Well, the WWE Hall of Fame season began way sooner than normal!

Last Saturday, during the ESPN WWE debut at Wrestlapalooza, the Undertaker surprised Stephanie McMahon at ringside with the announcement that she is the first inductee for the 2026 WWE Hall of Fame Class.

The daughter of former WWE owner Vince McMahon, Stephanie, became an on-screen character in 1999 and would align with her then kayfabe husband (and eventual real-life husband), Triple H, by the end of the year.  Over the next 20 years, McMahon would have a significant on-again, off-again role in the WWE, mainly as an authority figure, and often as one of the top heels in the business.  She would also occasionally wrestle and had significant feuds with Trish Stratus, Brie Bella, and Ronda Rousey.

Behind the scenes, she was a top executive in both creative and marketing, and though she has a diminished role now, she has become a beloved figure amongst the WWE fanbase.

She was ranked on her notinhalloffame WWE list, but we will wait to remove her for now.

We here at notinhalloffame.com would like to congratulate Stephanie McMahon for her impending honor.

 

This is interesting.

Today TMZ asked Stephanie McMahon whether the recently deceased Joanie Laurer (Chyna) would ever get into the WWE Hall of Fame.  Her answer alluded to a strong possibility that the “9th Wonder of the World” will enter the Hall:

“I’m SURE that we will see Chyna in the Hall of Fame at some point in the future. I’m not sure exactly what year that will be, but there’s no denying her contributions to WWE.”

As known by most of you, the history between Stephanie and Laurer is a personal one as Stephanie’s husband, Jean Levesque (Triple H), was formally with Chyna and left the latter for the former.  Shortly after this occurred, the contract of Laurer was not renewed, and many have argued that it was a downward spiral for her ever since.

A year ago on Steve Austin’s Podcast, Triple H was asked directly if he felt that Chyna should be in the WWE Hall of Fame, and his answer reflected her career in pornography and essentially that a publically traded company would have a hard time inducting her into the Hall.  That being said, many of her peers (including Austin) have stated that Chyna should be in the Hall and prior to her death she was campaigning for a future induction.

As the WWE has been enshrining a female every year, a posthumous induction for Chyna could be possible, especially considering the clamoring for it to happen.

Based on how they handled Randy Savage’s death (and eventual induction) we suspect that she will not get in next year, but perhaps in the year after. 

Either way, we know it will be fascinating!

We don’t think we will see that many more appearances on television of Stephanie McMahon, but the “Billionaire Princess” was a featured performer in the late Attitude Era, and though she was overexposed, her character was a decent one, and still is well remembered. As she is a top executive in the company, her role in the WWE will likely continue for decades. We will likely rank her soon.