WWE Chief Brand Officer Stephanie McMahon recently sat down for an interview with 14-year-old Hannah Mitchell, the daughter of LA Times Sports Now editor Houston Mitchell.
Stephanie talks to Hannah about meeting Connor Michalek, what he means to her, being a mom and balancing her professional life, her daughters becoming WWE Divas, and more. You can read a few excerpts below:
Stephanie McMahon Talks Connor Michalek, How Meeting Him Changed Her:
Meeting Connor was absolutely a life-changing event for me. I love kids. I’m a mom and have three daughters. They are 8, 6 and 4. Connor was the same age as my oldest daughter. And he was just so full of life and personality and love. And you would never know he was sick from his personality and the way he acted. But you could tell from his physical appearance because he had scars, and he didn’t have any hair. He looked sick, but he certainly didn’t act that way. And Connor just really had this profound impact on me and my husband, and we kept thinking, “What can we do for him? What can we give him to look forward to, to hang on for?” And we came up with the idea to invite him to WrestleMania. And at WrestleMania, his dad said that he didn’t even act sick. That he was the little boy his dad remembered. Connor’s hero, Daniel Bryan, ironically defeated my husband and went on to become WWE world champion that night. Daniel Bryan’s struggle as a character sort of paralleled Connor’s struggles, so Connor identified with him. And after Daniel won the championship, the very first person he went to was Connor, who was in the front row. And we have that moment captured forever as a part of WrestleMania. And Connor was just so strong, so heroic and so courageous that it is only fitting that he be the first recipient of the Warrior Award.
Do Stephanie’s daughters talk to her about becoming future WWE Divas?
That has already happened! My oldest daughter would love to be a WWE Diva. She actually wrote a book that said, “I want to be a WWE Diva.” We are telling her what we would tell any girl or boy, that school comes first. Get your education and then if you want to pursue becoming a WWE Diva or Superstar, absolutely. But a huge part of it too is your health and your fitness. You have to be sure you are active, eat right and exercise every single day.
