In short
Rhea Ripley’s life and mindset, centered on her Italian grandmother (“Nonna”), growing up in Australia, and how she handles stress, social media negativity, and people-pleasing.
Guest backgrounds
Rhea Ripley is a WWE star (Judgment Day) from Australia. She discusses her Nonna’s life as an Italian immigrant to Australia, including a language barrier and her role as a caregiver and source of resilience. Steph McMahon hosts.
Key claims
Ripley says her Nonna taught her “don’t let age determine what you can do,” showing love through actions despite limited English. Ripley also claims she struggles with doom-scrolling and hate comments, spiraling into self-doubt, and has learned to protect her peace by setting boundaries and cutting off draining people. She emphasizes focusing on what she can control.
Notable examples
Nonna attended Ripley’s 18th birthday match in Australia and reacted intensely after Ripley took a chair shot that broke the chair. Ripley describes Nonna’s Italian food culture (bolognese, gnocchi, schnitzel, desserts), gardening/chickens, sneaking money, and approving Ripley’s first major tattoo (a “chicken” candy-jar tribute tattoo). She also recounts a dog-related leg injury requiring stitches and her home gym sanctuary.
Written by AI. May contain mistakes. Listen to the episode to check what was said.
Chapters
Tap a time to open that second in VOFond Memories of Family
0:44 to 1:54
Discussion about family, particularly about grandmother's influence.
“You know that you're one of my favorites of all time and just your star continues to rise and it's amazing.”
Cultural Background and Food
1:54 to 3:52
Exploring the significance of food in family gatherings and cultural heritage.
“I've always got like some sort of candy tin or like whatever it is.”
Learning Languages and Childhood Memories
3:52 to 7:18
Conversation about language learning and unique childhood experiences.
“I kind of like caught on to what they would be talking about, like her and my mom because my mom speaks.”
Grandmother's Strength and Life Lessons
7:18 to 10:10
Reflecting on grandmother's resilience and life lessons learned.
“Yeah, I don't know if you're supposed to eat them, but like as a joke, they'd put them on the barbecue and they'd be like, here, it's a new fruit.”
Wrestling Memories with Family
10:10 to 13:20
Sharing a memorable wrestling experience involving the grandmother's reaction.
“She was going to go out there and tend to her chickens and then kill her chickens and make food for everyone.”
Growing Up as an Athlete
14:21 to 18:19
Rhea shares her experiences growing up as a jock and dealing with bullying.
“you know, because you were always such a jock, like you said, and you were always more muscular.”
The Importance of Safe Spaces
18:20 to 23:15
The discussion highlights the value of having a safe place and the unconditional love of grandparents.
“Like I would say Australia just because like my parents' house is like, I feel like I have nothing going on and I could just be there and be calm.”
Home Gym and Pets
23:16 to 27:08
Rhea talks about her home gym with her husband and her love for their dogs.
“And we just did it without the walls on the inside.”
Family and Managing Stress
27:09 to 28:00
The conversation shifts to Rhea's family dynamics and how she manages stress.
“And I'm just like watching my sister grow up from the other side of the world.”
Family Connections and Return Home
28:00 to 28:50
Rhea shares insights on balancing work and family time, discussing her trips back home.
“And she's got to save money to build the house.”
Show all 26 chapters
Managing Stress and Vulnerability
28:50 to 31:00
A candid conversation about stress management, vulnerability, and the emotional toll of public perception.
“So that's nice, but I definitely try and get home at least once a year.”
Navigating Negativity in Public Life
31:00 to 33:10
Discussing the challenges of facing negativity and the impact of social media on mental health.
“And your gift, a part of it is giving so much to so many other people already.”
Digital Detox and Social Media Habits
33:10 to 36:00
Exploring the complexities of social media usage and the desire for a digital detox.
“But I mean, you know, like I hate it too.”
Experiences at Live Events
36:00 to 38:40
Rhea reflects on the differences between live wrestling events and other sporting experiences, discussing crowd engagement.
“Well, like you have like the limited data where you got like$10.”
Generational Shifts in Entertainment
38:40 to 42:00
A light-hearted discussion about how entertainment experiences have changed over time, including the influence of TikTok.
“It wasn't everybody had access, you know, to say their opinion.”
Social Media Trends and Generational Differences
42:00 to 44:10
Explore the evolution of social media platforms and their impact on communication.
“It's almost like set up that you'd have to click to read them.”
Navigating Personal Growth and Friendships
44:10 to 47:12
Discuss the challenges of accepting change in friendships and personal growth.
Setting Boundaries and Self-Care
47:12 to 49:59
Learn about the importance of setting boundaries and prioritizing self-care.
“And I'm just trying to like, grow as a human as well.”
Overcoming Emotional Burdens
49:59 to 52:46
Understand how to manage emotional burdens and the journey to self-empowerment.
“It's just, it's the best feeling in the world.”
Embracing Personal Strengths and Hobbies
52:46 to 55:27
Discover the value of embracing personal strengths and engaging in hobbies.
“You know, and it's tough to control how you feel because you feel how you feel, right?”
Creative Hobbies as Therapy
56:01 to 1:04:45
Learn about the therapeutic benefits of arts and crafts in a busy life.
“I bought the leather and like I got a planner because I was like, I need to be more organized this year.”
Reflecting on WrestleMania and Storylines
1:06:39 to 1:10:04
Discuss the authenticity of wrestling storylines and anticipation for WrestleMania.
“bringing WrestleMania thrills right to your fingertips.”
Rhea Ripley's Perspective on WrestleMania
1:10:04 to 1:12:04
Rhea discusses her excitement and preparation for her WrestleMania match against Jade Cargill.
“So what are you, like there's all kinds of behind the scenes comments about what's happening.”
The Pressure of Competing
1:12:04 to 1:15:58
Rhea shares her feelings about the pressure of competition and the importance of positivity.
“And it's hard because like right now I have stitches.”
Empathy and Personal Growth
1:15:58 to 1:21:50
A personal story is shared about a child's struggle and the importance of lifting others while maintaining self-worth.
“And when I said it to her and she reacted, you know, she got all like very, very sheepish.”
Self-Perception and Challenges
1:21:50 to 1:23:16
A conversation on self-perception, self-criticism, and the shared human experience of overcoming negative thoughts.
“Because I feel like you are just another level of like good person, but also so fucking cool.”
Transcript
Automatic transcript. May contain errors.0:00It reminds me of my nonna so much and like I really wish I could go back and have a proper conversation with her and like just learn more about her life. But she was so proud of you. She was. Yeah. She actually came to one of my matches. She did?
0:17Steph McMahon:In Australia? Yeah. And what'd she say? Oh, she nearly killed my opponent.
0:25Oh, what's your story? Hey, don't you dare be sour.
0:33Steph McMahon:Clap for Stephanie and feel the power.
0:43Steph McMahon:Welcome to What's Your Story with Steph McMahon, a WWE and Fanatics original production. So here we sit before WrestleMania. Yes. You're looking amazing. Thank you. You are as you always do. You know that you're one of my favorites of all time and just your star continues to rise and it's amazing. And we got to do Stephanie's Places together. Yes. Which was awesome. It was so much fun. It was so much fun. And I got to do your entrance. Yep. Yes. And the Ria. Yep. The jacket. Which is the coolest. I love it. It turned out so good. Cool. I love it. You have no idea how much I love it. Yeah. It's so nice.
1:23Steph McMahon:It's like the most badass thing I've ever had in my life. Really? It's so cool. Yeah. But you're a badass. No, I'm like a pretend badass. That's me too. Me too. It's very, very cool. Thank you. No worries. So let's see. There's so many places to check in. I know. We covered a lot last time. We did. We covered a lot. We covered. and that's not to say everybody who's listening slash watching now watched then but they should they should they should absolutely absolutely um but you one of the things that i didn't know about you that i've learned about you was about your grandmother and how one of your tattoos which is so cool is the like the head of the candy holder the chicken the chicken yeah yeah Yeah, because every grandmother has some version of this.
2:21Steph McMahon:Yeah. Right? I've always got like some sort of candy tin or like whatever it is. Yeah, or a dish. A cookie jar. Yes, something. And it's such a beautiful, different kind of tribute. Yeah. Because you got to bring it home. I did. I managed to steal it with my cousins wanting it too. I made sure mom grabbed it for me. I was like, I don't get anything. Like, please, like, let me have the chicken. That's the only thing I want. Yeah. I don't want anything else, just the chicken. And there's so many good memories for the chicken. Oh, it's awesome. I love it. Yeah, it just, it reminds me of my nonna so much.
2:54And like, she, she was just such a huge part of my life growing up. Like, I remember going to her house with the family and she was just so catering because like she's Italian, you know, like everyone's got to eat.
3:07Steph McMahon:Of course. There's just like a banquet of food. That's how she is showing she loves you all. Yes, exactly. And like, she would cook for hours and hours. and then like we'd have all these like we'd have pasta, we'd have gnocchi, we'd have chicken schnitzel, we'd have dessert, we'd have like cookies, cake, tiramisu, like everything, like full blown. And that was every week? It was, I want to say every couple weeks. Okay, okay. Because like the whole family came. What did she call the sauce? The sauce? Bolognese. Not gravy? No. Oh, okay. No. I've heard some Italians call it gravy. Oh, really? Yeah.
3:44Steph McMahon:Man, yeah. My brother married a Sicilian, so I've heard very differences. Gotcha. Well, she also didn't really speak too much English. It was very broken. Oh, okay. So, yeah, it was very like she was very limited with what she was saying. Did you ever speak Italian? No. I kind of like caught on to what they would be talking about, like her and my mom because my mom speaks. But I never actually learned, and I'm really upset that I never learned. You still can? I know. Babble. Duolingo, whatever. I downloaded it, and I was like, I'm going to do it, and then I'm just like, I got too busy, and I just forgot.
4:12Steph McMahon:I find the hardest is like you can listen to it, but you're often in public places. So to speak it, which is a part of the whole process, is tricky. It's so hard. And it's like my only reason would be so I could talk to her. I'm like, I would love to go to Italy and be able to speak it fluently. But it's also very different in each part of Italy. Yeah, the different dialects and everything. Yeah. It's crazy though. like when you grow up in Europe you grow up learning multiple languages including yes yeah and then when you grow up I mean I guess in Australia it was predominantly English is that right yeah yeah I mean I did a couple classes here and there like we did I did Italian lessons for a while I just didn't retain it I'm not good at school so like I didn't remember any of it like I remember some little words here right right but nothing of importance and then I think we did Chinese.
5:09Oh. Yeah, and I only really did that class for the free candy. Oh.
5:14Steph McMahon:Yeah, he gave us Chinese candy. I've actually had Chinese candies. It's pretty good. I had a Chinese babysitter. Oh, really? Yeah, and she was the sweetest lady in the world. She took care of our family. But yeah, I've had Chinese candy. They're good. Did you have the one where you could eat the wrapper? No. Oh, that's what he would give us. Oh, it was like a grapefruit. Oh, really? Candy. I can't remember what mine was. It was like a little hard candy, but you could eat like the full thing. Wow. Yeah, it just dissolves. It's weird. Oh, it is weird. I wonder if that's healthy. I don't know. Probably not.
5:49Steph McMahon:Oh, well. I remember when I was a kid, they had like the bubble gum that looked like cigarettes. I mean, this was like a real thing. Yeah. And it had like this powder on it. So you could make like you were smoking and you'd blow the powder. Like that was a good thing. We had something similar. It didn't have the powder on it, though. I can't say what they were called because I will get canceled for calling it that now these days. But like that's what they were. And like we walk around with these like pink sticks and just like smoking as kids. Like wild. Isn't that crazy? Wild time. We were marketed to even then.
6:22Steph McMahon:Yep. The bubble gum companies. Literally. Damn you. Had to get us. And it was like the penny candy. I feel like those were the cheapest. The what ones? They were like, or at least in my town. In the penny candy store. The penny candy. That's where you'd get them. Oh, Penny Candy? Yeah. Oh, yeah, it was just, that's what it was called, like. Oh. Oh, like the cheap candy. Oh, gotcha, gotcha, gotcha. Yeah. So you didn't have a Penny Candy store. Very nice, yeah. No? No, everything was expensive. Where would you buy your candy? Probably just, like, the grocery store. I mean, there's a couple of lolly shops that we'd go to when we were camping.
6:53Ooh, a lolly shop. Lolly shop. That sounds way cooler. That's better than the candy store. We don't call it candy in Australia. Okay. We call it lolly. Lolly. Yeah, so there's a couple, like, when we'd go camping, we'd find lolly stores, and we'd just go there and the parents would be like we'd go to the wineries for them and then they take us to the lolly shop and we just pick out like ten dollars sounds like a win-win yeah it's quiet
7:14Steph McMahon:and did you go camping a lot yeah do you love camping i love camping were you outdoors a lot growing up i was yeah i was a very outdoors kid and i just i loved it i was always getting dirty and just like i was pretty much one of the boys yeah i still am but like i was just one of the boys i'd get muddy dirty dusty ride my trike did you ever eat a mud pie i didn't i did it's not the first time i ate a bite it's gritty i did not we had um i don't know if you know what uh patty melons are so like they're just these random melons that grow in like the fields of like the outback in australia huh they're disgusting yes they're very sour and just i have eaten some gross fruit in Asia.
7:56Yeah, I don't know if you're supposed to eat them, but like as a joke, they'd put them on the barbecue and they'd be like, here, it's a new fruit. Like eat this and you'd eat it and you're just like, I need to scrape my mouth out. Like that would taste better than this. It's so bad. But that's what we would do as kids. We'd get like the patty melons and we'd carve them out like jack-o'-lanterns. Oh yeah. We don't do that in Australia. We don't really have Halloween. So it was like, we'd grab the patty melons and like, yeah, throw them at cars. well you know in the outback they're beat up cars no one's driving but we we just no accidents yeah no accidents no no no no good kid absolutely not definitely good kid
8:40Steph McMahon:but and so also so i want to get back to your grandmother for a second because um i don't feel like in the last episode we talked all that much about her like what is one of you know the lessons that you remember teaching her or like a moment that stands out that you remember that you just hold dear in your heart there's a lot um she was honestly one of the most like caring people that I've ever had the fortune to be with and um man I don't it's hard because like the English barrier was there but like she showed us so much love through actions yeah and like she'd always be the one to like sneak us money when mum isn't looking and like right she'd take us to the shops and like we'd walk over there because she didn't have a car she never drove she never got her license in Australia um so then um we'd walk over to the shops when she was looking after us and and we'd go to kind of like our version of Dollar General.
9:44It was like a little Chinese store. And we'd just buy like coloring books and crayons, and then we'd like go back to hers and just do arts and crafts and just fun stuff. We'd go in the garden. That was one thing that she never like gave up on. She was very stubborn and very resilient, and I think that's where like my mom gets it from and where I get it from. Sure. Because like there was no holding my nonna back. Like it didn't matter how old she was, how beat up she was. She was going to go in that garden. She was going to garden. It didn't matter. She was going to go out there and tend to her chickens and then kill her chickens and make food for everyone.
10:21You couldn't stop her. Yeah, she's Italian. But like you just couldn't stop her. So like I think one of the main things that I learned from her was like don't ever let age determine what you can do. and like if if you feel confident and comfortable doing things don't let anyone stop you from living your best life because she lived her best life like she she struggled to come to Australia from Italy with my nono and um he passed away really early on because he had Parkinson's and then um she was by herself she had a couple neighbors that she came to Australia with that were like her friends and um she just kept everyone so happy and I I really I really wish I could go back and have a proper conversation with her and like just learn more about her life because I was so young and I just and by the time you don't know I don't know and like by the time I left that's when I was old enough to really understand and I just wasn't home to see her enough but she was so proud of you She was.
11:24Yeah. She actually came to one of my matches. She did?
11:28Steph McMahon:In Australia? Yeah. And what'd she say? Oh, she nearly killed my opponent. Oh, my God. Apparently, like, my nono used to watch WWE back in the day. Right. And, like, wrestling and everything. Like Bruno San Martino. Yeah. I imagine. Yeah. I never knew that. Yeah. I never knew that he watched it until, like, I started and my nono told me. but um she came to one of my matches on my 18th birthday it was like on my birthday oh wow and I pitched to I had my whole family there so I knew this was going to rile them up I pitched to take a chair shot to the head which obviously isn't good these days no but I was young and stupid and I wanted to fit in with everyone and um yeah I took it and the whole chair broke completely like it busted it fuck it fell up out of the thing and it like yeah it just it all fell apart like I broke the chair oh my god no meaning your head broke my head broke the chair yeah and my nonna lost her shit and she nearly jumped the barricade and she's like an old lady at this point too yeah but she was all fired up she was ready to kill yeah like that's my granddaughter her oh man yeah yes that's right literally she was ready she wanted she wanted to have a match then and there like she was ready to go who did it uh my friend harley wonderland okay yeah i love harley but like she didn't hold back and she loved it and she i think she went over to my family started riling up as well oh i'm sure she got in their faces you're gonna get killed by all these italian people look out oh man but it was so good oh that's awesome that's awesome i had a clipboard break over my head pales in comparison but i remember thinking how cool it was when i was like oh broken half yeah it looks cool yeah it's like that's such a cool moment watch it back over and over again yeah mine mine though was a lot less less painful well we use different chairs in australia too it was like a wooden chair i mean it was steel and then the i'm sure it did not feel oh it didn't feel great yeah no it definitely hurt definitely definitely hurt the head but Definitely worth it seeing her reaction.
13:39Steph McMahon:Big news, WWE and sports fans. The world's number one sports fan festival, Fanatics Fest, is making its return to New York City. Fanatics is bringing you closer to the leagues, teams, superstars, and athletes you love across four action-packed days in July. Meet your favorite WWE superstars, get your hands on exclusive merch, and interact with the biggest names in sports. Then fans of the show can get a 10 % discount by using Steph10 at checkout. That's S-T-E-P-H, the number one, the number zero, at checkout. You've talked to me before about how you struggled a bit, you know, because you were always such a jock, like you said, and you were always more muscular.
14:30Steph McMahon:You know, you were just built that way. and because you love sports, I'm sure it like built your muscle up even stronger. Yeah. And you talked about how the girls and some of the boys didn't treat you very nice and how that bothered you, especially at that age. Yeah. Was there ever a time that your grandmother in particular was there for you and saw you in a different light?
14:59um i mean she i tried to be my my best self around her and not really like bring that bring it over to her house because like every time i went there was so positive and so loving and like i didn't really get to see her i mean super often i still got to see her a lot but like it wasn't as much as I would have liked. Well, and that's what happens. Yeah. Yeah. But, um, I tried not to let her know about all that, but like she helped me without even knowing those things.
15:31Steph McMahon:Yeah. Yeah. How just by being there, just being a stubborn self, you know, like just being funny and loving me unconditionally and like making me feel so warm and loved in her house. Like every moment of me going there like she just adored me and my sister yeah and you could really feel it like she was definitely one of those nonas where like she's force-feeding you everything she's like oh you look so good like she was and she loved your tattoos
16:06she didn't want me to get tattoos and I got my first one my first big one which was my shin and when I went home I was so scared to show her now my mom has tattoos so she kind of broke that right right which was good my dad has tattoos too but like when it came to me and my sister she was always like damn it no like no tattoos don't don't ruin your body your beautiful body your skin yes always and then I finally showed her and I was like nonna I'm really sorry but I got a tattoo and I'm 100 % not going to stop here. And she goes, oh, Demity, why? Why you ruin your – no, no, no, kind of like. She goes, oh, pretty.
16:54She's like, I kind of like it. Like, well done. Like, it's nice art. She rolls up her sleeve. Literally, she's got the whole, like, tribal.
17:04so like i i i got away with it yeah i got away with a lot when it came to her
17:10Steph McMahon:yeah well yeah she's your grandmother yeah yeah i've only experienced it through my mom and my mother-in-law being grandmothers but they're the best grandmothers in the world and the same thing like their grandchildren come first yes nobody better mess with their grandchildren like they are so feisty yeah um they lose their filter which is awesome and they spoil them rotten yes and so i have told my girls very plainly that once i become a grandmother i am going to spoil their children the same way that they were spoiled and they can't say anything about it yep it's yeah no exactly yes so i can wait but but it will happen god willing and when it does yeah when it does yeah yeah I'm all about it because it's the best it is especially when you have when you're struggling as a kid or at any time in your life really to have that safe place yeah that place where you know no matter what yeah they're never going to judge you they're always going to love you you can forget about anything that's going on in your life and just feel the warmth of going to your grandparents house yeah and feel safe yeah right yeah that safe place yeah so what is that safe place for you now?
18:30Steph McMahon:Honestly, probably home. Yeah. Like I would say Australia just because like my parents' house is like, I feel like I have nothing going on and I could just be there and be calm. But like, cause I can't get there all the time. My, my safe place is probably just my house. Yeah. I'm surrounded by one, my husband, if I don't say him first, he might be really upset. but him and like my three dogs yes i know you love your dogs but so what happened recently so i heard your dog bit you he didn't bite me and which one barry a barry yeah we heard so much about my barry boy you know sometimes he just gets so excited and he doesn't understand that his teeth are sharp and he opens his mouth so like I was I was playing with him and I definitely riled him up and I started jumping over him and um I did one jump but he also slid at the same time and as he slid he opened his mouth to like turn and like just out of excitement and my leg just got caught on his one tooth like just one singular tooth it was so perfect it couldn't happen again and it just instantly slipped my leg open and I looked down I just stopped I looked down and all I can see is like yellow flesh it's not even bleeding so i'm like i know it's deep and it's like i just have like fat hanging out and i was like oh god damn it i don't believe that i don't believe that you had fat i did where is their body fat on you i am looking at your skin on your ad when i'm like holy mackerel your skin is so thin yeah like i mean you are ripped thanks so i don't believe in the body fat sitting down it was definitely the goals he's really big yeah yeah but i definitely clicked on that picture on your instagram and it was like this is a photo you might like advisory and i was like what is it oh no yeah well so we had um aurora was pretty young and my dog accidentally got her in the face with his tooth but he like head butted her yeah they don't mean it to warn her i mean it was aggressive okay um but his he didn't bite but his mouth was open yeah and it the pressure because his head was that big um was so strong yeah that it punctured her cheek and it was not a good scary no yeah i was mad i bet yeah i just took my daughter and Paul punished Andre and then when Aurora was okay and she was worried about Andre and I was like I don't care I'm not I was so mad at him yeah I thought he bit her yeah yeah and then he was so sad he ran away oh I had to go chase him down the driveway and call him and he wouldn't come and then he just he sat there he knew that like something happened they don't mean it so sad they don't they're just oh he didn't mean babies yeah see barry was the same like i literally i looked at my leg and i go matt i need to go to hospital i need stitches and he's like freaking out i look at barry and barry's like with the blood dripping off his tongue he's like you want to play some more let's go second round i'm like you dumb bastard i love you so much i couldn't even be mad at him i'm like you didn't mean it of course he didn't we're just human and we're weak dude it was another dog that would have been fine yeah yeah it makes me think like we are really insignificant in the food chain yeah like if they really wanted to hurt us they could and it's wild like our skin is so thin and fragile i've seen my dogs fight yeah and they like grab each other's skin and they're not even phased by it yeah like his tooth just nicked my leg and i was like a fountain yeah yeah it was it was bad but then like when i came home um with the stitches and stuff i let him smell it and he smelled it and he literally just sat there and he was like oh and like he can look really depressed when he wants to yeah i know like he looks really like he looks like an old depressed man like he gets the posture and everything he's like oh yeah i know i know exactly when they when they feel bad yeah like he he knew something happened he just didn't know what and he felt so terrible i could just tell and then they were sucking up for the rest of the day and I was like you're fine I'm not angry like I riled you up yeah I tried to jump over you yeah yeah like I know I shouldn't probably do that and then you feel stupid right literally I go that probably wasn't a good idea yeah I've done similar things and it's like man what I'm I'm such a like why did I do that yeah that's me on a daily all the time like wow I'm really not smart what's your favorite part about being home like the dogs for sure and then like you like to game with your husband right so i like he likes to game i like to yell at him for gaming okay so it's a good thing gaming time yeah yeah but i like to go to our gym because we made a gym on our property oh nice and it's pretty much like a full la fitness and we just got a wwe ring in there oh cool so it's massive it's bigger than our house wow yeah so it's like did you build like a barn or a structure yeah it's like um a Barnum Minium.
23:51Oh, yeah. And we just did it without the walls on the inside. And then we got it insulated. We got air conditioners in there. Did it arrive on a truck? No, so they built it. So it's not a pop-up? No, it wasn't a pop-up one. Okay. But it was like one that you can just buy from the website sort of thing.
24:06Steph McMahon:Yeah, yeah. And like they did the concrete and that took 30 days to cure and set. But the building went up in four days. That's crazy. And I was like in shock. Like I saw them start and then I went to work. I came back and it was done. I was like. How'd that happen? What? That never happens. Yeah, literally. That was the fastest thing I've ever witnessed in my life. Yeah, it was wild. But it's my favorite place. We've made it into such a massive, I don't even want to call it a home gym because it's not even a home gym. It's a gym gym. And we have photos of us wrestling on the walls. We've made it a real sanctuary for us and our craft.
24:45That's cool. Yeah.
24:46Steph McMahon:Do you guys ever work together? Like work out together? Well, I don't mean train together, but like in the ring together. Every now and then. I mean, he's still starting to get back into the ring stuff because he got injured damn like over a year ago in February when they went to Australia. So he got injured then. So he's just started getting back into the ring now and just trying to like rehab it and see what he can do. Right. So like he'll get in and we'll run the ropes. I've been teaching him some roles since the boys class didn't do as many roles as the girls class apparently so I've been getting him to roll what do you mean a split role what is that I'm like you do the splits and you roll but like we've been getting in a little bit but I also I get nervous about getting hurt yeah especially these days because I'm like I'm always on the road I'm always doing stuff and I'm like I want to stay sharp but I also don't want to get beat up more than I get beat up right So like I go a little bit easier.
25:50He's definitely going harder than me right now because he's trying to get back into that mode.
25:54Steph McMahon:Yeah, well, that makes sense. I understand that. Yeah. We roll around a little bit and then our friend Tommy comes over as well and like we'll work out together and then we'll get him in the ring and Matt will roll around with him. That's fun. Yeah. Yeah. It's good fun. That's great. Yeah. That's good time. Yeah. Just time. Time's your greatest gift, right? It is. It really is. You're still home too, right? Yeah. You don't have to go anywhere. You don't have to go anywhere. And like it's so much better because like we used to drive 30 minutes to the gym and then I'd get bothered at the gym and then I'd have to drive 30 minutes back.
26:27And I'm like I really just want to work out, not wait for a machine. Right. And I don't want people showing me pictures of me pinning people at work. Right, while you're training. Yeah. I'm like, yeah, cool. Seen it before. Thank you. Yep. Yeah. I'm like halfway through a set. Please leave me alone. maybe they're hoping you're gonna do it to them maybe yeah probably it's normally middle-aged men so probably that makes sense but yeah that's my happy place right now I just I feel like comfortable there yeah you know like it's it's it's my home it really is it's become my home
27:08Steph McMahon:that's beautiful yeah and when does your sister like how often does she get to visit it she hasn't come down since i was in oh no that was man she hasn't come down for years oh it's time yeah i was gonna say nxt but she came in between that but you guys are like at the start of when i joined judgment day she came down yeah we're very close um it's been weird watching her grow up from afar though yeah it's been very hard because i'm just like i've missed so much like i've I missed her, I'm pretty sure I missed her 16th. I missed her 18th. I missed her 21st. I missed her 25th. Like I missed all the big birthdays.
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27:49And I'm just like watching my sister grow up from the other side of the world. She's got a boyfriend. They bought like property. They're building a house. Oh, wow.
27:59Steph McMahon:Damn, like. So no plans to come to the States? No. She's working and she's got to like. She's happy. Yeah, she's happy. And she's got to save money to build the house. So I'm like, I understand. It just means that when I go home, I'm just going to have to try and see her. Yeah. Well, at least once or twice a year. I try to, yeah. I mean, with the shows in Australia, it definitely makes it better now because I will get to see them. I think, I don't know if we're going back again this year. I'm under the impression we might be, but I don't know. Yeah, I don't know. But like the last couple of years, it's been nice going home for the shows too.
28:36Yeah, I bet. It's extra stressful because, I don't know, something about going home, I just, I put too much stress on myself, but like, it's nice because I get, I get to see my family. They get to come watch me wrestle. I normally get like the week prior or after, um, home. So that's nice, but I definitely try and get home at least once a year.
28:55Steph McMahon:Yeah. Yeah. And how are you managing stress these days? Um, yeah. Because we've, we've talked about it and we've talked about how hard it can be. And, you know, what I and tell me where I'm wrong here. OK, because this is what I have witnessed that I that I think. And please, again, correct me. Yeah. But you are one of the reasons that I think you're such a successful big star is because of who you are and because you're so empathetic and because you're so vulnerable and raw. and it's such a gift for everybody else. But that can be very, very hard because in order for them to feel you, you have to let them in.
29:48Steph McMahon:And then sometimes there's a lot of negativity that comes with that. Oh, there's tons. And it's not a baby face heel thing. It's just like some people hate. Oh, yeah. And they must be in a very bad way in their own lives, right, for them to come at you with so much hate. But that doesn't mean you don't feel it. Yeah. And then when your star is rising and you are getting these reactions and, you know, you are at the top of the story of whatever it is, then you feel like you shouldn't be. You start to think maybe some of those voices are right and why do I deserve this opportunity more than anybody else?
30:33Steph McMahon:And, you know, maybe I shouldn't be there and I'm much better just being back here. And, you know, I'll let someone else shine and I'd love to help them. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, yeah, you pretty much just described me. I'm listening to it. I'm like, damn, she knows me way too well.
30:52Oh, man. Yeah, yeah. I definitely.
30:54Steph McMahon:But so like what are, because I see you struggle with it and there's no right answer right nobody can say like oh here's what you do you know like you have to find your own peace with it and in some way um but i one of the things i would say is that you know god gives all of us gifts and they're all different but your gift is yours and it's almost your job to use your gift to its fullest ability. And your gift, a part of it is giving so much to so many other people already. So even when you are at the top, you're making other people feel pretty great. You're giving them an experience. Like there's so much positivity in what you do and who you are no matter where you are in the card.
31:54Steph McMahon:And when you are at the top, you deserve to be there for all the right reasons, not for wrong reasons, not for politics, not for anything like that. You are who you are. You stand out and you can't help it. You know, you just can't help it. I mean, once you, you do in ordinary situations, but man once you come out and your music is playing and you do that stomp yeah like come on and you're singing the lyrics and you're looking around and you're giving you know and you're giving the eyes like damn there's no way not to feel her yeah right like the coolest most badass You know, it's so amazing. It just, you are amazing.
32:44Steph McMahon:Thank you. And that's a blessing. I appreciate it. I really do. Like it's, it's nice to hear positivity. Yes. So I really appreciate it because it's like, like I have tried not to read comments too. Yeah. I try. I definitely try not to see a lot, but it's so hard. I know. Like we all doom scroll. it's a human nature and like as soon as i click on i refuse to call it x so twitter as soon as i click on it like it's just the whole like first page i don't even have to scroll and it's just like negativity i know it's awful and i'm like that's why you can't read it don't even go on it i know only to post i know or catch up on whatever it's just hard because like i want to see fan art i know you and you want to see like their reactions yeah i want to see like what works and what doesn't like i want that true like reaction to things yeah because like if it doesn't work i need to know so i don't do it again but i wonder if there's like a way i don't know you know someone to work with or maybe the wwe social team could like filter it for you yeah and give you the themes right because the themes are what what resonate just because two people don't like how you did a certain move like that doesn't matter yeah yeah i'd like to see them try Yeah, exactly.
34:06Steph McMahon:But I mean, you know, like I hate it too. And it's unfortunate because I would like to see people's comments. Yes. You know, and I'd like to get a good read, you know, on what they think. Yeah. Right. And like what's working, what's not working, just like you said. And then I'll be hit with a couple of those negative comments and I do the same thing. Yeah. You know, and I spiral out and then I'm like, oh, I'm the worst person ever. Literally. Yeah. I feel that. And it's hard. Like you just – this doesn't affect me because you're literally like a very sad individual that's posting this. But then like you catch yourself thinking about it later and you're like, why am I thinking about this?
34:49Why am I giving them my time and energy right now? Like I literally just went on there to see what like the news was. Right. Like I just stumbled on it. How'd this happen? Yeah. So it's definitely – it's getting a lot lately.
35:02Steph McMahon:Yeah. and it is what it is but it just sucks yeah but i want to pick you up out of that i know i'm trying i'm trying not to like i'm trying to limit my time like i i'll catch uh i'll catch myself like clicking on the app and i'll instantly get off of it so paul said he moved it to the last page yeah oh that's mine's on my last page too and i just go and you still do it because yeah you go to the first thing and you do the search yeah there it is yeah because you just were on it Yeah. Yeah. It's so frustrating. It is discipline not to look at it. Yeah. You know, but maybe try that for a little while.
35:39Yeah. I think I just need to delete the app.
35:41Steph McMahon:Yeah, honestly. And then download it when I want to post something. Well, you'll get notifications anytime you post anything. And even if you're not meaning to look, it's like, oh, this is what the comment was. Oh, I've turned mine off. Yeah, I've turned my notifications off. I can't. Yeah, I can't either. Yeah. I have way too many. Yeah, it's just, it's insane. Would you like to receive notifications? Hell. No. Probably switch that. I don't want people texting me. I don't want any of it. Yeah. I don't want this phone. Yeah. Wouldn't that be freeing? Oh, it'd be so nice. I wish I didn't need a phone.
36:11Yeah. It'd be so much better. It'd be so nice. It was such a nice time as a kid. Growing up without a phone. Without a phone. Yeah. I know. Well, like you have like the limited data where you got like$10. Yes. You just play Snake the whole day. That was about it. So good. So good.
36:26Steph McMahon:They showed him a picture of the Masters, the final moment where Rory is like winning his second and the whole audience. Not a single phone. Oh, really? And so he's like in the winning moment and the whole audience behind him is just living in the moment. Oh, how great. That's so good. I haven't seen that. And like you love to see it at WWE because the fans want to remember that they were there and they want that moment. Or they're doing like the Fireflies. Yeah. there's so much power in it but then to see that moment of like no phones at all yeah they're just living in the moment it's a really cool yeah that doesn't happen no and that's why i think they were i don't know i'm like was it ai yep maybe yeah um simpler times let's ignore the fact that you can't bring your phones to the masters oh is that why oh my god minor detail now but you know what kudos on you for noticing yeah i just thought it was a really powerful moment yeah like look at all these people they put their phones away literally yeah damn i remember i was writing my speech and i was reflecting i don't speak growing up and going to wwe events and then going to my first concert and my first tennis match.
37:50Steph McMahon:So tennis matches, like my first and only, but you can't cheer or boo. You can't make noise. Oh, I didn't know that. No, it's like you're supposed to be quiet. Ready to clap. And I was like, whoo! When someone came out and everybody was looking at me and I was like, uh-oh, am I not supposed to do that? Damn. Right? And then I was like, well, this is so not fun. You know, when you think about it, you can only hear the tennis players making noise. Like they're grumpy. Yeah. The sound of the ball hitting the racket. I feel like I would want some cheering. Yeah. Yeah. No. Wow. No signs. I wouldn't know what to do.
38:25Steph McMahon:Nothing. Nothing. Oh, that's so weird. Yeah. It's like, what? Yeah. So you were like, what are you supposed to do? Literally. I'm just picturing you trying. Oh, I was all excited. I'm like, hey, it's my first tennis match. I'm here. I want to cheer. Yeah, of course. I want to have a good time. Yeah. Nope. Nope. First and last. Let them know I support them. First and last. First and last. Yeah. that's so strange yeah yeah crowd could you bring your phone in but but i think you could bring in your phone i don't know it's kind of pre pre phones i had a pager oh well i'll answer that later yeah that was that was the time yeah pre-tech yeah pre-tech but still you could read about yourself as a talent in what was referred to as the dirt sheets oh and same kind of thing yeah Yeah.
39:13Steph McMahon:You know. Those shit are terrible. It wasn't everybody had access, you know, to say their opinion. But, and, you know, it's funny too, just because Paul helps me, so I'm kind of just sharing what he says. But he said, why would you, like, would you ask that person for advice? No. Right? Absolutely not. Like, no. Would you come to them and say, I'm having this problem? What would you do? Like, no. So why do you care what they think? Yeah. You know, Elise ran into some lady in the elevator the other day, made a comment and she was all upset about it. And I was like, why do you care about this lady?
39:47Steph McMahon:Damn. And maybe she didn't even know anything. I think I was mad because she was like drinking, going out, and I wasn't. That's totally what it was. It wasn't nice. You felt judged. Yeah. Right. She told me I looked like I was going to the gym and I wasn't. I think I was mad that I wasn't actually. Just in sweats. She cared. She cared with this lady. I know. She's trying to be comfortable. Right? Yeah. I don't know why I cared. Yeah. I stopped reading the comments because of you, but now I won't care what other people think. Well, it's best to do both. Yes. Yeah. I mean, but it is unfortunate because you want to interact.
40:21Steph McMahon:Yeah. You know? Yeah, I do want to. I catch myself definitely getting off of it a lot quicker these days. So maybe delete it just for a while. I might have to. See if it helps. I don't really tweet anyway, so I'm like, I don't know why. Where do you primarily post? I normally just accept collabs on Instagram. Oh, yeah. I don't really post anything. What about TikTok? Do you use TikTok? I have found myself going on TikTok a lot more lately. I don't really post anything. I just kind of like look at social. No, no. I'm terrible at dances. I can't do it. But I'll just like, I'll just scroll and like I'll use TikTok shop a lot.
40:59Oh, yeah. I buy too much stuff. I love Amazon and I love TikTok shop. You sound like my daughter. Yeah, it's so bad. I just get so like caught up in things. I'm like, oh, that looks like a great product. They said it was great. They said it was amazing.
41:14Steph McMahon:It's 20 % off today. I got to get it. Right? Right? I'm running out of time. Today only. That's the one thing that I needed in my life. Like, I need it now. Have you seen even on those sites now, like you go to buy something and then it's like only one left or few? Yes. And it's like, wait, I got to rush through my shopping cart now because they're all going to go. You're trying to buy it before the flight takes off. You're like, no, I need it. No. It's the last one. Yeah. Come on, it will pay. Literally. Hurry up. Oh, man, it's so bad. It's just another app, you know? It is. It is. It'll be no time before that starts getting negative too.
41:52And then I'm just going to throw my phone at the wall. But I hope not, though.
41:54Steph McMahon:I hope not. Is it not comments, right, on TikTok? I don't look at the comments. There are, but I feel... Yeah, there's comments, but I don't click on that. It's almost like set up that you'd have to click to read them. Yeah. Where like X is all the way. Because it's how you use it, right? Because Twitter's more, like ultimately it's supposed to be more breaking news type. Yes. I mean, it seems anyway. Yeah. And it's much text heavier, right? Yes. And then Instagram's just more. It's like photos. Pictures. Yeah. And then promotions and trends and things like that. And then TikTok's like basically any video ever.
42:31Steph McMahon:Yeah. Literally. Short video format. Yeah. With some dancing. Yeah. So my youngest all of a sudden is playing Shoop by Salt-N-Pepa. Shoop. And, of course, I start rapping. Ha-ha. And. Yes. And singing Shoop. And she starts giggling, and I'm like, I know it. And she goes, Mama, this is a TikTok trend where you're supposed to play the song, and every mom, every mom. Oh, my God. Starts singing and doing the same exact thing that I did. She did. She set you up. She did. But she kind of felt bad because I was like, oh, I felt victim to the trend, you know. But also she was maybe a little bit impressed than I knew.
43:16Steph McMahon:Yeah. I feel like that's a tough song. Definitely. That's impressive. Like it was, I mean, it was my day, you know, back in the day. But how funny that like everyone her age can catch their mother. Yes. And we all seem to have this in common. Right. We all know. it's the time it's the time any better will happen to her as well there'll be something that comes along there'll be something and her kid will set her up too that's right that's right and you'll be there like oh i'll be like oh look at this that's right yeah remember when you do that to me yeah how's it feel yeah but knowing her she'll get me and you know and oh yeah you're all gonna be set up every generation every generation in different ways yes yes
44:03Steph McMahon:oh well my new legacy title is an original fully custom designed from the ground up to commemorate my career inside and out of the wwe ring the belt features 907 crystals golden metallic prints a black velvet strap and the center and side plates contain artwork and reference to the mcmahon family crest you can get my legacy belt now at wwe shop and fanatics so what else have you you know learned or changed perspective or something different since we last sort of spoke um oh man i feel like i've just been it's gonna go too deep I feel like I've just been on like a weird roller coaster of a life lately yeah yeah like I've had to
45:06accept how am I gonna word this I've had to accept the fact that not everyone is going to be in your life forever and I say that within like friendships majority like people like you might remember a generation where you guys are friends but that doesn't fit in the generation now yeah kind of thing um so just kind of accepting that people change people grow and people move on yeah that's been a big thing for me lately um and just like trying to accept it I'm someone who's like a massive people pleaser and I wear my heart on my sleeve and I want to make sure that everyone is happy and okay and set up and not struggling and I give them too much of myself to help them yeah but then I found that some people just take and they don't do anything to help themselves they just take more of me and I have to accept that letting people go is a good thing yeah that's been like my biggest thing
46:16Steph McMahon:lately um that's very healthy yeah not easy to do it's really difficult especially when like friendships are long friendships and it's like it impacts you so deeply you don't want to like that go like that person go because you got so many good memories but it's like sometimes you just gotta snip it yeah and that's one thing that's been going on in my life the past like six months to a year and it's just like those are hard lessons they're very hard lessons yeah and like I feel like every or every couple of years this lesson comes up yeah it's funny how that happens right yeah life does that yeah it's like just a nice little you're not learning it yeah like I'm doomed to repeat it there's another one yeah remember yeah yeah yeah yeah Yeah, so frustrating, but I'm trying to, I'm trying to remember that now.
47:13And I'm just trying to like, grow as a human as well. Like, I don't want to lose my, my nurturing, caring side, but I have to protect my peace at the same time. Yes, that's important. Especially in this, like job and this lifestyle and everything like you have to protect your own mental health.
47:31Steph McMahon:Yeah, you do. Just trying to learn that. And that you're not hurting other people by protecting yourself. Yes. Yeah. Like you have to protect yourself first and foremost. You really do. Yeah. I mean, even if you look at it through the lens of then you won't be able to be there for anybody else if you don't protect yourself. Yeah. I was asked, you know, you always get asked different questions and it's like, what advice would you give to your younger self? And that's one of the pieces of advice I would give is anybody who makes you feel less than in any way or who takes away your light, they don't belong in your life.
48:12Steph McMahon:Yeah. And that doesn't mean you wish them ill. It doesn't mean you want bad things for them. They just they don't need to be there. Yeah. And you appreciate the time that you do enjoy or the memories you do have. And then, you know, you you move on. And you do and good for them and they can do them and you're going to do you. You know, like, and there's no bad feelings about that. Yeah. You know, you can't, not that you can't, but try not to feel guilty about doing what's right for you. Yeah. Like, why do we do that to ourselves? Right. That we need to somehow beat ourselves up because why? Because it's going to make us better in some capacity.
48:57Steph McMahon:Does it seem to be helping? No. Not at all. And you have like so much energy to give to what you do as a job. Yeah. That like you have to save some of that energy for yourself. Yeah. And not give it to other people. It's so draining. It's so hard to like save some for yourself. Yeah. It is. Yeah. It's hard to put yourself first and like to be able to say no in situations. Learning to say no and boundaries. Yes. I've been loving saying no lately. Yeah. That's great. That's great. It's so hard to do. Yeah. Especially as like a people pleaser. You want to be at everything and do everything for everyone.
49:36Steph McMahon:Yes. And you want to be superhuman because you are. Yeah. Try to be. I mean, she is. Well, you are. You know, but there's a limit. Yeah. It's taxing. Yeah. It's very taxing. And I think too, especially our business, it's a lot to give of yourself when you perform. And it is such an exchange of energy. It's just, it's the best feeling in the world. It really is. But there's nothing like it. You get that dump afterwards. Yes. And then afterwards you're like, oh my God, like you just give so much and it's beautiful. Yeah. but you have to be able to recoup yes too yeah you know recharge that battery yes yes and not have people kick you while you're down yeah yeah and it was like that for a while um just couldn't i couldn't charge that battery because i was going home and and like that person was around yeah and it's like i just i couldn't it was just a dark yeah dark place oh no you know i'm like no and like it was hard because it was like the the toughest time for me hit when we were in Australia too yeah so I had like that on my mind I had like the people pleaser me trying to see everyone at home I had me trying to please everyone in Australia because I felt like the face of Australia in WWE so I was like I take full responsibility for everything that's happening here i take responsibility for how i perform i take responsibility for how these fans treat my peers i took responsibility for too much and i just wanted to make sure everyone was happy and i was just like at such a really low point like even after because we had the three shows we had i'd smackdown then we had um crown and then we had raw um by the time raw was done i like collapsed in catering oh my god yeah yeah it was bad I had like a full panic attack and I just I couldn't like I hadn't eaten I hadn't drank water my body was shutting down and I was just like probably the skinniest I'd ever been and I was just like dying and then that person kept like lingering around just making it worse and like my panic attacks were just getting worse and I was like I just I can't do this so like after that after that trip I made sure to start putting myself first and kind of like chopping people out completely like I sent them a long message they never replied because like I didn't want them to and I pretty much was like we're done here like yeah I can't give you any more of me like we are done don't ever message me again don't think that we have a friendship like get get the fuck out of my life yeah um good for you yeah that was like Yeah, it feels good to stand up for yourself.
52:34It felt really nice. Yeah. It felt really, really nice. And that was a big lesson for me this past year.
52:42Steph McMahon:Because the only thing you can control, really, is you. Yeah. You know, and it's tough to control how you feel because you feel how you feel, right? But, like, you can't control how fans in Australia are going to feel or how the talent are going to feel about how they're treated by your people. I know. You know what I mean? Like I can't control any of it, but I felt like I had the responsibility. But you can only affect what you can control. Yeah. You know, too much to carry. It is a lot. Too much of a burden. It was a lot. And it's it's like a burden that's not even real. Yeah. You know, I put the stress on myself.
53:23Steph McMahon:Right. But so I'm so guilty of it, too. Like I understand, which is why I'm like so into this because I've, I've learned, I'm a little further along in life than you are. Lived a little, a little bit longer. Wild life. But yes, very much so. But that's something that, that I really had to learn. Yeah. And I still learn, right? Every day that you work at. Lessons here and there. But it's like, that's an important one is try to only try to focus on the things you can control. Yeah. You know, like you can delete that app. Yes. You know, right. Especially if you can't control whether or not you're going to scroll, like just delete it.
54:06Steph McMahon:Get rid of it. Yeah. Yeah. Just focus on other platforms, you know, if to get your marketing and branding and stuff out there. Yeah. Like you can control what happened with this person. Right. and you took action yeah right so where can you take action and you know like your matches you show up and you have unbelievable matches in the ring you take action because you can control yourself yeah you can't control your dancing partner you can't control the situation you can control you yeah right and it's something i'm i'm trying to impress upon um one of my kids right now too yeah yeah because she's struggling too in a different way with different things but also someone who very much is super super empathetic yeah um and it's a blessing and it's a lot of yeah yeah and who puts a lot of pressure on on herself yeah um so it's it's what may it's one of the things that makes you so great but then there comes a time when that when it may when it It served its purpose.
55:14Yes.
55:15Steph McMahon:Right? And now you can put it here and now you can go on to do great things in different ways. Yeah. You know? Yeah. I never apologize for being great, by the way. Yeah. Right? Yeah. Literally. Because, again, it's your gift. Yeah. You bring so much light. Try my best. Yeah. You do to everybody. You really do. And we all love you. I mean like you can't help but love you Truthfully Every head is nodding Yes I mean and that's exactly how the audience feels Like we love you You know Well I appreciate it It's like it's so special You know I've been so mad anybody make you feel I know right Any other way than that It's just yeah Their own insecurities It's like the people on Twitter yeah i mean but you know it but still yeah yeah yeah i'm just trying to focus my energy into better things now that's right so so um what are some of the tools you're using to do that at art is there anything that's yeah i mean i i'm trying to do more things that i enjoy doing yeah like even though the schedule is so demanding and busy especially at a time like this right um i'm trying to like find hobbies that i enjoy like i love arts and crafts yeah i love arts and crafts i don't know why i've always been like an artsy kid i love art well and you even started by talking about the um books the coloring books yeah so i've always loved it so like i i got into journal talk real badly at the start of the year and i was like i want to make my own planner cover So I went and bought all the leather craft stuff.
57:12I bought the leather and like I got a planner because I was like, I need to be more organized this year. I'm so unorganized. I needed to be more organized. I needed to actually write it down instead of just like clicking on my phone and clicking on the app and looking at it because I have so much more that isn't in the app. Right. So I'm like, oh, I need to actually write stuff down. So I bought a planner and I started making planner covers. so I made one for me um and I like I made a couple for myself the first one was like okay it was like my first ever one and then I made a second one and I adore this like planner cover I made it it took so long and my fingers were burning by the end of it because it was like I had like cow hide and I cut it into like little squares and then I had a black piece of leather and I had to hand stitch each square of the cowhide to the black leather and it just took so long and it was so thick like the knee and the needle just wouldn't go through so I had to like hammer the holes and then like really push it through still wow it was I don't know why it was so tough but it was really
58:14Steph McMahon:tough I was picturing like a blue stick and yeah no I had to glue it first and then it was still difficult but I got it and then like I added all the charms that I wanted to it I got the books I put them in there I have like two um blank page little books it's like a really small one it's like honestly like this big and um I've started like sticking photos and like cool things in there as like just like memories yeah and I have my planner in there I have like a lined paper book in there too if I want to write notes and I've just like made it my own so I made that for me and then I ended up making one for my tattoo artist I made one for Jet my makeup artist and I like completely decked it out to be like her.
58:56Oh, that's so cool. Yeah. I found like a new love in like that. Yeah. I really enjoy it. And like my husband every night, he's like, you're going to make another one. I go, maybe. He goes, I think you need to. And I go, okay.
59:11Steph McMahon:That's so sweet. He knows. Yeah. I don't know if he'd use it. That's the only problem. He just comes to me. He's like, what are we doing today? Yeah, I know. Yeah. Read the book. What's the schedule? Yeah. Check the calendar. Literally. but that's like something that like is therapeutic to me so I've been trying to do that that's great instead of just like working out and like working myself to the bone and just like making myself more tired I've been trying to focus myself on things that don't exert too much energy and like I can just relax I mean apart from like hammering these bloody holes in there and burning my thumbs I'm not doing that one again I'm never making one of them again
59:51but like that and then like i also like i had a obsession with la boo-boos which are like i don't know if you guys know what they are i do my son has yeah the plushies and you put them on like your bags i had an obsession with them i think i missed they're kind of like it's probably
1:00:05Steph McMahon:kind of look like gremlins i don't know if that's they're like little monsters yeah but they're like they're like it's just a bag with like fuzzy yeah they went people went crazy for them i went crazy for them. But like I would collect them. I'm sure my kids would be like, mama, we told you about this. Probably. They're hard to get. You probably have them in your house. I probably do. I feel like I'd know. I know. I feel like they're a little bit older. Yeah, my youngest is going to be 16. There we go. I mean, they're so cute. I want to get them. They are. Now I feel mean that I called it a gremlin because that one's like smiley.
1:00:38Steph McMahon:I'm just looking at the last year projection. He just got one. He just got one from a claw machine at a birthday party. Oh, he won at a claw machine? I mean, he was losing his mind and the best, well, best worst part, the birthday girl like really wanted it but all he wanted was his mind. He's like, but I want it. I was like, all right, let's leave. I mean, she got a gift. We don't know her very well anyway. But he was like, I know the right thing to do is to give it to her but like this is what I want it. I really want it. Yeah. And like claw machine. Yeah. There used to be battles between my girls at the claw machine.
1:01:22Steph McMahon:Oh, I love claw machines. You have to win everyone something, right? Didn't happen. Oh. I couldn't win that claw machine. Yeah. Ryan's great at them. So I don't know. Me too. I love claw machines. I'm terrible at the claw machine. Oh, really? Yeah. Practice. Vegas. There's got to be some. No. There has to be some somewhere. We're not. Okay. I've tried many, many, many times. I've been at that claw machine. well now i know i can get it i can i see the loop it like picks it up you're gonna get it there's like a all of a sudden a video of stuff like smashing the machine i was hitting the button and everything i know it i know it it's why i can't do video games days before i rage too excited yeah yeah and like i hit jump and it didn't jump literally a a i just saw button smashing so yes so mad so mad i drive it oh yeah yes i'm gonna have it last place still don't know why literally it's a tiny controller like whatever yeah we'll play video games together it'll be fun yeah we should do that one episode yes like you know i never advanced yeah you know i was like an atari girl and nintendo early nintendo yeah but that was way before any of the systems or anything see i'm the same like i i stick to what i know yeah i like loved my playstation one and then i got a playstation two and i only played like crash bandicoot and spyro yeah yeah i was like they're my games and ratchet and clang that was another one but like they were my games i like knew every single level and i was like i know when all the easter eggs oh i knew everything i memorized it i was like i gotta turn left here right here and i was like yeah yeah obsessed yeah i play it now and i've like kind of forgotten and like i rage because i've forgotten And like, I'm like, how are you this dumb?
1:03:08You knew this.
1:03:09Steph McMahon:You knew this like the back of your hand. You lived this. This was your life. But you know, and I can understand like watching gaming because I used to watch over my friend's shoulder all the time. Yeah, it's exciting. And that's how you learn, right? And that's how she would get to all like level 12. Yeah. And I'd see where all the hidden mushrooms were and all that. Yep. Jump up, you know, and do-do-do-do-do-do. Do-do-do-do-do. So you're in the tube. I was with you. Yeah. It's fun. it is fun yeah i used to play with my friend sarea and like we would watch each other so intensely we'd be screaming at the tv and i remember once she like raged like she died it was like the last life on um crash bandicoot or something and she raged and she threw the controller and it hit me in the head oh no and she broke my controller i was like well now we can't play see you must have a very hard head i do the chair broke on your head the controller broke on your head i'm a very hard head you must that is a real thing i don't feel too much also a blessing yes hard head in many ways literally and literally and yes yes internally and that's awesome that's awesome but yeah it's fun every now and then i'll like watch matt because he plays fortnight oh yeah and he rages yeah oh he i can hear him he goes upstairs like Like while I'm at home, I'm downstairs, like I could be in my office, I'd do like therapy or like with Matthew doing masseuse and I can hear him like upstairs screaming at the top of his lungs.
1:04:43And I'm like, he's going to pop a blood vessel.
1:04:46Steph McMahon:Right. Like there's no way this is healthy. I think it's so – So raged, so raged. And like sometimes I'll like go up there and watch him. Like I'll sneak up there, scare him first of all and then like watch and he would just die because he sucks at it sometimes. I'd be like, wow, you didn't do well. You ranked 85th. That's nowhere near first. Yes, that's not. You're like, I'm going to head back downstairs now. Literally, I'm like, you obviously suck, so you should just stop playing. And come hang out with me. Come chill with me. Right? I'm right here. Let's go watch something. Yes. Never home.
1:05:21Right.
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1:07:22Steph McMahon:Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER. Not available in all states. See Fanatic's casino app. What is your favorite date night? My favorite date night? Yeah. Dumplings. Ooh. I love dumplings. And delivered or out? So like we go out. There's this dumpling place. It's like 25, 30 minutes from where we live. But worth it. It's so worth it. and I feel so sick afterwards. But it is so worth it. They have the best like fried rice there. In Australia, the fried rice that we have, it's got like egg, shrimp, corn, like everything in it. And I've been struggling to find that in America. And this one dumpling place does it.
1:08:14Wow. And I'm just like, this just reminds me of home.
1:08:17Steph McMahon:Oh, that's so great. And it's so nice. Like I'll either go with just Matt as a date night or like we'll go with our friend Tommy. He's normally third wheeling with us. Normally. Or like we'll bring the family there when they come over. So like my parents are down at the moment and they're going to come over for a week after the mania. Oh, that's great. Yeah. So it's nice and I'm going to have to take them there because I need them to try this fried rice. I need them to try these dumplings. It's taste home. Oh, it's so good. Like I definitely eat way too much. They have the best green beans there.
1:08:49Wow. Everything there is just so like.
1:08:51Steph McMahon:I mean, I've never heard anyone be so excited to eat green beans. I wasn't expecting you to say green beans. Yeah. It's funny. It wasn't Bianca. So it's been exactly a year since we started this pod. Oh, really? And it was on the Tuesday before WrestleMania. And I think the second person we interviewed was Bianca, right? So Dom was the first. Tuesday was Dom. And Bianca was the second. and she was talking about her food and what was she saying? Like she was – Well, she was like – Something about green beans. So it's just funny that you say that. Because she was on the mania diet of like – Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.
1:09:28Steph McMahon:Grilled chicken, rice. She said I'll tie her. She was looking insane, yeah. Yeah. Yeah, literally. I miss her. I know. I love Bianca. Yeah. She's like pure love, right? Oh, absolutely. Yeah. She's one of the most genuine people I know. So great. I love her so much. Yeah. I can't wait. I'm so mad that she hasn't been around. I'm like, now I'm on SmackDown too. I'm like, where's my Bianca? Yeah, you need her. I do. Yeah. I really do. So hopefully soon. We'll see. So here we are headed into Mania, right? And by the time this airs, it'll probably be post-Mania, right? Yeah. So what are you, like there's all kinds of behind the scenes comments about what's happening.
1:10:12Steph McMahon:and it seems like there's a lot of a great mix of what's real and what isn't real and, you know, all of that stuff. And oftentimes the best storylines are the ones where people go like, well, I know it's entertainment, but like that was real. I can tell that was real. And then sometimes it's also just a combustion and sometimes it's not great chemistry or it's just going off the rails. and like I'm curious your perspective heading into this match against Jade and just competing at WrestleMania, you know, again in such a big way and right where you belong, by the way. Thank you. Yes, shining. Shining.
1:11:02Steph McMahon:Shining. So how do you feel and how are you approaching this match maybe differently than another or the same? Um, I mean, I'm excited for this WrestleMania. I really am. I love WrestleMania. WrestleMania is so special, right? It is. And it's the one thing that we all work all year for. And we want to like be able to compete at WrestleMania. At the highest level. At the highest level. And I'm like, I'm going against someone that I've never wrestled before. I've never even like touched pretty much. Like we haven't done anything up until this point. Like she's beat my ass a little bit, but like we haven't really done anything.
1:11:39Right. started a little bit rocky but we're on the path now and we're telling a story and I'm intrigued to see how it goes and just like pull off an awesome WrestleMania match like I want this to be a cool moment because like you look at it and you go Jade Cargill versus Rhea Ripley the names and the look of both of us and just knowing that we're going to be competing on the grandest stage of them all like it seems like such a big match yeah it is it hypes people up they want to see it I just, I want to be my best. And it's hard because like right now I have stitches. I have stitches and I like pulled my groin a little bit.
1:12:19Oh no. In that whole situation. With the dog? Yeah. So I'm like, I know I'm not. That's a slow healing. It's so annoying. Yeah. So I'm like, I know I'm not a hundred percent, but I'm going to try and be. And like adrenaline is a wild drug. It is. So like, I don't know what's going to happen out there. Right. I could be completely fine. But WrestleMania, it's a stacked card. Yeah. And I'm like, I'm really, I take it to heart and I let it weigh on me a little bit too much. And I take responsibility for it a bit too, which I know I shouldn't, but that's just me being me again. But like, I do have that part of me that feels guilt and sadness.
1:13:01but I'm trying to bring the positivity and trying to lift everyone up in the process and lift myself up and just like go into it as positively as I can.
1:13:14Steph McMahon:Yeah. And the thing is like it's everybody has their moments, right? Like and it's not everyone's turn at the same time because that just can't, that doesn't work. Yeah. You know? It's too nice but it's still completely stacked. we have so many superstars so many and there's so many that aren't on the card and there's so many that are on the card and it's like we make new superstars every year and it's like you're just competing for that limited spot that's right yeah it's hard and it is hard but it's that's the business too yes you know yeah and you know it's so interesting um i don't know if this is an exact correlation, but I'm going to tell you the story and see if it resonates.
1:13:57Steph McMahon:Again, one of my daughters who is an avid reader and had been an avid reader like early. So no question about her skills that way. And all of a sudden I get a call second grade from one of her teachers and she's like, you know, um, so-and-so isn't, is suddenly struggling. I hurt your stomach just then. Thanks. Sorry. It was very loud. raw avid reader got excited avid eater actually anyways second grade she's struggling so and I'm like this isn't this isn't my daughter right like she's a really good reader
1:14:46it's like the lady calling you out before
1:14:49Steph McMahon:it's all over again right that was just last night here we go I don't care what people think. I don't. See? I don't care. So anyway, my boss doesn't let me eat. That's right. Bitch.
1:15:12Oh my God, I'm so dead.
1:15:14Steph McMahon:Anyway, it's your daughter. So she was reading out loud and she was starting to sound out words that she knew. Like, f-ein and h-hank you. Like, words she knew. And I got really worried and I said, have you heard her speech? Like, I was thinking, is there something neurological? Like, what's going on? And then the teacher says, well, the only thing we've been doing differently is putting these kids in reading groups. And immediately I was like, oh. so-and-so slept over the other night and had to leave early the next morning to see a reading tutor i bet they're in the same group yeah and i asked and the and she said um yes actually she is in this reading group and i realized that she was you know um making it seem as if she couldn't read to help her friend feel better so sweet and paul and when when we asked her because that's what i I just had that feeling, right?
1:16:21Steph McMahon:And when I said it to her and she reacted, you know, she got all like very, very sheepish. And Paul said the best thing ever. And he said, honey, it's nothing to feel bad about. And he said, but we all have our gifts. And it's better for us to be able to bring people up rather than for you to bring yourself down. like this this girl will have other things that she does and maybe she'll lift you or someone else up some other way yeah but don't ever bring yourself down yeah to help someone out bring them up yeah you know and I thought like man he's a great dad thank god I have him as as right you know yeah but um it's a parent with you know but I just think that that's it's it i think we often do that you know or we give our energy to somebody who doesn't deserve it or whatever you know and it's like the mentality shift of no no i'm gonna lean into what i do great yeah and and help others because that's what that is my superpower so that is what i do so i can be helpful there yeah you know yeah i don't know if that resonates yeah but Yeah, I've definitely been trying.
1:17:41Steph McMahon:Yeah. I know. I just, I got to slap you. I mean, ultimately, I think that's what it is. I've seen you slap. Let's do it right now. No, I don't want the comeback. I'm just saying, I got to knock some sense into you, ladies. Stop doing that to yourself. Stop doing that to yourself. I know. I'm trying to, I'm still learning how to human at this point. How to human. Yeah, how to love yourself. Yeah. It's the hardest. It really is. It shouldn't be, but it is. I feel like we're always the hardest on ourselves. Yeah. And it's just, it's so tiring. It is. And I read all the time, right? Because it's like, depends on what your feed is.
1:18:20Steph McMahon:Yeah. Everything is about improving yourself, right? Yeah. And it's like, you know, it's just at the end of the day, just do the best you can. Yeah. Right? And live in the moment as much as you can. Love the people in your life as much as you can. create those moments yeah eat those dumplings oh i can't wait you know play with barry but don't jump on him yeah you know no more leapfrogs you know and and scrapbook your heart out like this is you know we don't have that much time yeah you know we really don't yeah so we gotta enjoy life it's here to live yes live it fully yeah and let's get out of screw all those negative folk.
1:19:10Steph McMahon:You know? It's hard to remember sometimes. And I don't wish them ill. I'm not saying that in a way where like, I want bad things for anybody. I don't. But it's like, you don't need that. Yeah. Life's too short. It is. Yeah. Go out there and feel it. Yeah. And soak in WrestleMania. Oh, I will. Yeah. I know you will. I can't wait for you. Yeah. It's going to be awesome. It's always such a cool feeling. Even just like hearing the music and just like not even going out there yet, but hearing the crowd. Yeah. It's so exhilarating. There's nothing like it in the world. There's nothing like it. Yeah.
1:19:45No one can relate to that. No. Yeah. It's so hard to explain as well because I'm just like, you don't understand. Like I'm stressing and I'm nervous. And then all of a sudden I hear this is my brutality and I'm just like me. Right.
1:20:00Steph McMahon:That's right. Am I ready to kill? Yeah. Yeah. It's so strange, yeah. Let's get this weird confidence out of nowhere. It's funny, Bianca described it. I forget what clip I saw where, but she was talking about the nerves, right? And like before you go out, how you feel. Like I know I feel like I'm going to implode. Like I'm actually going to die any second. Yeah, literally. Before my music hits, it's just this is it. and then you go out there and you do it and then you crave it and you want to do it all over again literally it's like why do I want to put myself through all that because it's a quite awesome ride yeah it is it really is and holding yourself yeah like nothing like it no no yeah not at all and then you just like live on that high for like the next few hours yeah and then you're just sitting there and you're like wow i just did that yeah yeah you did i'm so ready for bed right and then your arm goes off and you're like oh i have to go to the airport
1:21:11Steph McMahon:yeah there's no like lull no yeah never never not in this business it's not like oh it's over we'll have four days in hawaii yeah no no yeah like it's not gonna happen next flight may it continue yes literally well thank you for for coming ria thanks for having me so excited to have you back and can't wait to keep watching you thrive and grow and soar you know and continue to set the example you know and just be you yeah that's all i can ever be I'm an open book. I do want to just say that I wish you could see yourself the way that I know we all do. Because I feel like you are just another level of like good person, but also so fucking cool.
1:22:04Steph McMahon:Yeah. That like hearing you have anything negative about yourself. I know it's how you are to yourself. Yeah. Certainly the same way we all are. Yeah, we all are. Yeah, what is that? Human nature. I don't know. We must beat ourselves up for what? I don't know. I don't think that's the way we're supposed to be designed. No. We're supposed to go out and hunt and gather and survive. Here I am struggling. Drink and dance. Yeah. Sorry. Yeah. Eat some food. Yes. Yes. Sampling. Yeah. That's right. I don't know what it is. At least we can all relate to each other. Yeah. Sure can. In some ways. Yes. I appreciate it because hearing it come from people that I respect and idolize I really do appreciate it it's nice to hear I love you Rhea I love you too I love you guys
1:23:16"' zum nächsten Mal'
From the publisher
Rhea Ripley sits down with Steph McMahon to talk about her mental health journey, her Jade Cargill rivalry and more. A WWE and Fanatics Original Production.
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