Stephanie McMahon Explains Why WWE Dropped Using ‘Pro Wrestling’ Label

WWE Chief Brand Officer Stephanie McMahon has been a major character on TV for the sports entertainment company for two decades now.

Currently, she serves the Commissioner for the WWE’s flagship show, Monday Night RAW, and was last seen on television earlier this month the night after WrestleMania 34, which saw her and Triple H lose to Ronda Rousey and Kurt Angle in a Mixed Tag Team Match.

The daughter of WWE Chairman Vince McMahon spoke at the yearly Business Partner Summit to talk about the business.

During her speech, she explained why the company and its chairman decided to move away from using the term “pro wrestling” and coming up with “sports entertainment.”

“Advertisers either had an adverse reaction to the words ‘professional wrestling,’ or they simply didn’t understand what it was,” said Stephanie. “So, how could we create a term or a label that potential partners could understand? How could we describe the WWE was based on larger-than-life characters enthralled in relatable storylines? That was when we coined the term ‘sports entertainment’.”

Stephanie brought up the fact that the greatest asset of the WWE is the company’s “ability to reimagine storytelling… whether it was capturing the all-American fervor of the 80s, the spirit of the antihero in the 90s, or the rise of the underdog in the 2000s.” WWE’s storytelling, according to Thom Loverro of The Washington Times, birthed the “entire reality television industry – scripted dramatic conflict posing as reality.”

Another change that WWE made was back in 2008 around August time when they decided to go into the PG era.

“10 years ago, WWE once again reimagined our content and made the strategic decision to become more family-friendly, to grow our multi-generational audience and attract more blue-chip partners,” said Stephanie. “Looking around the room here today, it’s easy to see that this strategy worked.”