When Stephanie McMahon helped ex-WWE star after wife cheated on him with another wrestler
Throughout her 20-plus-year WWE career, Stephanie McMahon has helped several superstars. One of these wrestlers is former Cruiserweight Champion Hornswoggle.
In his autobiography Life Is Short, and So Am I: My Life Inside, Outside, and Under the Wrestling Ring, Hornswoggle recalled discovering that his wife was cheating on him with an independent wrestler named "Aaron."
"When Anne was out one day, I was on her computer, and she'd left her MySpace logged in. Maybe I shouldn't have looked, but I did, and straight away, I found messages between her and a guy named Aaron, who used to be an indie wrestler. They'd been to Milwaukee Brewers games together. They'd been away to the Wisconsin Dells for a weekend. She had told him, 'You complete me,' and 'You make me happier than I've been in a long time.'"
Hornswoggle further described his interaction with his former partner:
"I was crushed. I'd helped her with a bunch of debt, I'd done my best to help with her drug addiction, and, above all else, I'd loved her. I'd also cheated on her several times, but in that moment, I couldn't see past my own pain. When I confronted her about it, she told me that it had started with them being friends but turned into something more."
Following their confrontation, Anne wanted to leave. Although the former Cruiserweight Champion tried to convince her to stay and try to work things out between them, she left the house while he was on tour with WWE.
After the breakup, Hornswoggle was miserable. However, everyone in WWE was so supportive, as he disclosed in his book. One of those who tried to help the 37-year-old was Stephanie McMahon.
"Soon after Anne and I split up, I was at RAW doing a segment where I chased Melina out of the shower and through the building. Vince's [McMahon] daughter and EVP of creative, Stephanie McMahon, was producing the spot, and between takes, she pulled me aside to say, 'Hey, I heard what's going on at home, and I'm sorry about what's happening. But let me tell you, in this new role, you're going to get a lot of attention. You're going to have a lot of fun with this.' I thought that was thoughtful and supportive, especially since I hadn't been doing right by her family's company when I was missing so many shows to try to fix my broken relationship."
Hornswoggle legitimately bullied The Great Khali backstage. Check out the story here.
Ex-WWE star Hornswoggle seemingly retired from in-ring competition
Hornswoggle joined WWE in 2006. He spent about a decade in the Stamford-based company before being released from his contract in May 2016. The veteran then moved to the independent circuit, where he competed in several promotions.
In a recent interview with Inside The Ropes, Hornswoggle seemingly announced his retirement from in-ring action nearly three months after his final bout.
"Not that I know of. I mean, I would love to, but in-ring, probably is behind me, if I'm being honest with myself after my second failed back surgery. It ain't in the cards, I don't believe [I will compete] in-ring for a major company."
Does every WWE Superstar have a nude photo of Hornswoggle on their phone? The former champion previously addressed the rumor here.