Reacting to the announcement of Stephanie McMahon entering the WWE Hall of Fame in 2026, Matt Hardy spoke on his Extreme Life podcast and described the honor as a “good call.” Hardy praised her impact on the company while also sharing how she personally influenced his early singles run.

“It’s a good call. She’s obviously contributed so, so much to the WWE and she has been a huge contributing factor,” Hardy said. “People always talked about who would be the next to succeed Vince McMahon… Stephanie was definitely the one who everyone saw as the next power to be because Stephanie was just, she was more wired like Vince, I think, than Shane was in many, many ways.”

Hardy reflected on how McMahon helped him when he was establishing his heel persona as Matt Hardy Version 1. “I’ve always gotten along good with Stephanie,” Hardy recalled. “When I first turned heel and I had really embraced being Matt Hardy Version 1, the sensei of Mattitude with the vignettes, there was a lot of stuff that she kind of worked with me with and she gave me advice and tips and ideas, suggestions. And I worked with her pretty closely that whole while, her and Paul Heyman. So it was a lot of fun and very enjoyable.”

Stephanie McMahon was confirmed as the first inductee into the WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2026 during the Wrestlepalooza premium live event.