Stephanie explains her book was delayed so it could tell the entire McMahon ‘family’s story’

When it was originally announced back in May of this year, Stephanie McMahon’s first book was going to be focused on her life “growing up in WWE”.

UNREAL: Inside the Crazy, Fun Show Business World of WWE was then delayed from it’s announced release date in September of this year to somewhere in 2017, and McMahon said the reason was because she “realized I have much more to share”. But the lack of any details led to speculation there were other problems with the project.

There may well be other issues, but Steph provided more information about what’s changed for a book that was originally promoted as equal parts wrestling memoir and female empowerment story in an interview with Forbes this week:

It was originally supposed to be a memoir. But as the first book from my family, it needed to be so much more. I want to make it bigger and better. I gotta tell my family’s story.

Which is a good point, and a big responsibility. Steph is part of the fourth generation of McMahons in the wrestling business, and her father, Vince, doesn’t give very many interviews - let alone write books. Her mother Linda has been President and C.E.O. of the company, something she’s used to enter the political world. Her brother Shane is a successful performer who’s strived to make his own name in the world outside of the family business.

If she’s decided to make herself the teller of the McMahon family story, there’s a lot of story to tell. Including things like this anecdote about Vince’s run-in with the mob while working to overtake and consolidate other regional promotions in the 80s:

He was invading their territories, and getting better television coverage. He thought he had the better product, and ultimately, he did, and they didn’t take to kindly to that. He told me a great story about a threat from a notorious gangster and being in this room, this old hotel, with the dark wooden panel walls and this big oversized man with a very unattractive face. He was threatening my Dad’s life and my Dad was willing to stand up to him and all these different people to make his dreams come true.

She doesn’t reveal an updated release date. Amazon still lists the book for August of 2020, and McMahon says in the Forbes interview it’s “on hold” while she is “reassessing” the project.

Does it sound like something you’d be interested in reading - whenever it comes out?