Stephanie McMahon Allegedly Fired Ex-WWE Writer & Lied About It
A former WWE writer has recalled being fired by Stephanie McMahon and what she told other members of the staff.
Over the last 25 years, Stephanie McMahon has had several different roles in WWE, with most of her years taking place while her father, Vince McMahon, was the Chairman of the company.
In the early 2000s, when Stephanie was in her 20s, the boss’s daughter was one of the people in charge of the writing team. While Vince had final say, Stephanie had a lot of influence and did her best to manage the team of writers.
WWE Monday Night Raw moved in September 2000 from USA Network to TNN, which was then rebranded as Spike TV in August 2003. By October 2005, Raw was back on USA Network.
A former WWE creative team member, Chris Gough, worked for the company from 1999 to 2003 during those TNN years. While speaking to the Cheap Heat Productions Podcast, Gough remembered when WWE executives wanted to know why Raw’s viewing audience was down on TNN compared to USA Network. Gough claimed that TNN didn’t have the same audience that USA Network had, and their advertising skills were worse. Those comments upset Stephanie.
“I looked at Stephanie, and she looked so pi**ed. Afterwards, she’s like, ‘Hey, I need to talk to you outside.’ I’m like, ‘Okay.’
So we go outside, and she’s just like, ‘How dare you speak to our partners that way.’ I was like, ‘What? You wanted us to ask them stuff, right?’ And she’s like, ‘How dare you talk to our partners that way? I should fire you for this.'”
Stephanie McMahon Made Up A Story About Why WWE Fired A Writer
According to Gough, he was “taken aback” by what Stephanie McMahon said to him. Gough didn’t want to lose his job, but the next day he received a call from Human Resources, informing him that he was being let go. Gough agreed to a severance package that was offered.
As he continued, Gough recalled how Stephanie lied about what really happened because she told other writers that Gough left WWE because he wanted to spend more time with his girlfriend.
“I came back down, and I’m packing my s**t up, and Ed Koskey and these other guys are like, ‘Hey, man, that sucks that you’re leaving to go spend more time with your girlfriend.’ I’m like, ‘What?’ I was very well liked in that room, and we all got along very well, and she had told them all that I was wanting to leave. She’s either lying, or I guess she could say, ‘I was trying to do you a favor.'”
While Stephanie McMahon doesn’t currently have an office job in WWE, she does host the popular “What’s Your Story?” podcast featuring WWE superstars as guests.
For more about her life in and out of wrestling, read all about Stephanie McMahon’s journey through life as the daughter of the most successful pro wrestling promoter of all time.