Stephanie McMahon explains breaking character for women’s Royal Rumble match announcement on Raw

In the main event of an episode of Monday Night Raw a month ago, WWE had the entirety of the women’s roster in the ring so Stephanie McMahon could come out and make an announcement. They were not told what she would be there to say beforehand.

Ultimately, she revealed the first ever women’s Royal Rumble match would take place at the pay-per-view (PPV) of the same name on Jan. 28 in Philadelphia. The reaction to the announcement led to some discontent in the fan base, namely because wrestlers who were feuding and fighting just moments before were now celebrating together.

McMahon told The Mirror that it was designed that way, and gave her reasoning for it:

“We were chastised by some fans because we broke character and I told the women earlier in the day - they knew I was coming out but they didn’t know what I was going to say - I told them react naturally, don’t feel like you have to be in character, it’s okay for you to react however you want to react, to whatever I’m going to say. We all broke character that night. We had this very real moment with each other and with the audience, because again, our audience is such a huge part of making this happen.”

That ... actually makes sense!

You can argue the merits of kayfabe and what it means to the business and all that jazz, and you may not even be wrong, but in 2018 moments like this are becoming the norm. Hey, at least there was a good reason for it, right?