The role of Stephanie McMahon has seen her as one of the most important and influential people in the wrestling industry. Vince introduced Stephanie as an on-air talent in 1999 with the move to a huge position behind the scenes coming about three years later. The brand split would see Stephanie leading creative and having her ideas coming into play.
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Recent years have seen Stephanie’s presence behind the scenes playing a stronger role in branding, along with her influence providing ideas for the talent. Names like John Cena, Charlotte Flair and Sasha Banks have all been praised and put over by Stephanie. But there were several wrestlers that Stephanie loved, but they flopped.
10 Shayna Baszler
The relationship between Stephanie McMahon and Ronda Rousey opened the doors for all four members of the MMA Four Horsewomen to join WWE. Stephanie would invite them to sit ringside for major WWE events before any of them entered the wrestling business.
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Shayna Baszler received the biggest push outside of Rousey in NXT with both Triple H and Stephanie as supporters. The move to the main roster has not worked out as expected, after Vince lost faith in her in the feud with Becky Lynch and canceled plans for her to win the Raw Women’s Championship.
9 Titus O'Neil
The various projects of Stephanie McMahon in the bigger company meetings feature various charity projects. Titus O'Neil is one of the best WWE stars at representing the company in situations like that, due to his genuinely likeable and charitable nature.
Stephanie has praised Titus for his various accolades outside of the ring, but it hasn’t led to much of a change on television. O’Neil’s in-ring limitations led to him always seeing his pushes end in WWE, much faster than expected.
8 Tori
One of the first wrestlers to develop a bond with Stephanie McMahon on television was Tori, during their time together in D-Generation X. Stephanie was reportedly easy to work with and the wrestlers she was attached to enjoyed her presence.
Tori ended up taking most of the bumps and got involved on Stephanie’s behalf whenever placed in matches. The good spot of helping Stephanie didn’t last long, as Tori was struggling to find a new role after an injury. WWE eventually gave up and released Tori to end her time in wrestling after a few years.
7 Val Venis
Val Venis is among the more unlikely names who received the support of Stephanie McMahon in WWE. Prior interviews from Venis revealed that Stephanie was one of the few people with power who listened to his ideas when things were going poorly.
The porn star was a gimmick of the Attitude Era to become outdated quickly. Venis tried to come up with new concepts to have a better shot at success, with Stephanie listening and providing input. The positive moments wouldn’t add up to much though, as Val never found success beyond the Attitude Era mid-card.
6 Natalya
Stephanie McMahon is one of the biggest supporters of Natalya, for her role in the women’s evolution. Natalya is often praised by Stephanie whenever discussing the important women, who helped move WWE forward with their representation of female performers today.
WWE often pushes Natalya in a top program once per year with management likely wanting to show their appreciation. Unfortunately, the biggest push for Natalya as the Smackdown Women’s Champion saw her lacking, compared to the new stars like Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair, and she will never be the star she could have been.
5 Brie Bella
The rivalry between Daniel Bryan and The Authority extended to Brie Bella and Stephanie McMahon when Bryan was out with an injury. Stephanie had her first match in over a decade when facing Brie at SummerSlam 2014. She wouldn't get in the ring just for anyone.
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The hope was that Brie would move forward as a top face in the women’s division, especially with Nikki turning on her. WWE was forced to change plans when the Bella vs. Bella storyline flopped. Brie’s push as a top face changed to a heel role as Nikki’s sidekick.
4 Eugene
The recent appearance of Nick Dinsmore on Chris Jericho’s podcast saw him revealing that Triple H and Stephanie McMahon were supporters of his work as the Eugene character. WWE tested it out in a dark match where Eugene faced Lance Cade.
The defeat was meant to make Eugene a sympathetic figure to the fans and it worked to get them on his side. Dinsmore revealed that Triple H and Stephanie gave him a standing ovation. The story adds up, since Triple H worked Eugene’s biggest feud, but his run was still viewed as a huge flop with the character not connecting with fans in the long run.
3 Zelina Vega
WWE releasing Zelina Vega for not giving up her Twitch account and starting an Only Fans page was a strange decision. Vega was once viewed as a top asset to WWE, while having the support of Vince McMahon, Stephanie and Triple H.
An older interview with Lilian Garcia saw Zelina revealing that she and Aleister Black viewed Triple H and Stephanie as work parents, calling them “Papa H” and “Mama Stephanie.” There were even backstage comparisons of Vega’s work to Stephanie's, but it didn’t work out when Vince ended her push and released her.
2 Nia Jax
Nia Jax had the support of Triple H and Stephanie McMahon from day one when signing a developmental contract. Being The Rock's cousin gave Jax a foot in the door with both powerful people seeing her potential.
Stephanie has publicly praised Nia in interviews many times and WWE has pushed her harder than most of her peers. The main roster run of Jax was forced when Stephanie’s Raw coincidentally drafted her ahead of the brand split. Nia has never fulfilled her potential, with her building a negative reputation building for her brutal matches and history of injuring opponents.
1 Daniel Rodimer
Daniel Rodimer is a name many wrestling fans will not know, but he was once a top prospect in one of the Tough Enough seasons. WWE signed Rodimer to a developmental contract with the hope of his look and athletic ability leading to a strong run down the line.
Stephanie McMahon was reportedly a huge supporter of Rodimer and pitched for him to get called up. The desire of Stephanie to debut Rodimer with a huge push never worked out. Rodimer was never called up and was eventually released. The current life of Rodimer sees him trying to run for office in politics.
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