Does The fact that Stephanie is a Woman affect her role as an Evil Boss?

[pepentorresHHH]

Yes, the "Principal Owner of the WWE" is a great character than can easily generate heat because of her ability to make us hate her. But,since she is a woman in our PG world, that means she cant be hit...... Isnt that a problem since she is the evil boss??

Lets take her father..... In his famous Mcmahon vs Stone Cold Feud he got his ass kicked on a regular basis and it made for great tv and provided some truly memorable and entertaining moments. Her Husband, HHH, has gotten his ass kicked by The Shield, Daniel bryan, Big Show, etc. And the list goes on from Bishoff to others.

Now, Stephanie is no stranger to violence. the rock gave her a rock bottom and a people's elbow back at WM 16, Stone Cold stunned her more than once and HHH pedigreed her himself at WM 18. But on todays 2014 WWE PG world, im guessing violence on women is a big no no.

We have to assume steph will remain as an authority figure for years to come, so the question is: Is her being a woman kinda limits Babyfaces giving her the comeuppance she deserves? Yes she can have her wrestlers defeated like Bryan beating HHH and winning the belt but i guess we'll never see Bryan put Stephanie in the Yes Lock (a real shame) . The only physicality she could endure are comedy matches like the one with vickie or maybe get slapped or even get put into a match with a Diva. This last possibility doesnt really appeal to me since we dont care about most divas.

Thoughts?

 

[Viola Moonlight]

If you haven't noticed, Triple H has been the evil authority figure who's been taking the beating from everybody who challenges him. It has been very effective to the stories with Bryan & The Shield because after everything they've done, you know there is a chance that they can smack him across the face. Why do we need another boss to smack around? No need to saturate the market with bumping bosses.

Stephanie's role is reserved for more embarrassing and degrading moments. Triple H is a tough guy and a wrestler so he can be chucked into mud and walk it off because he's been in much worse. Stephanie, however, isn't a wrestler and being slapped across the face by someone like Brie Bella would (kayfabe) wreck her mentally because she's practically untouchable.

The dynamic they've got right now works. Triple H entertained by getting his arse handed to him every time he stepped in the ring after running his mouth and Stephanie entertained by being embarrassed and humiliated by her employees after running her mouth.

Why is this a topic?

 

[GameOver]

Steph can take a beating, you obviously did witness the McMahon Helmsley era or when she was GM of Smackdown, or her back and forth with Chris Jericho & her own father she had a fair few hard fights, moreso after the boob job.

I doubt they would do that very often tho given it's not really PR friendly having women being beaten up by males, bad enough they are sexualised.

 

[FreezeIzGAWD]

R U SERIOUS?

U Must have either NEVER worked for a Woman or had a Boss whose wife is ALWAYS at the Job talking SHYT....

U want to beat those BYTCHES up more than your BOSS!!!

For some reason those types usually feel the NEED TO SHOW THEIR AUTHORITY MORE!!!

So U have a Woman who is in a MALE DOMINATED field whose Father is the Owner and whose Husband is the BOSS!!!

Yeah she is a Guys worst NIGHTMARE!!!!

Plus she is NATURALLY A BYTCH!!!



I told U I use to be a Bouncer and the Women were more likely to hit U than the guys...

Why? Because they KNEW U WOULD NOT HIT THEM BACK....

Well occasionally U had to pick them up and dump them outside....

Now Steph has been Rock Bottom, Stunnered, Rko'd and DDT...

Once in front of Triple H....

Plus she gets HUMILIATED at huge intervals...

Such as the pudding bath....

I think her character is PERFECT the way it is!!!

 

[Tyrant25]

That all depends on perception.

There's no disputing that the world is considered a man's world. Men have always held more power than women; I'm not trying to be disrespectful, but it's just fact. Some will take that perception and think Stephanie McMahon isn't a good enough heel authority figure simply because she's a woman. Mr. McMahon played his role very well during the Attitude Era, both as an authority figure and a wrestler, and got his ass handed to him every once in a while for the sake of the storyline. But just because he was a man doesn't mean men are better suited for the position.

Me personally, I think Stephanie plays her role effectively. She shows shades of her father in her constant screwing of the rebellious and it's perfect. She's also golden on the microphone. Is she better than Mr. McMahon? That's up for debate definitely, but gender has absolutely nothing to do with it. I think if Stephanie can do what she's meant to do well, than her role as the "evil boss" is the role she's fitted for.

I think one problem is that as a woman, she's barred from getting her ass handed to her, especially in a PG environment. Back then, getting hit by a man might've passed, but today that's simply not an option. I think getting hit is just such an important thing when it comes to heel authority figures because it's the ultimate middle finger to the powers that be. That's REALLY sticking it to the authority. Triple H is doing some of the dirty work, but it doesn't always seem right unless the person who deserves to get hit gets hit. That's where Mr. McMahon thrived - he didn't mind a beating.

 

[pepentorresHHH]

If you haven't noticed, Triple H has been the evil authority figure who's been taking the beating from everybody who challenges him. It has been very effective to the stories with Bryan & The Shield because after everything they've done, you know there is a chance that they can smack him across the face. Why do we need another boss to smack around? No need to saturate the market with bumping bosses.

Stephanie's role is reserved for more embarrassing and degrading moments. Triple H is a tough guy and a wrestler so he can be chucked into mud and walk it off because he's been in much worse. Stephanie, however, isn't a wrestler and being slapped across the face by someone like Brie Bella would (kayfabe) wreck her mentally because she's practically untouchable.

The dynamic they've got right now works. Triple H entertained by getting his arse handed to him every time he stepped in the ring after running his mouth and Stephanie entertained by being embarrassed and humiliated by her employees after running her mouth.

Why is this a topic?

Thing is.... Stephanie is waaay more hateable because like you said.... HHH gets in the ring, do theres a possibility he can get his ass kicked. The same doesnt apply to Stephanie. 10 years ago Steph,just like Vince, would have take. The occasional bump, now that just cant happen

 

[pepentorresHHH]

R U SERIOUS?

U Must have either NEVER worked for a Woman or had a Boss whose wife is ALWAYS at the Job talking SHYT....

U want to beat those BYTCHES up more than your BOSS!!!

For some reason those types usually feel the NEED TO SHOW THEIR AUTHORITY MORE!!!

So U have a Woman who is in a MALE DOMINATED field whose Father is the Owner and whose Husband is the BOSS!!!

Yeah she is a Guys worst NIGHTMARE!!!!

Plus she is NATURALLY A BYTCH!!!



I told U I use to be a Bouncer and the Women were more likely to hit U than the guys...

Why? Because they KNEW U WOULD NOT HIT THEM BACK....

Well occasionally U had to pick them up and dump them outside....

Now Steph has been Rock Bottom, Stunnered, Rko'd and DDT...

Once in front of Triple H....

Plus she gets HUMILIATED at huge intervals...

Such as the pudding bath....

I think her character is PERFECT the way it is!!!

Like i said... The character is not a problem. She is VERY good at what she does and she has taken bumps in the past but because of the PG rating she cant get physical with the superstars she torments. She calls Bryan a B+ player all year, and He beats her husband at Mania and she continues to slap him and he does nothing. Didn't that happen at WM 16, difference us The Rock gave her her comeuppance

 

[laodaron]

Here's the thing...your typical fan is going to probably be slightly misogynistic, which is why the Divas fight in bikinis, have mud fights, have bra and panties matches (I know, not in a decade probably), etc. The typical wrestling fan thinks that women are generally lower in class than men. Even I'm guilty to a degree because I think that even the BEST women's wrestling is like watching Jinder Mahal fight El Torito, but Jinder v. Torito has more athleticism in it.

Generally, women are very disliked in leadership roles at work, often called bitches, or worse because they demand the same than a man would, except that society isn't as evolved as we'd like to think.

She's perfect in this role, and manipulating that belief. It's really just the Chairman of the Board 2.0.

 

[Practice Jack]

She is brilliant in the role. HHH is there to take the actual ass kicking. Combined the two of them are perfect.

The fact that the concept of the evil boss has been played to death is another matter of course.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

Of course it affects her role as an "evil boss", but not necessarily in a bad way though.

Stephanie brings an element to the "evil boss" character that's not all that prevalent. Even though Vickie spent years as a heel authority figure in WWE, there's a different perception in regards to Stephanie because of who she is. Her grandfather started the company, her father took it to levels that nobody thought possible for a wrestling company and those facts give her a level of credibility that an employee of WWE can't really match because you know that they're ultimately just playing a character that isn't truly any higher up than any other personality on the roster. Stephanie McMahon IS the Billion Dollar Princess, she IS the one & only daughter of the single most powerful man in the history of professional wrestling and WWE uses that as a means of generating heat for her.

No matter what country you're from, no matter what region of the world, there has always been something of a "class war" in every society throughout history: the rich vs. the poor, the haves vs. the have-nots, the elite vs. the commoner, etc. WWE uses Stephanie to exploit that age old situation in such a way that garners even more heat than many other males would get: her gender and the fact that there's still some degree of underlying resentment of a woman being in power. In the case of Triple H or Vince or Brad Maddox or any other man, you could always have a wrestler get medieval on their ass. After all, it's always been easier to "settle" things with by resorting to physical violence, but the fact that Stephanie is a woman destroys that notion. After all, in western society, it's generally viewed as cowardly to strike a woman in the vast majority of situations. Stephanie portrays a conniving, condescending, arrogant, spoiled rotten little cunt who thinks she's better than everyone else and if come across or see someone that truly is like that in real life, it gets under your skin. There's a little voice in the back of your mind that whispers something along the lines of "that bitch needs to be taken down a couple of pegs" and it's like that whether you're male or female. Even though I know that she's playing a character, I suspend my disbelief while watching just as I would if I was watching a movie or television show and it still generates an emotional response because people like that are generally easy to dislike.

Since the men can't hurt Stephanie physically, they're left with ultimately doing what they can to defy her and spoil whatever sort of plans that she has. It might not be as satisfying on a visceral, primitive level as trying to shove her head up her own ass and dribble her all over the ring like a basketball, but that's the best we've got. But when it comes to women, it's something of a different story. We saw Brie Bella slap her at Extreme Rules and she scurried out of the ring shocked and humiliated while the fans went nuts. This past Monday on Raw, Vickie Guerrero tossed her into a little pool of mud or chocolate or whatever the frig it was and the fans went nuts again.

Spoiling the plans and/or humiliating those who're pompous, condescending, entitled assholes can deliver a "feel good" moment. As I said, it might not satisfy that primal urge that we all have to sometimes lash out physically at whatever it is that bothers us or we don't like, but that's the trade off for being civilized. Can't have our cake and eat it too, I'm afraid.

 

[Kris Benwa]

I think it helps her character. Everybody has had that evil bitch boss and she's a woman so you can't hit or threaten her so you either have to listen to her or just kind of defy her like another poster said. I think it adds to the heat that none of the male talent she embarrasses (big show) can do anything to her.

 

[George Steele's Barber]

Stephanie is certainly limited but it doesn't bother me. I don't like when WWE has crossed that line with male on female violence that goes beyond defending oneself. There is no point in that in life and no point in pro wrestling.

However, being a woman opens Stephanie up to other possibilities. Imagine if Stephanie was at the OB-GYN and Daniel Bryan slipped some of Mark Henry's sperm inside of her. No? That's going too far? OK, how about this? I could care less when Big Show, Kurt Angle, or Vince put their hair on the line. But I would care if Stephanie did. I don't care if Dolph Ziggler or Damien Sandow where a potato sack but it would mean something to see Stephanie have to wear one. It means next to nothing when Vince calls HHH, or Randy Orton a failure but if he said it to Stephanie it would be powerful TV.

In summary, yes, Stephanie has limits due to her gender and that is a good thing and I hope they keep it that way. However, between her gender and who she is, she is unlimited in certain regards.

 

[Dragon Rage]

Yes, the "Principal Owner of the WWE" is a great character than can easily generate heat because of her ability to make us hate her. But,since she is a woman in our PG world, that means she cant be hit...... Isnt that a problem since she is the evil boss??

I don't necessarily view this as a problem in terms of it affecting her role. As you said, she has the ability to make us hate her. She has the ability to say and do all the "wrong" things at the right times to piss people off. In my opinion, not being allowed to hit her does not affect anything. When people want to defy The Authority physically, men can go after Triple H and women can go after Stephanie. Having different genders in The Authority allows for the physicality to be possible in a limited sense.

But on todays 2014 WWE PG world, im guessing violence on women is a big no no.

What PG stands for is Parental Guidance. Meaning that not everything is suitable for children to see. But, hitting a women certainly does not violate PG (Essentially, when you think about it.. nothing really does). Some may ask, why change the rating to PG then? Isn't it the same thing if nothing violates PG? It is different. Back then, practically nothing was suitable for children to see. Nowadays, it is more child-friendly. But Parental Guidance (PG) is advised for some segments. Therefore women CAN be hit, but they are NOT because of the fact that they do try to make the show as child-friendly as possible and hitting women is not the message they want to send to kids. So essentially, that is what is stopping violence toward women - not the PG rating.

The only physicality she could endure are comedy matches like the one with vickie or maybe get slapped or even get put into a match with a Diva. This last possibility doesnt really appeal to me since we dont care about most divas.

Any segment of violence can be done as long as it is a woman going after Stephanie. It doesn't necessarily have to be a comedy segment/match, but that is probably the best option for women. Most divas just don't do a good job of selling a violent, epic, serious, and heated segment with no comedy involved (not trying to sound sexist - but not everyone can be Lita). I agree completely with you that it is not appealing at all. However, WWE is obviously very determined at maintaining a child-friendly program. Folks like us that watched the WWE/F before PG are the ones that ultimately have the toughest time adjusting. It comes down to having to accept the new normal in WWE. Things will probably never be the same again, and even if WWE would go back to how things used to be we have to keep in mind that the superstars ability back in the day played a huge role in the Attitude Era's success (how many of the new superstars can you think of that can sell an Attitude Era-like segment? Let's be honest, they can barely sell a child-friendly one).

 

[Pedigree1]

Stephanie is doing something much worse than Trips does,a physical beating you can recover a lot quicker but a mental beatdown is so much harder.. Its even crueler that what Triple H does,a physical beatdown..

Since the Men cannot touch Stephanie (Not saying she couldnt take a physical beating in the attitude era she took her lumps),all he others can do is defy her.. Set up traps like what Roman did to her,but everyone of us has had a prick for a boss,one we wanted to take to the woodshed..

Its the primal urge in us,plus since day one its been the have's and have nots

 

[King502]

Hell no it doesn't she is very entertaining plus she is hot

 

[JH27]

I think it hurts any heel (authority figure or manager) female that you can't get any blow off on any angles. Think about the 80s we had managers in cage matches and getting their comeuppance and it would draw fans to watch the product. Think about the night that WWE finally broke the 83 week streak of WCW it was the Austin McMahon match on Raw.

There isn't really anything that you can do to match that with Stephanie unless it is with a woman who she has made life hell for (Brie Bella comes to mind). Don't get me wrong Stephanie is a great heel and really easy to hate and I think her mic work and acting have greatly improved from the start of her tv run.

 

[chicagokmc]

As long as she isn't striking the male wrestlers I'm fine with her being as evil as she needs to be with the men having to do something other than hitting her to get payback. I didn't like it when she was slapping Bryan during the HHH beatdown pre WM. She doesn't need to resort to that since she always has the upper hand being the boss. When she gets physical that highlights the fact that its woman vs man. I think instead the focus should be that she's a McMahon not that she's a woman.

 

[Anti-IWC-Marks]

I think the McMahons just can't help themselves, nor could a Triple H. They crave the spotlight, much like Dixie Carter.