It took 4 years, 2 resignations from Vince McMahon and went in a complete change of direction compared to what was first planned, but Mr. McMahon was finally released on Netflix on Wednesday, September 25th.
Originally announced in late 2020, fans familiar with McMahon and his lack of interviews were extremely sceptical over how much detail the series would go into, what would actually be covered and how accurate it would be considering the revisionist history or at times blatant lies told in previous WWE documentaries.
Opening with McMahon seated on a chair in the middle of a wrestling ring, the place he has called home for most of his life, there is already a concern as to what to expect as the former Chairman says that there are stories he is unable to tell, even when pressed by the production team. While new stories are hard to come by, new comments on the old stories do provide a lot more information for better or for worse. While it’s unsure what McMahon originally attempted to accomplish by agreeing to this project, it’s unlikely that this is the way he envisioned it would turn out for him.
What To Expect From Mr. McMahon
In terms of the content of the show itself, this is not one for those who are expecting to hear never-before-told stories and revelations regarding one of the most important figures in wrestling history. Hardcore fans will be familiar with the subjects and the controversies that forced McMahon to resign from WWE twice are only discussed briefly in the latter half of the final episode. However, this is not exactly a series for the die-hard fan. I watched this series with my wife, who is barely a “casual” fan, and was fascinated by her views on a lot of the subjects that I was familiar with but she never knew. As the old footage played that I had seen many times before, she laughed at the very 80s presentation that was the style at the time and was appalled by the controversial angles that she had never been aware of before and how some of the talking heads responded.
Beginning with McMahon’s backstory and upbringing, the show details the former WWE Chairman’s relationship with his mother and abusive stepfather. Stating that he was beaten on a near daily basis, McMahon did not meet his real father until later in life, who he would later buy the WWF from and change wrestling forever. Giving the backstory to WrestleMania 1 and how it was either going to be a huge success or a massive failure, the show first sets up McMahon as a revolutionary in the wrestling world and someone who was able to overcome all the odds.
Partway through episode 2, things start to change as the scandals and McMahon’s views and ethics are firmly thrust into the spotlight with the steroid trial and the alleged sexual assault of female referee Rita Chatterton brought up. Although these are controversies that longtime fans are familiar with, comments from McMahon in 2024 did not come across well, especially when he discussed his views on alleged sexual assault.
The episode concerned with The Attitude Era and the rise of WWF to an international juggernaut that it became saw many in the show joke that it was a different time and how they were able to do what they wanted. It should be noted that one theme throughout the series was that clips were spliced into the show following incorrect comments from McMahon and talking heads to correct their distorted views. Arguably the most notable example of this was when McMahon said that there was no mentions of death, rape or guns on TV, which was immediately debunked as McMahon also described The Attitude Era as “Family friendly, but for an older family.”
This episode transitioned from a supposed light-hearted look back at the late 90s to the very real death of Owen Hart at Over the Edge 1999. Watching Bret Hart recall what happened and his thoughts that at one point it might have been intentional was very hard to watch, along with mentioning that the performers were forced to carry on despite the fact that their colleague and friend had died just minutes before and his blood was visible on the canvas. In a crushingly honest statement and another insight into his mindset, McMahon defends the decision to let the show carry on and confirms that he does value business above all else, even saying that if he died he would want the show to go on.
The family-focused penultimate episode gives a fascinating insight into the lives of Vince, Linda, Shane and Stephanie. With Vince pitching that Stephanie and Triple H should get married on live TV and laughs as he recalls the incest storyline, the lines between art and artist are blurred, a recurring theme throughout the show as no one really knows where the line is between the man Vince McMahon and the TV villain Mr. McMahon. It also doesn’t help that at times McMahon does not seem to remember key moments and needs his memory jogged by those off camera, such as the sexual harassment lawsuit filed by former employee Sable.
For those who have not watched the series, episode 6 is where a lot of the headlines have come from, arguably the most damning and sees when the production team were forced to take a different direction. The Chris Benoit murder-suicide is featured and sees McMahon deny that CTE or steroids were a factor, instead claiming that Benoit “went nuts.” On the subject of concussions and head trauma, McMahon also claims that The Undertaker was not concussed at WrestleMania 30, despite the fact Mark Calaway literally said it a few seconds ago. Additionally, Steve Austin got a lot of backlash online for his views on CTE, and rightly so.
Halfway through the final episode, it is clear that the original endpoint had been reached. McMahon says that anyone who wants to retire should just “go die” and many from the world of wrestling agree that McMahon will never retire as Booker T foreshadows that only a nuclear bomb would stop the Chairman. McMahon’s time in the chair ends as the camera cuts to focus on the 2022 allegations. With no more interviews from McMahon from this point, it was noted that McMahon had cancelled, journalists make up most of the rest of the episode with the exception of a brief appearance from Bruce Prichard, who was not happy with the “gotcha” piece they produced. Despite everything that has happened and has been reported on to that point, Prichard will defend his former boss to the end of the Earth, noting that the team did not capture the McMahon he knows.
Two of the most important days of McMahon’s life follow as the sale of the company to Endeavor was first brought up to set up McMahon as the victor in his own story. However, just 2 days later by the disturbing lawsuit filed by former employee Janel Grant. The lawsuit was covered briefly and talked about by those that broke it, which is still ongoing at the time of writing. Graphic details were discussed and how this time it led to McMahon’s resignation for good, but still denying the allegations. Other incidents that followed the resignation also followed with the previously unreleased statement from the late Ashley Massaro and footage showing McMahon humiliating her on camera among other controversial McMahon moments.
In typical Hogan fashion, an interview before the allegations were made public heard him say that the company would not survive without Vince, which saw follow-up footage instantly prove that was not the case as Triple H declared that WrestleMania 40 was the biggest of all time.
At the end of the series, McMahon and various guests in archive footage are unsure as to what McMahon’s legacy will be when all is said and done. While this feels like this was meant to be McMahon’s triumphant tale of overcoming all the odds to be a success no matter what, many now feel any legacy he had in wrestling success has been overshadowed given the allegations and will be remembered for his fall much more than his rise.
The Guest Stars
The talking heads featured in the show are arguably the most famous line-up of guests in the history of any wrestling docuseries as the likes of The Rock, The Undertaker, Steve Austin, Hulk Hogan and John Cena all feature along with members of the McMahon family. While some have been known to not remember the past too well or go the Bruce Prichard route of blatantly towing the company line and defending McMahon to the end of the earth, others are refreshingly honest. For example, where multiple individuals claim that 93,000 fans attended WrestleMania 3, journalist Dave Meltzer sets the record straight with the true attendance figure and gives the facts throughout to make sure that this is not a series that insults the intelligence of those who know better.
While Bret Hart has become known for not holding back in wrestling interviews and speaks his mind on many sensitive subjects, his blunt honesty is very welcomed here, especially in relation to the emotional passing of his brother.
In terms of the opinions and comments from the star-studded line-up, the biggest surprise was the answers given by Tony Atlas. Not the biggest name in the wrestling world and a name non-wrestling fans are not familiar with, Atlas at times was so honest about topics such as being allegedly groped by Pat Patterson that even the production team was stunned. With wrestling fans so used to hearing distorted views and history being rewritten, the sobering comments from some made Mr. McMahon stand out more compared to many projects in the past and was anything but the fluff piece some were apprehensive of beforehand. Credit to the producers for realising that some guests would be much more honest than others.
The Verdict On Mr. McMahon
Ultimately, your opinion of the docuseries and what you are looking for will depend on how much you knew about the topic ahead of time. If you are a fan who has only gotten into wrestling recently and has never heard of the steroid trial, the McMahon family drama or the Owen Hart tragedy, the series gives a great insight into some of the biggest events in company history from those that there were and lived through it all. If you have never heard the stories about McMahon and the darker moments in WWE history, this is essential viewing and could be one of the key non-WWE shows to show non-fans what has really happened in the company over the past 4 decades. My wife, who is not a wrestling fan as such, gave her thoughts on the series:
“Living with a big wrestling fan (and someone writes about it for a living!), it’s hard not to get some insight into the world of wrestling. Sure, you won’t find me getting up early to watch PPVs and I couldn’t tell you what is happening in NXT, but I certainly knew about the upcoming Netflix docuseries ‘Mr McMahon’.
“As I sat down to watch it on the day of release with my husband, I didn’t know what to expect.
You can tell that the docuseries was originally created to share Vince McMahon’s inspirational story of building the most successful wrestling company in the world. However, as the episodes progressed, you can see Vince McMahon disappearing and the Mr McMahon character (or perhaps the real Vince McMahon) creeping in.
Sure, I was aware of the allegation against Vince McMahon and was somewhat aware of controversial storylines from 90s WWE, but I didn’t realise how appalling some angles the show used to take and I felt it gave a glimpse into the mindset of McMahon. Like with a lot of celebrities who have been accused later in their careers of sexual offences, it is hard not to think ‘How did we not see this?’ – possibly because the things he was and had been accused of were made into storylines, making such a joke of it all.
If it wasn’t for Vince McMahon being a problematic person, his story would be, dare I say it, inspirational and one studied in business books. But his reputation is now forever tarnished.
And WWE has a lot of work to do to disassociate themselves from their former owner.”
However, if you have been watching for decades, know the backstage stories and have watched the likes of Dark Side of the Ring in the past, there is nothing new in terms of stories, but there are in terms of comments. McMahon’s views on sensitive topics are at times shocking to hear even from long-term wrestling fans and there is a weird sense of confirmation that many things said about McMahon in interviews are in fact true as the man himself confirms it.
While they showed some of the more controversial clips from the Attitude Era and McMahon as a TV character in general, the producers could have been a lot worse. This is the same man who uttered multiple racial slurs on camera among other abhorrent things.
Truthfully, I don’t know if the team behind the series were ever going to make the project many fans wanted with a complete tell-all as McMahon and many talking heads still are reluctant to elaborate on things out of fear of repercussions. The team themselves were set up with a mammoth task of interviewing someone who historically does not like to give interviews and focusing 40 years of WWE and nearly 80 years of McMahon’s life into 6 hours was always going to leave out some key topics. Additionally, it would have been more interesting to see more responses to key moments, for example, the family is never asked about Vince’s previous affairs.
Ahead of the show, Vince McMahon issued a statement saying that he was not happy with the series and a report claimed that he tried to buy it back from Netflix. After watching the show, it’s easy to see why he had an issue with it. While some talking heads come across very well during sensitive matters, McMahon’s comments on many things make him come across as anything but the hero in his own story. If McMahon wanted to make this show part of his legacy as the flawed but triumphant mastermind who overcame all the odds, this won’t be a time when he gets what he wanted.
With a series showing that the lines are very much blurred between Vince McMahon and Mr. McMahon, the comments he made in the candid interviews to confirm this and the abhorrent allegations that have come out in 2024, his reputation will be forever tarnished no matter the outcome.
To borrow a quote from McMahon, Vince screwed Vince.
