WWE Payback, Stephanie McMahon & How the WWE Gives Back

Disclosure:  My family received complimentary tickets to the show in exchange for sharing my honest opinion.

When I received an invite to take my boys to a WWE Payback show, I admit I was concerned.  Is it family friendly?  Will it encourage my kids to fight?  Will they like it?  Well the show was honestly fun and appropriate for kids (although I did catch one swear word said.)    Now I will say I haven’t watched the WWE since the Hulk Hogan days, yeah its been awhile, so I wasn’t sure what to expect.  My boys had never seen the WWE wrestlers before nor did they really know what it was, but boy did they love it!

First off we got the chance to meet some of the WWE Superstars and Divas, along with playing with some of the new WWE licensed toys.

While my kids entertained themselves, I got the chance to hear from Stephanie McMahon.  I didn’t know who that was, but the name “McMahon” did ring a bell.  Stephanie is actually the daughter of WWE Chairman and CEO Vince McMahon, along with being the Chief Brand Officer of WWE Chairman and wife of WWE wrestler and executive vice president Paul “Triple H” Levesque.

Stephanie was so easy going to talk to and so nice!  Yes even though she is part of the “Authority” which is technically the bad guys, she is super nice.  One of the things she is most passionate about is the Be A Star program.

Be A Star:  Be a STAR (Show Tolerance And Respect) was founded by The Creative Coalition and WWE in April 2011.  The mission of Be a STAR is to ensure a positive and equitable social environment for everyone regardless of age, race, religion or sexual orientation through grassroots efforts beginning with education and awareness. Be a STAR promotes positive methods of social interaction and encourages people to treat others as equals and with respect because everyone is a star in their own right.

Some of the other programs the WWE offers are:

WrestleMania Reading Challenge: WWE, the Pearson Foundation’s We Give Books and the American Library Association’s Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) are partnering together for an expanded WrestleMania Reading Challenge for students ages 4-18. Now through Friday, March 7, students can go to WWEReadingSuperstar.com to read free digital books or write an essay to their favorite WWE Superstar. Participants are eligible to win prizes like a trip to WrestleMania 30 or a visit from a WWE Superstar. Other prizes include grants for school and public libraries. In 2013, more than 25,000 kids across America participated in this digital element, reading more than 110,000 books.

Susan G. Komen: In September 2012, WWE announced a partnership with Susan G. Komen for the Cure featuring WWE Superstar John Cena. In recognition of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Cena wore co-branded, pink and black ring gear that fans were able to purchase throughout October to support Susan G. Komen, the world’s largest nonprofit funder of breast cancer research and community outreach programs. One hundred percent of WWE’s profits from the Cena merchandise were donated to Susan G. Komen. Led by Cena, the WWE Universe was able to raise $1 million for Susan G. Komen.

I love that the WWE is more than just fighting.  They really do help out in so many different areas!  So what did my family think of the show?  My kids loved it.  The show started out slow for them but when John Cena came out they jumped up on the chairs!  I think it was just the excitement in the arena that did it for them as everyone really cheered for John.  We unfortunately didn’t catch the end of the show because my boys were exhausted and it was a school night but we did see most of it.  They have already asked when can we go to another WWE show and they want to watch it on television.  I explained how the wrestlers are not really hurting each other and how they are adults which is why its okay for them to pretend fight.  I think they understood that and luckily they haven’t tried to re-create any of the moves the wrestlers did!

I’d definitely recommend giving the WWE a chance, even if you need to watch it first before letting your kids watch it.  Not ready to let them watch it?  At least check out the WWE Community!

Stay Connected with the WWE:

WWE WEBSITE | WWE Facebook | WWE TWITTER | WWE GOOGLE+