Rhino recently looked back on one of the most pivotal periods of his WWE career — the 2001 Invasion storyline — and shared how working closely with Chris Jericho and Stephanie McMahon proved to be a valuable learning experience.
Appearing on The False Finish, the former ECW Champion spoke about his time as part of The Alliance, where Stephanie managed him during several high-profile angles. Rhino praised both Stephanie and Jericho for the knowledge they shared behind the scenes.
“When I was working with Jericho, I was part of the Alliance, and then Stephanie was my manager. I learned so much from her because we’d have to cut promos,” Rhino said.
He noted that Stephanie’s lifelong immersion in the wrestling business made her an incredible resource.
“She’s been part of the business her whole life… I would pick her brain on the business and she would tell me how she started in the mail room and stuff on summer vacation and working in the office.”
Rhino also spoke highly of Chris Jericho’s veteran mindset, saying:
“Jericho was really good because he’s just so knowledgeable. He would tell me, ‘The longer we have Stephanie involved in our angle, we’re going to get that TV time in order to get this angle over so we’re lucky to have her in this angle with us.’”
Reflecting on the overall experience, Rhino added:
“I learned a lot from both of them — business, wrestling, and a ton of other things, booking, you know, and just behind-the-scenes stuff.”
He concluded by pointing out that he believed Stephanie McMahon was just beginning her journey into WWE creative at the time, giving him a unique opportunity to see her early growth as a behind-the-scenes leader.
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(h/t to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription)
