the most recognizable figures.
As mentioned, I enjoyed her character work pre-Authority. That’s where it went from heel reaction to “go-away heat,” and her character has mainly been about one-upping everyone at every turn. Yes, that could be because she’s evil. However, what differentiates her from Vince is that Vince typically got his comeuppance. So maybe that’s why this edition may not hit all the right buttons for WWE fans.
For more of my show reviews, visit the Pro Wrestling Reviews section!
