WWE Hall of Fame 2026

[C.S.]

It begins...

[JRH]

While we know why she's going in, looking strictly at her WWE career from an on-screen product perspective, she did play a decent heel manager for HHH.

[flyonthewall2983]

It was very easy to dismiss her early on because of youth and inexperience compared to the people she was surrounded with, but she really managed to find a voice of her own that could stand up to some of the names she's worked with. Including her husband.

As to anyone else it’s at the point of ridiculousness that Haku is not in. 

[DMJ]

We all knew it was going to happen some day, so why not this year?

As far as on-screen performance, I don't think anyone would confuse Stephanie McMahon with Meryl Streep and, in terms of charisma, she pales beside her old man and her brother. 

That being said, as a tool for WWE's creative team, she was incredibly valuable and, in pro-wrestling, what sometimes matters more than acting chops, inherent magnetism, or the "It" factor is believability. Stephanie played the role she was born to play - Vince's naive, innocent daughter who ends up being every bit as cruel, vindictive, and egomaniacal as her father. She was believable in the role because the most important part - whether we could believe she was Vince's actual daughter - required no suspension of disbelief. Over time, another key element - her marriage to Triple H - also took shape requiring no suspension of disbelief. We believed in The Authority Angle against Bryan Danielson and Big Show and Dusty Rhodes because we knew the on-screen characters' hatred for the WWE Universe's chosen heroes was an extension of the real life power that Stephanie and Paul Levesque held (even if the debate on how much real pettiness/animus leaked into the storyline is debatable). 

I do think its a bit odd that she's getting her flowers when, at 48 years old, she's relatively young to have her career celebrated. Typically, when people say they are eager to do less work and spend more time with their family, they do it when their kids are relatively young, not a few years away from college. Then again, Triple H's semi-recent health scare may have changed things. I also think, with each passing month, the company is less and less the "family business" it once was and more and more a completely corporate entity with its most powerful executives not having the McMahon surname. Steph and Triple H will always be there, but at this point, the "content" of the WWE has never mattered less. Delivering quality storytelling is like 12th or 13th priority now. 

Its also a bit surprising because one would imagine that John Cena, retiring in December, would be due for a big Hall of Fame induction this year as so much of 2025 has been about his farewell tour. There's also The Rock. And then there's Brock Lesnar and also some scuttlebutt about Chris Jericho possibly returning to the WWE. Obviously any of these other people could join her in the Class of 2026, but these are all names that are arguably "headline" inductions independently. 

[JRH]

With Demolition's legends contract, they're probably a lock too.

[C.S.]

 

[sek69]

I thought it was cute the way Taker did it, and she clearly was not expecting it (at least not in this manner), but when he hopped the rail to sit next to her part of me was expecting him to drop a "where to, Stephanie?" just for old times sake. 

[Stiva]

Don’t really have an issue with Stephanie going in but god damn, the video package is going to be an all-timer in WWE bullshit 

[TheDuke]

21 hours ago, Stiva said:

Don’t really have an issue with Stephanie going in but god damn, the video package is going to be an all-timer in WWE bullshit 

"I then had to convince my childhood friend Andre the Giant not to shoot on Hulk Hogan in the main event of Wrestlemania 3."