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Stephanies Places S01 E09-HD | Stephanie's Places Season 1 Episode 9 - May 21st 2025
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Short filmTranscript
00:01Welcome to the most spectacular live event in entertainment.
00:07Welcome to WrestleMania.
00:11When it comes to making an entrance,
00:13there's no bigger moment than walking out on stage at WrestleMania.
00:18No one understands the opportunity to connect with the audience better than my husband,
00:25WWE Hall of Famer and Chief Content Officer Paul Triple H Levesque.
00:33Hey, Peyton. What's up?
00:36Hey, Stephanie. I'm glad I caught you. Listen, I wanted to run something by you.
00:40About the show?
00:41No. More of an idea for WrestleMania.
00:46This is kind of like your Super Bowl, right? And I know entrances are a huge deal.
00:50So I've been watching some tape of my own entrances.
00:53Check it out. I just texted it to you.
00:57Number 18, Peyton Browne!
01:02Peyton, I really appreciate your enthusiasm, but this is you just jogging onto the field.
01:09But there's a lot more to it than that, Stephanie.
01:12It's an intimidating jog onto the field.
01:14Never mind. Just check out the next one.
01:20Did you catch that? That little smirk, maybe? That's attitude.
01:25Honestly, Peyton, I think we've got this.
01:29WWE definitely knows how to do an entrance.
01:33Hey, that's when I got making an entrance!
01:35This is absolutely incredible!
01:40It'd be perfect for Cena.
01:42Peyton, thank you so much, but I've got to run, okay?
01:45No, no. It's a light jog.
01:48Wow.
01:54I'm Stephanie McMahon, and I love WWE.
01:58Stephanie McMahon!
02:01I'm on a quest to hear the stories behind the biggest superstars and legends in WWE history.
02:08Here we go.
02:08So come join me on the trip of a lifetime.
02:20Welcome to the most magical live event in entertainment!
02:25WrestleMania, the showcase of the Immortals.
02:29It's a spectacle from start to finish.
02:32But the grandeur doesn't just happen in the ring.
02:38There is no one in the WWE that evokes a bunch of bullshit as John Cena!
02:44Every great moment starts with an entrance that sets the tone of the entire match.
02:51That first beat of music.
02:58The blast of the pyro.
03:00There's nothing else quite like it.
03:03There have been countless iconic entrances, and I wanted to hear from the expert himself, Triple H.
03:11Triple H has been a creative trailblazer for more than three decades.
03:16With renowned branding and presentation, he's set the bar high for generations to come.
03:22I am the game!
03:25And I am that damn good!
03:30And I've had the privilege of being by his side for some of it.
03:35Thanks very much for doing this today, honey.
03:38You made me.
03:40You don't have a choice.
03:42Well, everybody knows you as Triple H, the game, the cerebral assassin, the king of kings, the 14-time world
03:50champion.
03:50But not everybody knows how you got your start with WWE.
03:56Can you take us through a little bit your first character and what your vision was for the presentation of
04:04that character?
04:05It's high time for all these superstars in the World Wrestling Federation to learn a lesson in class.
04:13I ended up being the American Blue Blood, which my original name was supposed to be Reginald DuPont Helmsley.
04:21Reggie?
04:22Yeah.
04:22I did not like the name at all, and so then I worked with them to create a different name,
04:27the Triple H, Hunter Hearst Helmsley.
04:29Coming down the aisle, from British Connecticut, weighing 246 pounds, Hunter Hearst Helmsley!
04:43We'd go to TV, and the taping would be like five hours long, and I'd work four times.
04:48All my stuff had to be pristine, right?
04:50So I'd finish my match.
04:51I'd have to go fix my hair perfectly.
04:53I'd have to iron my shirt.
04:55I'd have to iron my jacket from all the wrinkles of it getting thrown in the back.
04:58I'd throw that on.
04:59You did this yourself?
05:00Yeah, yeah.
05:01I mean, it was very rare that, you know, we did.
05:04I don't think I've ever seen you ironed.
05:06Yeah, because I don't like it.
05:07Yeah, I don't like it.
05:08They were paying me to do it.
05:10That's why I did it.
05:10Nobody's paying me at the house to iron.
05:12I don't see you ironing anything.
05:14Well, I used to iron a little tiny bit on the road a little bit.
05:17For you.
05:18Yeah.
05:18Because you told me you couldn't iron.
05:20Whatever.
05:21Anyway, I just liked it because of the three H's, and I thought there's something that you can create a
05:25logo out of that, a look.
05:27I don't know, I was always big into that.
05:29Art-wise, I'm fairly creative, can draw and paint a little bit.
05:35Very few people know you went to college for graphic design.
05:39Yes, for like a moment.
05:41I was always fascinated with like, even bands that I like, like Kiss had very particular image and branding and
05:51iconography that supported what they were as a brand and it meant something.
05:55So I always felt like branding in these kind of things was very important.
06:00Triple H took his branding to the next level.
06:02And over the course of several years, his character evolved from the aristocratic blue blood to the degenerate badass.
06:11His transformation was cemented in one of the most pivotal moments in his career during a famous interview with Jim
06:18Ross.
06:19It makes me sick to think what you did to me holding me back.
06:23You guys talk about being students of the game.
06:27I am the f***ing game, JR.
06:31With that, the game was born.
06:34And with his new edge and attitude, Triple H ascended main event status to become a legend.
06:43Triple H has won the World Wrestling Federation Championship!
06:48So can you take me through the evolution of the Triple H character in terms of the branding and the
06:53image?
06:54Because it's a big, it's a pretty dramatic evolution.
06:56Giant shift, yes.
06:58And why?
06:58Why did you change?
07:01Because the business changed.
07:03As the business begins to change, the world changes.
07:07Things need to be less cartoony, 1980s, larger than life.
07:11The world wants more real and more authentic and more serious.
07:16As the Triple H character changed, so too did his entrance.
07:22The character becomes more intense.
07:25You know, the water spit, which became iconic.
07:28I'm standing on the apron facing fans and like, spit water out of like,
07:32I'm the champ.
07:33It would get such a reaction when I would do it.
07:36I'm like, alright, I'm keeping that.
07:37So it just started to morph into different things.
07:41Like for example, when I would walk out onto the stage and the light was underneath me.
07:45That was me going back to something that Kowalski had told me very, very early when I was training.
07:51Where he was like, always be present in what you're doing and where you are.
07:57That way, he's like, your career will go by fast, but you'll always remember things because you'll have taken a
08:02moment.
08:03So it morphs over time, right?
08:05The light gets added, the water spit from, I'm now making a presentation out of that.
08:11Hey, I'm going to do that, but I'm going to do it more celebratory.
08:14Hey, can you guys light me from above?
08:16So when I do the water, it'll all glisten in the light and make a bigger, even bigger presentation.
08:21It just morphs along the way.
08:24So how important is music to the presentation of a character?
08:28Very.
08:29Finding the right fit, but also finding something that a talent likes and feels good about, where they feel empowered
08:41by that music.
08:42So it's really important to who and what you are.
08:46It all sort of has to match.
08:48Your look has to match the music, has to match the lighting, has to match the video wall presentations, because
08:55that's all the brand of who you are.
08:57My music, when I was Hunter Hearst Helmsley, had to change dramatically for me to then be taken as a
09:03different star, as Triple H and different presentation.
09:07I went to them and I said, like, I want it like Motorhead, like that raw, guttural feel.
09:13So they took like five or six stabs at it.
09:15It just was not, kept coming back.
09:18And I was like, that ain't it.
09:18That isn't it.
09:19That's not it.
09:20I don't like it.
09:21And Kevin Dunn came to me one day on TV and he said, hey, why don't we see if Motorhead
09:24can do it?
09:25And I was like, well, because I didn't f***ing know that was an option.
09:28So if that's an option, yeah.
09:30They called Motorhead.
09:31Lem said, yeah.
09:32And then he did it in one take, left the studio and they sent it to me and I was
09:36like, damn, that's cool as s***.
09:52Triple H had badass new theme music and was the top villain in WWE.
09:58And what better way to celebrate than with a live Motorhead performance at the Show of Shows in 2005.
10:07I was in a pit underneath him, was going to come up on a riser in the middle of them
10:11playing.
10:12And Lem is not even on stage yet.
10:15And they're counting down like 15 seconds.
10:17And I look at him and he's not even up there.
10:20And now he comes up and then like 10 seconds and he's like, who's got my base?
10:25Where's my base?
10:26Like, I don't have my base.
10:34And I'm like, holy s***, this isn't going to work at all.
10:36Like, they're not going to be able to play and I'm going to have to crawl out of this hole
10:39or something.
10:40Like, this is like terrible.
10:42And then as they were saying like 2-1, he's like putting his base on it.
10:47It was crazy.
10:54Try to play the game!
10:57Try to play the game!
11:19I was a big believer in the theatrics of what we did.
11:23The first sort of over the top one I did was WrestleMania in Chicago when I wrestled Cena.
11:29And I had the Frazetta painting image in my head of this sort of Conan-y type character sitting on
11:36a throne and all that stuff.
11:37So I pitched that.
11:40He calls himself now the King of Kings!
11:44His outfit, if you will, is reminiscent of King Conan!
11:49That's exactly what Triple H looks like right now!
11:55Entrances that people remember is because it made them feel a particular way.
11:59It's all about feel.
12:00It's all about emotion and experience.
12:02It can't be every single person on the show.
12:05It's got to be select.
12:06It's got to be right.
12:07It's got to be big.
12:08It's got to feel epic.
12:09But when you can do that and the overall show feels like a spectacle, to me, that's WrestleMania.
12:16It's why years later when I would do the gold stuff with the throne, you know, we'll get some extras
12:23for the women.
12:24I was like, no, no, hold on.
12:25Don't get extras for the women.
12:26And I went and I asked Charlotte and Alexa Bliss and Sasha Banks.
12:30And they weren't big names?
12:32They weren't big names.
12:33They were in NXT.
12:34And I felt like all three of them were going to be big stars.
12:38And I just thought, what a cool opportunity for them.
12:41And I told it to them right before we walked out on stage.
12:43I was like, guys, because they were nervous.
12:45And I was like, hey, when you get out there, like, take a deep breath and look around you.
12:51Enjoy that moment because the next time you guys are doing this in the stadium, and you will, you'll be
12:58about to go out there to feel that grandeur and the spectacle.
13:01And to me, that's what WrestleMania is supposed to be.
13:04It's supposed to be the ultimate spectacle.
13:07Use this as fuel and fire to get to where you want to be.
13:20Just as Paul predicted, each of those three women would get to walk that WrestleMania island.
13:27With Charlotte Flair making WrestleMania history as one of the first women to main event the granddaddy of them all.
13:36This is an incredible moment.
13:39Triple H competed in 24 WrestleManias.
13:43How could he possibly pick a favorite entrance?
13:48How cool was that?
13:49The 14-time world champion knows how to make an entrance.
13:57Do you have a favorite WrestleMania entrance that stands out to you?
14:03Oh, you know, there's a bunch.
14:04But you and I with Ronda and Kurt was also one of my favorite ones just because it was, you
14:09did it with me.
14:10And it was, it was cool with the female biker gang.
14:16I remember.
14:17Not only am I worried about this match, but then I find out I have to learn to drive the
14:22trike.
14:22Which we do, right?
14:23They drove it around the parking lot.
14:25Yeah, right.
14:28We get it.
14:29Okay, great.
14:30All good.
14:30And then the most pressure was learning how to do the water spit.
14:35We know for a very long time I could never do the water spit.
14:39Oh, Steph's going to do my entrance.
14:42Do I have a water?
14:43Can everybody grab me water?
14:54You didn't tell me the trick.
14:55Like, if there's a trick, you know?
14:58So that day of WrestleMania when we have all this pressure for like two hours, I'm standing in front of
15:04the shower trying to do your water spit.
15:23You didn't let me in on how to do it until like the very, very end.
15:27I told you how to do it.
15:28You just weren't paying attention.
15:30It's not as easy as you think, right?
15:31It's not.
15:32It is not.
15:33It is not.
15:36The 14 time WWE Champion Triple H flanked by his wife Stephanie McMahon.
15:47This is one of the coolest entrances I have ever seen.
15:56One of the greatest to ever don a pair of boots and one of the most powerful women in the
16:02world side by side.
16:07One of my most memorable moments being a part of an entrance was at WrestleMania in Dallas.
16:14This was AT&T Stadium with over 101,000 people.
16:18It was the last time you were main eventing WrestleMania as champion.
16:22Yeah.
16:23But the only way to position you really as a heel was me.
16:29To use the ultimate heel.
16:31Nobody's ever liked me.
16:38You know, I had written the promo and it was all about the sheep that follow me.
16:42I tried to think of like the nastiest things I could say to make them boo you.
16:47You are merely the blind sheep who follow.
16:51You exist to serve us.
16:54We own you.
16:57That would have been one of my favorite entrances with the exception of I couldn't see any of the stuff
17:01you were doing.
17:03So I didn't get to watch it until later.
17:05I could hear you but I couldn't see any of it.
17:08Triple A!
17:14It's one of those ones to me that afterwards I remember coming back and being like, how was that?
17:18Like I couldn't get a feel for it because I was just like, I just walked out but it was
17:22after all the stuff that happened.
17:23Right, right.
17:24You know.
17:24But then the last time we were in Dallas, it was a very different entrance altogether.
17:45For all those headline grabbing moments that Triple H has created on the stage of WrestleMania, I would venture to
17:55say that the game feeling those same goosebumps since day one here tonight.
18:01You came out and you left your boots in the middle of the ring.
18:11Can you talk a little bit about that and what it means to leave your boots in the ring?
18:17It means you're done.
18:20I got sick.
18:21And then, you know, I had my heart issue and everything that's been documented with that.
18:26And as you know, defibrillator.
18:28So at that point, it's not...
18:30I don't want to just gloss over that either because it's well documented and you did the interview on Stephen
18:37A. Smith.
18:38Yeah.
18:39I had a viral pneumonia.
18:40I had fluid in my lungs.
18:42I had some fluid around my heart.
18:43So they followed up on it, did an EKG and echo and everything.
18:47And basically, the way your heart pumps out, 55% to 60% of your ejection fracture is a good
18:57number.
18:58I was at 30.
18:59So by the time I got to the emergency room, my ejection fracture had gone down to 22.
19:05Which, you know, I was in heart failure.
19:07Wow.
19:07Bad.
19:09It's not something that you really talk about often.
19:14You know, and we nearly lost you.
19:20Yeah.
19:23How do you come back from that?
19:29How do you...
19:31I talk to everybody about obstacles in their lives and things that they had to overcome.
19:37And there's nothing bigger to overcome than that.
19:41And how did you do it?
19:44Not a lot.
19:47There's a...
19:52Moment in that where you lose who you are.
19:54Like just going from being sort of larger than life, you're strong, you're healthy.
19:59You know, you run to a wall anytime you want to and all that .
20:02You're all those things.
20:04It's your identity.
20:05And then that sort of goes away.
20:08You are seen as frail.
20:12It just all...
20:15It just all changes.
20:18I remember when they had the conversation with me where they said, you know, we're going to put a defibrillator
20:22in and the reasons why.
20:24So that means you would never wrestle again.
20:26Like you can't.
20:27You have to...
20:28You have to not be do physicality.
20:30And that didn't even phase me.
20:33I was still alive, still at you, still with the kids.
20:37That's...
20:37That's what mattered.
20:39The rest of it was just stuff.
20:41In this really weird, f***ed up way.
20:44Like, my heart issue was gift.
20:47Made me see things differently.
20:49I've never heard you say that.
20:51Made me look at life differently.
20:52You can go through life, no matter how great it is, or all the things you're doing or something, and
20:57just...
20:57You're just doing it.
20:58And then it's...
20:59All of a sudden, you're part way through it, have a reset, and go like, holy s***.
21:03Like, this doesn't last forever.
21:05It's that stoic s***.
21:08Of the coin that I have.
21:14I was just about to ask you about this.
21:17You gave it to me.
21:21Lemento mori.
21:24You couldn't die at any second.
21:29This can all stop at any second.
21:32Basically saying, like, don't get caught up in all this bulls***.
21:36Life is f***ing fleeting.
21:38So, like, it can all go away at any moment.
21:43The moment in Dallas, you know, Vince asked me to go open the show.
21:49The idea of going and putting my boots in the ring was not what he had in mind.
21:54Like, why do you wanna...
21:56Like, I gotta open the show with a downer.
21:58And I said, I don't see it as a downer.
22:00Like, I sort of see it as...
22:03It's kind of a triumphant moment.
22:04I'm back.
22:05I'm not gonna wrestle any more of my f***ing back.
22:16I just wanted to come out here to say thank you.
22:24And to show you my love in the best way I know how.
22:30Welcome to WrestleMania!
22:40It was celebratory, but it was bittersweet.
22:45It made such an impact on all of us, your whole family, but not just us, everybody.
22:54What goes through my mind, it's just this image I can't get out of my mind, is something that one
23:00of our daughters created, and it's a picture of your boots.
23:04It's from that night.
23:06You are their hero, and you are mine.
23:11It's all I need.
23:14Seriously.
23:15It's all I need.
23:17It worked out in a wonderful way of me being able to sort of just close the door on a
23:24chapter of who I was and start the process of who I could become.
23:30In the months that followed WrestleMania 38, Paul Triple H Levesque evolved again, becoming the chief content officer of WWE.
23:42Welcome to a new era!
23:45This new role allowed Paul to tap even further into his passion for characters and storytelling.
23:53And come up with a cool a** moment with a 2U, whether it's a stomp, whatever that is.
23:58We talked a lot about the process at WrestleMania, why don't you come be a part of the process?
24:03And let's go make some memories that last a lifetime.
24:07So off to Vegas we went to get a behind-the-scenes look at how to make an entrance worthy
24:13of the spectacle of WrestleMania.
24:16This is the walk that WWE First Start does to make their entrance for WrestleMania.
24:22We're going to be around the corner, hear the music, you're walking up the ramp, I'm getting goosebumps just thinking
24:29about it.
24:30How are you?
24:32He comes in to focus, he gets here and now it's just our business.
24:36He's pretty brilliant, you know, and I love how his mind works to understand, like, why he's doing what he's
24:43doing.
24:45If you start to go and he can come forward.
24:48It's just a feel, it's an innate feel like, hmm, that needs something more, that needs something less.
24:54That's not working, this is working. What if you did this?
24:59When he puts the wings out, he's going to go like 5-6 seconds.
25:02He's where the guitars are slaying.
25:04Okay, awesome.
25:12Talk about, like, strange scenarios, like, cool entrance at WrestleMania has always been, like, a thing that I've wanted to
25:18do.
25:19I wanted, like, an elaborate one.
25:21Yeah, this is badass.
25:22Yes.
25:22It's really badass.
25:26Under the gun, though.
25:28Yeah.
25:2845 minutes to doors, we've still got Biancas to do and Cody's.
25:31And they're both elaborate.
25:41I didn't even realize the bikes were coming.
25:43I was like, ah.
25:46In addition to the dirt bikes, Cody's entrance included a very tricky custom helmet.
25:52See?
25:53And then press B.
25:55Super complicated.
25:56It is.
25:56Yeah.
25:57That is truly complicated.
25:59On the kaboom, he'll hit the flipper.
26:01Yes, sir.
26:01It's okay if it doesn't flip up.
26:03No, but I mean, if it doesn't work, it's okay.
26:05You still have to take it off.
26:06It's pro wrestling, so my assumption is it will not work.
26:08That's what I'm saying.
26:08And I was standing there long enough to go.
26:11Just standing ahead of it.
26:11It's not gonna happen, all right?
26:12Yeah, yeah.
26:13But if it does, it's okay.
26:14That's a wrestling school rule.
26:15The prop will always defeat you.
26:17Up next was Bianca Belair's special presentation, which included its own kind of theatrics.
26:23Using the 40-plus double dutch club and mini-shock.
26:27Woo!
26:29I'm like a big-time jump roper, so I...
26:32With kids using Bianca's signature braids that she had made herself.
26:38The white shirt was Montez's daughter.
26:40Oh, really?
26:41So you have to step up.
26:43After watching back the entrance rehearsals with Paul, it was showtime.
26:48Good luck.
26:53And I was ready to welcome fans to the grandest stage of the moment.
27:00Welcome to Night 2 of WrestleMania!
27:04WrestleMania!
27:10Over 60,000 WWE fans will be in attendance as we welcome you to the greatest event in entertainment.
27:19This is WrestleMania!
27:26Double dutch happening, nothing short of impressive, which is everything that revolves around Bianca Belair.
27:34Bianca Belair has always shined on the big stage.
27:39This is emotional for Bianca as well.
27:41That is her step-daughter enjoying this entrance.
27:46Bianca's entrance was everything she wanted it to be.
27:49And it set the bar for the rest of the night.
27:52And though she didn't win her match...
27:55Cover on Belair!
27:56Neo Sky wins!
27:59She had a pretty cool WrestleMania moment in private.
28:09You just double dutched.
28:10I just double dutched.
28:11Yeah, for the first time.
28:12Yeah, yeah.
28:13Yeah?
28:14And I'm blown.
28:16That's all it took, right?
28:17You wrestled this incredible triple threat.
28:20And then you come back here, and what blows you up is the double dutch.
28:22The double dutch.
28:24It was such an amazing experience witnessing hard work pay off.
28:29My face is melting toe.
28:31With some of the most creative entrances I had ever seen.
28:35I'm still humble.
28:38Words can't express how proud I am of Paul and his unrivaled passion for this business.
28:44This is surreal!
28:47It's so cool to watch him and his team at WWE craft more intricate entrances every year.
28:54Helping today's superstars amaze audiences around the world.
28:58And create memories that last a lifetime.
29:13Crazy eyed.
29:17Yeah, the only thing is just the look in your eye.
29:24It takes me slightly taller than me, too.
29:34Come on, honey.
29:38It's so creepy.
29:39You're a freak.
29:40You're a freak.
29:40It's not least in it.
29:50Omaha!
29:51You're a freak.
29:52You're a freak.
29:53You're a freak.
29:53You're a freak.
29:54You're a freak.
29:54You're a freak.
29:54You're a freak.
29:54You're a freak.
29:54You're a freak.
29:54You're a freak.
29:55You're a freak.