Mick Foley is well known as one of the nicest people in professional wrestling, both on and off-screen. The same cannot be said for Stephanie McMahon, whose villainous persona on television has drawn the ire of WWE fans for decades.
In addition to her on-screen role, however, Stephanie McMahon has also been heavily involved behind the scenes, taking on the role of director of creative writing in the early 2000’s.
Speaking on the latest episode of Foley is Pod, Mick Foley opened up about his relationship with Stephanie McMahon, revealing that she once gave him the gift of her writers’ notebook. Foley praised the former CEO for her writing skills and said the gesture meant a lot to both of them.
“I don’t know if she wants me telling this story; I don’t know, I’m not sure. But she gave me her writer’s notebook. Like, Stephanie was a really good writer, and she had written some short stories and poems and the fact; that she actually trusted me with that book, which I returned at the next TV taping.
“But it really meant a lot to her, and I remember writing her a letter, and I said, ‘From one author to another.’ And she really appreciated that. Hopefully, she doesn’t listen to this and go, ‘Foley is, you know, these aren’t stories for public consumption.'”
Mick Foley Revealed That Stephanie McMahon Came Up With A Divisive WWE Angle
In November of 1999, WWE infamously advertised ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin for the annual Survivor Series pay-per-view despite him dealing with an injury that kept him out of in-ring competition. Instead of the advertised match taking place, Austin was run over by a car at the Detroit event, leading to a massive whodunnit that would play out on television for months to come.
Eventually, it was revealed that Rikishi was behind the attack, a creative decision that wasn’t well-received by many WWE fans. Continuing on his podcast, Foley revealed that it was Stephanie who came up with the idea to have Rikishi revealed as the culprit.
“Well, I’d read her notebook. So, I knew Stephanie had a keen mind and was a very creative person. I believe the first thing that Stephanie contributed to was the revelation that it was Rikishi who had run over Stone Cold Steve Austin. ‘I did it for The Rock.'”
Foley continued praising McMahon for her writing skills, saying that he always encouraged her while admitting that she had a reputation for being tough on people she worked with.
“I always encouraged Stephanie as a writer. Now, I wasn’t there a lot when she gained more and more strokes; I wasn’t there for that. I can understand, I see Stephanie through a certain lens, and she may have been tough on the writing staff that worked underneath her. I’ve heard she could be a little tough, but she is a McMahon; they have to be tough.”
In the wake of Vince McMahon’s retirement in July of 2022, Stephanie was named co-CEO of WWE along with Nick Khan. However, days after Vince announcing that he was returning to WWE in order to facilitate a sale of the company, she announced her resignation from the company.
h/t Sportskeeda