If you want to learn anything about WWE chief executive Vince McMahon from Netflix's six-part documentary Mr. McMahon The only suggestion I can make is to not waste time.
Despite an opening that promised to see a taciturn McMahon sit in the ring and delve into his wrestling decisions, Mr. McMahon It has veered into something far too similar to previous wrestling documentaries: sparse on information, leaving out key parts of history and run primarily by a cadre of WWE employees, past and present, all of whom seem more interested in protecting the brand than telling the story of Vince McMahon that is woven into the fabric of the company, despite people's desire to distinguish between the two.
This doesn't mean McMahon is being presented well. In fact, Mr. McMahon Vince is a smug, power-hungry capitalist who has spent 50 years as a wrestler and dedicated his entire life to the business and the growth of WWE, at the expense of meaningful relationships with his family.
The fundamental problem is that none of this is new information. With respect to McMahon, this is all known information. Mr. McMahon Instead, the docuseries is overwhelmingly about WWE history from the 1970s to the present, with a few well-chosen soundbites from Vince himself sprinkled in.
Some elements are touched upon but with too superficial attention given the scope and level of access originally claimed. Less explored aspects of McMahon's life include:
- He broke away from the National Wrestling Federation in 1982, tore up intra-wrestling agreements, dismantled rivals, signed top talent and then destroyed the company.
- Hulk Hogan's role in busting union organizing in the WWE locker room and subsequently blacklisting union organizer Jesse Ventura.
- Unfair labor practices like lack of health insurance, deeming wrestlers “independent contractors” for tax purposes, and Vince's close ties to lawmakers to protect the company.
- He blithely justified the death of Owen Hart in 1999 as a “manufacturing defect,” despite ample evidence that corners were cut and risky decisions were made in the lead up to his untimely demise.
- The effects of WWE's 200-day-a-year work schedule undoubtedly contributed to the premature deaths of wrestlers who felt forced to take steroids and painkillers to be able to wrestle every night.
- A long-standing history of creative retaliation against talent who questioned McMahon or caused conflict in the workplace.
All of these stories are touched upon, but each one is given only three to five minutes of airtime at most, which is incredibly shallow for a documentary series that lasts more than six hours in total.
It's one thing to expect McMahon himself not to offer up much notable information on these topics, but interview subjects throughout the series are rarely pressed to offer any insight into McMahon. Mr. McMahon On the other hand, there are guys like Hulk Hogan, The Undertaker, John Cena, Steve Austin, The Rock and Cody Rhodes, all of whom extol the virtues of McMahon as a promoter genius and “father figure,” and who are full of glowing praise for the man who made them millionaires.
No time is spent on wrestlers who worked for McMahon or who have criticized him. Also, all of the wrestlers who appear on the show are Mr. McMahon They are either currently employed by WWE or have “Legends Contracts,” which are contracts that pay former talent in exchange for maintaining their performance rights. Sure, various reporters and journalists make appearances from time to time, but these media personnel are often presented as “outsiders” who don't really understand the business, at which point they revert to WWE-sponsored voices to drive the storylines.
It's impossible not to feel like this decision wasn't intentional, especially considering Netflix has a 10-year, $5 billion deal with WWE. raw It will air on Monday nights starting in January 2025. The ever-present desire to separate McMahon's actions from WWE, or to completely ignore the company's involvement in key moments in history, feels like an attempt to protect the brand with which Netflix has a contract.
The harshest criticism of McMahon comes at the end of the final episode, where it's noted that the interview with Vince took place before the sexual misconduct allegations came out in 2022 and McMahon fled. There are also interviews with Wall Street Journal reporters who broke McMahon's story, but surprisingly, there is no attempt to interview Janelle Grant, the woman at the center of some of the most damning allegations against Vince McMahon and other former WWE employees. Grant's lawyer said she and her client Mr. McMahonIt's a mind-boggling decision, given the amount of airtime being devoted to these allegations.
What we're left with is a multi-part documentary series that has a lot to say but little that is unique or significant. Mr. McMahon It squanders an opportunity to dive into the life of one of the most influential men in professional wrestling, and instead leaves viewers wondering what was left out in the editing room. Watching the series without knowing anything about Vince McMahon or WWE will likely teach you more about the industry, but it's a waste of time. Mr. McMahon It ends up shedding light on some of wrestling's most important moments, but the results fall woefully short.
