When US Education Secretary nominee Linda McMahon slapped WWE legend on TV

Linda McMahon may now be the US Education Secretary nominee, but some already know her through her previous affiliation with WWE. Although she did not always appear on television like most of her family, every time she did, it was always an interesting and exciting moment.

A lot happened with the McMahons in the early 2000s, but 2001 is arguably one of the most eventful. The first part of the year saw a controversial storyline where Linda McMahon was portrayed as wheelchair-bound while Vince McMahon openly cheated on her with Trish Stratus, with the storyline culminating at WrestleMania X-Seven. However, another major event took place not long after, when Shane McMahon purchased WWE's rival company.

After that year's WrestleMania, Shane announced that he had purchased WCW and began a storyline in which his company "invaded" the former WWF. During this time, Vince and Linda represented the Stamford-based promotion while Shane represented WCW, and Stephanie was ECW. During a backstage segment, Shane and his mother got into a heated argument, leading to her slapping him.

Shane didn't slap his mother back but held her arms back from behind her and let Stephanie slap Linda McMahon instead. In a 2018 interview, Shane said during an episode of the Opie Radio podcast that he refused to slap Linda as it was difficult for him to put his hands on his mother.

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How did Stephanie McMahon feel about slapping her mother Linda McMahon on television?

Although Shane refused to slap his mother during their 2001 feud on WWE television, that wasn't the case for Stephanie. The mother-and-daughter duo got physical with one another in the late 1990s, with many instances of them exchanging slaps. Still, it never got easier for the former Women's Champion.

In September 2018, Stephanie briefly reflected on slapping Linda McMahon in 1999. The former shared that slapping her mother was hard for her to do and made her nauseous but assured fans her mother got the revenge she deserved not long after:

"Slapping my mom was one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do on television! It actually made me nauseous! Don’t worry, she got her receipt! #TBT #BadDecisionsIHaveMade."

Linda McMahon resigned from her position at WWE in 2009 to focus on her political career but is still a minority owner of the company. In November 2024, the 76-year-old was nominated by US President-elect Donald Trump to head the Department of Education.