Woman of the Year: Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley - 24,428 votes
From Pro Wrestling Illustrated, April 2001
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Its hard to believe the innocent young woman who was tormented by the Undertaker's Ministry of Darkness in 1999 is the same woman who took center stage and became the most visible (and most hated) member of the McMahon family this year.
Stephanie played her father like a Stradivarius at last year's Armageddon pay-per-view and swerved the world, revealing she and Triple-H had in fact planned their bizarre Las Vagas drive-through wedding. Stephanie stood by her husband's side as Triple-H became arguably the most dominant heel World Champion in WWF history. As a member of DX, Steph mastered the art of outside interference and distraction. When Mick Foley ordered her apparent comeuppance by way of match against then-women's champion Jacquelyn, Stephanie somehow came out of the match with the title around her waist. And through she rarely defended her title (and has never come close to winning a match cleanly), she managed to hold the belt for nearly five months.
Despite her success, many claimed Stephanie had little to do with her husband's prosperity. She answered her critics by going against Hunter's wishes and signing on as a "business associate" of Kurt Angle. Within a few weeks, Kurt Angle was the WWF World Champion, and Stephanie once again stood in the corner of the top man in the WWF.
"The thing with Stephanie is that she always just seemed to be in the right place at the right time," wrote Craig Swartz of Niagra Falls, Ontario. "But after a little while, you have to realize she's not just getting lucky. Stephanie managed to position herself in the middle of almost every main event throughout the year. She may be a lousy wrestler, but there's no denying she was the most successful woman of 2000."
"Unlike most of the women in wrestling, Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley never allowed herself to be portrayed as a bimbo or resorted to taking off her clothes to get attention," opined Christina Perillo of Haddon Heights, New Jersey. "Even when she was running with Hunter's DeGenerates, Stephanie always came across as a classy and intelligent woman. That's why she got my vote."
Stephanie tooked her fair share of bumps, including several rock bottoms and huracanranas. But she pulled herself up each time, dusted herself off and went back to the task at hand--maintaining control of the volatile WWF.
And for 24,428 PWI readers, that was enough to earn her our first-ever Woman of the Year Award.