Stephanie McMahon was recently surprised with a WWE Hall of Fame induction announcement, a move she wasn’t expecting.
Speaking to Megan Morant with WWE ahead of WWE Survivor Series, McMahon was asked about the moment. The WWE legend reflected on how she only knew they were going to do an “ID shot” of her. In fact, when The Undertaker first stopped by her, she initially thought his bike had stalled out.
And then the cameraman comes over and he says, ‘Hey, we’re just going to shoot over your shoulder for Taker’s entrance.’ And I was like, ‘Okay.’ Hmm, I didn’t know Taker was in the show. And I was like, but it makes sense. It’s a huge show that we would have our biggest stars.So here comes Take and he’s revving his bike and he gives me the look ringside, which he normally does if I’m sitting ringside. That wasn’t unusual. And then the bike shuts off and I actually think he stalls it out.
McMahon almost laughed at The Undertaker during induction
“So I’m like, about to start laughing, you know, like point at him. But no, he actually intentionally shut it off there, gets off the bike, now has a microphone, and is still looking at me, directly at me. So I’m like, okay, something’s happening here, but I don’t know what it is. He calls me over and then he’s like, ‘we’re gonna sit there.’
“I mean, you want me to sit there? ‘Sit down.’ Oh, okay.It’s the Undertaker, you do as as you’re told.And as he’s talking, it’s going through my mind like, what on earth is this? ‘Cause we’re live, I know we’re live. It’s my birthday the following week. So I’m like, ‘is he going to lead everybody in singing Happy Birthday?’”
In the end, McMahon was surprised instead. Now, she is the first inductee into the 2026 WWE Hall of Fame. McMahon said the whole ordeal was an honor, and “unfathomable” that she would get chosen due to how much it means.
If you use any of these quotes, please credit WWE with a link to this article for the transcription.