Shortly before Vince McMahon sat down for an interview, resulting in Netflix’s Mr. McMahon, he was an enigma to most of the world, including WWE superfans.
It’s difficult to separate Vince McMahon’s and Mr. McMahon’s two personas: the former, a business-savvy intellect who built an entertainment empire, and the latter, a megalomaniacal sociopath.
This was a juicy opportunity for long-time WWE fans to learn the dark and hopefully high-drama secrets surrounding one of WWE’s most infamous archvillains. Instead, something strange happened.
When Vince McMahon left the interview, his story was told, and his history with the WWE was “laid bare,” and the enigma remained. Therein lies the great flaw of an otherwise entertaining spectacle.
For those unfamiliar with the WWE, there are some interesting nuggets of information throughout. For those who are, it’s nothing more than a grain of sand on beachfront real estate.
Netflix’s Mr. McMahon is Entertainment and Not Much More
Sure, there are articles out there that proclaim the damning revelations of a business tycoon who built a “professional” wrestling empire from scratch. But to those of us with a modicum of history with the WWE, there’s not much here to write home about.
If you’re in any way familiar with the likes of Tiger King and Netflix’s more colorful documentaries, you’ll feel right at home. In fact, Chris Smith, an executive producer and the director for Mr. McMahon, also worked on Tiger King.
From the opening moments, it feels like this docuseries will rip open the deep underbelly of professional wrestling, with McMahon the primary target.
Allegations of steroid use, child sex abuse, the accidental death of a WWE superstar, and the murder-suicide of another lead the viewer to believe that Netflix’s Mr. McMahon will finally turn the light on in the bathroom.
Instead, it ultimately reveals a more sedentary, laid-back view of the man. That’s not to say that the allegations and statements are not villainous in the extreme.
But in a day and age where something terrifying and disheartening is breaking news on an hourly basis, McMahon’s exploits seem downright pedestrian.
The most egregious example is the timing, which we can partly blame on the Netflix documentary. Ultimately, it’s a malodorous retelling of a tale most fans have heard before, and that’s a shame.
Vince McMahon’s Point of View
In the interests of impartiality, it’s important to mention this as well: It was never likely that Netflix’s Mr. McMahon documentary would escape scrutiny from the man himself.
“A lot has been misrepresented or left out entirely in an effort to leave viewers intentionally confused. The producers use typical editing tricks with out of context footage and dated soundbites etc. to distort the viewers’ perception and support a deceptive narrative.”
– Vince McMahon
To be fair, this is true, at least to a degree. At the end of the day, a successful documentary entertains. If it’s boring, no one will watch it. It’s simply a sad fact of life that even the most accurate information is often ignored if the presentation is boring.
For his part, Vince McMahon says all the right things in response to Netflix’s release.
“I hope the viewer will keep an open mind and remember that there are two sides to every story.”
– Vince McMahon
Even more puzzling is Netflix’s release of Mr. McMahon, which arrives after a deal struck between the streaming giant and WWE. Starting in 2025, WWE Raw will be available exclusively on Netflix, with Smackdown, NXT, and major WWE events in the mix as well.
McMahon is not without support, either, and this is where things get interesting. We’re dealing with the juxtaposition of Vince McMahon and Mr. McMahon, something other wrestlers point to, as well as Gabbi Tuft (Tyler Reks).
One is a fictional villain, while the other is a real-life businessman who finds himself embroiled in controversy from time to time.
The Shady History of McMahon’s Legacy
Despite McMahon’s denials centered on the events in Netflix’s Mr. McMahon, there is a history of abuse, drug use, sexual assault, rape, pedophilia, and hush money exchanges that linger around McMahon like a malignant fog.
► Rita Chatterton accused Vince McMahon of raping her in a limousine in 1986.
► In 1992, McMahon was accused of ignoring rampant sexual misconduct in the WWE, specifically involving the Head of Wrestling Operations, his assistant, and the Ring Announcer.
► McMahon was accused of aiding and abetting Jimmy Snuka’s avoidance of murder and domestic violence charges.
► McMahon settled a sexual allegation in 2006 for $1 million.
► McMahon fired a wrestler amidst accusations of sexual coercion (settled in 2018).
► McMahon settled another sexual allegation in 2008 for $1 million.
► McMahon was accused of sexual misconduct (groping) in 2006.
► Wall Street Journal reported on a sexual assault accusation leveled against McMahon for a 2011 incident.
► Rita Chatterton’s accusations resurfaced in 2022.
► Hush money and shady non-disclosure agreement allegations came to light via a whistleblower email in mid-2022.
► Paul London accused Vince McMahon of obsessively pursuing Paul’s ex, Ashley Massaro (she committed suicide in 2019)
► Janel Grant, accusing Vince McMahon of physical and emotional abuse, sex trafficking, and sexual assault, filed suit against John Laurinaitis, Vince McMahon, and the WWE later in 2022.
► Federal investigators serve McMahon with a search warrant and gain access to his phone.
Some of the accusations are well outside the statute of limitations. However, places like New York and California have recently passed laws allowing for the resurrection of old accusations and lawsuits.
Overall, that’s quite extensive, and where there is smoke, there’s usually a fire. But it’s the last and most brutal of the accusations (Janel Grant) that Netflix misses out on.
Mr. McMahon is an Empathetic History Tale
It’s difficult to empathize throughout much of Netflix’s Mr. McMahon. However, once the series touches on the relationship between him and his son, everything changes.
The empathetic father figure is difficult to quantify with the serial sexual sadist. The giant flaw is this, coupled with the failure to highlight the voices that actually matter — wrestlers who aren’t well-known commodities.
Anyone who knows anything about the WWE knows there are thousands upon thousands of hours of video footage in the back rooms behind the curtains, none of which is accessed or used.
They also know that the lesser-known names in the wrestling industry are the ones who most often encounter the seedier side of show business.
However, Netflix fails to interview any of them, opting for big names and the greater viewership draw they provide. This all occurred prior to the latest allegations. This is a colossal mistake.
Perhaps four people on the planet knew who the Tiger King was, yet the show became a phenomenal success. Tiger King proves that a good docuseries can do much with very little.
Ultimately, this transforms the show’s feel and look from a necessary documentary that centers on a man who has probably gotten away with so much into an empathetic rehash of well-known events.
Sure, it’s an entertaining slosh in the pool of high-drama WWE entertainment.
But, ultimately, that’s all it really is — yet another accusation farm that Vince McMahon can thoroughly salt before moving on.
What did you think about Netflix’s Mr. McMahon?
Did it reveal anything you didn’t already know? Let us know in the comments!
Watch Mr. McMahon Online
