The era of Stephanie McMahon

She's bold. She's beautiful. She's powerful.

She calls herself "The Billion Dollar Princess" and "Daddy's Little Girl." She is one of the most dominant woman in world wrestling entertainment today.

Her name? Stephanie McMahon.

Okay, the above statements that I have stated are, of course, used in her wrestling term. But, what does it take to be noticed in a company that mainly conforms to a male dominant industry?

When Stephanie was growing up, she was just like any other girl. She had a nice family and a nice house. The only difference was that her father, Vince, was the owner of the World Wrestling Federation, as it was then known.

When she was growing up, she always wanted to be part of the business, no matter what aspect or role that she was given. This was also the same for her brother Shane, after all it was in their blood.

Now you may be thinking that because her dad owns the company, and because that is where she is working right now as General Manager (GM) of Smackdown, that it must have been easy. That she must have gotten it handed to her on a plate. But, for those of you who truly believe that, there is something that you are missing.

To have someone as extremely powerful as Vince McMahon, in terms of business, must be a hard thing. More than likely, a lot of people have seen or read stories about how children, who let's say, have a better way of life, get everything handed to them on a plate then, and then turned into spoiled little brats! You could be forgiven to think that any of the two children from McMahon could be like this -- especially when you see some of the things that have been on television!

But, you would be wrong. When you read interviews with Stephanie, you will find out that she started at the bottom and worked herself up to where she is today.

So, the question I now pose is: how did becoming a "normal" employee lead into a role in the programming in WWE television?

When Stephanie was introduced into wrestling, her role was this shy, naive little girl, who, let's face it, was manipulated left, right and centre by both her father and brother. But she slowly let everyone know that she was no push over. She was determined to make a name for herself on her own.

We were first introduced to a Stephanie "storyline" when the Lord of Darkness (the Undertaker) kidnapped her. At the time, her father, Vince, was distraught that the Undertaker could do such a thing, especially to his little girl. We were then told that the reason the Undertaker had kidnapped her was to the sell her on the black market -- he was making Vince pay. We didn't know why, at least at that time.

We would all learn soon enough that the Undertaker had planned a wedding ceremony. Stone Cold Austin came out to save the boss's daughter, much to the relief of both Vince and her brother, Shane. Or so, it had seemed. That is when we finally learned why Stephanie had been kidnapped.

What was about to happen was a shock to fans, wrestlers, and to Stephanie herself. Her dad told the world that the whole things had been his plan all along. It was he who had orchestrated his daughter's kidnapping so that he could get Austin where he wanted him.

Although, at the time, Stephanie was distraught about this, she did forgive her father. How long would this last? Would Vince distrust his daughter again, or would this naive little girl grow up and learn that in this business the only person that you can count on is yourself?

We were about to see Stephanie embark on a new role. It started with her soon to be marriage to Test. Her brother Shane challenged Test to a street fight where the "loser" of the match would leave her.

The battle was fought and Test won. But, as with most weddings, things were not going to go smoothly. After suffering a concussion and amnesia at the hands of the British Bulldog, Stephanie postponed her wedding to Test.

When the wedding day did finally arrive, again things would not go according to plan. Just as Test and Stephanie were about to get the wedding ceremony under way, HHH came out and told them he had something to show them: video footage of Stephanie and him marrying the night before.

The results -- Stephanie was distraught and Vince was angry. So, would the billion-dollar princess choose her father, her new husband or boyfriend Test?

In true wrestling style, a match was then announced -- HHH vs. Vince. If HHH won, he got a title shot and would stay married to Stephanie. If he lost, he would get his marriage annulled.

Down at ringside Stephanie was made to watch her husband and dad fight it out in a brutal street fight. When Vince was about to hit his son-in-law with a sledgehammer, Stephanie intervened stating that she would like the honour of hitting her husband. But, she didn't have the heart to do it. HHH got the hammer and knocked Vince out for the win.

When it looked as though Stephanie was shocked at what had just happened to her father, she turned around and looked at HHH, smiled and they embraced. She left the arena as Mrs Helmsley, leaving the fans shocked.

What made Stephanie decide that she would stay with HHH? Easy, her father had used her to get his own way and she paid him back by marrying his arch nemesis.

Would that be all that we would hear from Stephanie? Would she just play wife to HHH?

The answers came, but they were not what her father had wanted to hear.

The era of McMahon-Helmsley was born.

It was an era of domination for both HHH and Stephanie. We saw her embark on a brand new image -- dominance, strong and in no way a little girl anymore. She was a strong, willed businesswoman. She was about to prove that she could do things for herself. She did not need daddy, or at that time, that's what it seemed. But could "Daddy's Little Girl" be this headstrong forever? Would the bubble burst for Mrs. McMahon-Helmsley?

In her time as Mrs Helmsley we saw Stephanie turn in to the WWE's Women's Champion, which lets face it, was won from help from her husband! We saw her husband become WWE Champion, and both were a force to be reckoned with. Let's say "daddy" must have had a few restless nights.

It seemed that the McMahon-Helmsley regime would reign supreme forever. Until, that is, HHH was out of wrestling action. Stephanie was about to prove that she was sly in business just like her father.

One surprise that came to most was when Vince told the world he was about to sign a contract to buy over WCW. But, Vince was in for a surprise of his own -- his son Shane bought WCW, while Stephanie bought ECW right out from under their father's nose. Needless to say, the McMahon household was not a happy one.

Both Shane and Stephanie were then subsequently written out of Vince's will, and all ties to his money were cut. Only in terms of business you may understand!

Within time, however, both brother and sister were about to learn a hard lesson in business. All is fair in love and war. If WWF beat WCW/ECW at the Invasion PPV, then WCW/ECW would then not exist -- meaning that both Stephanie and Shane would be out of a job -- and as it turned out, they were.

At that time, Stephanie had lost a battle and learned a very difficult lesson. When her husband HHH did come back, the "honeymoon" period was over. Both egos got too big, and both lied and manipulated each other to the best of their ability, until Stephanie told everyone she was pregnant, only for HHH to find out it was a lie.

So, the marriage was over, as was Stephanie's career -- for that time at least! The weird thing being, sometimes we do have to learn the hard way, so that we can better ourselves.

And that's exactly what happened. Like she forgave her dad, he forgave her. She was back in the business, written back into his will, and "The Billion Dollar Princess" was once more.

Currently Stephanie is showing that she is quite the business women and that she has learned a lot through her time as a "normal" employee and through her "wrestling" stint. Being the GM of Smackdown can't be easy. But, like her father, she has learned many a lesson, whether for the good of the company or not, time will tell though. What she has done is proving that her show is far superior to that of Raw.

She's had to prove a lot, whether to herself, her family, to fans or other wrestlers.

Her dad may own the company, but it takes more than money to rule a company. It takes guts, determination, and a brain for business.

To start at the bottom of the company as she did, Stephanie has proven that she is more than just a McMahon.