The Vince McMahon documentary is finally here. Titled Mr. McMahon, the six-part docuseries chronicles the life and times of the former WWE CEO. The series contains hundreds of hours of interview footage from some of the biggest names in the world of professional wrestling, including McMahon himself.
There’s a lot of controversy attached to the Vince McMahon Netflix documentary in light of Janel Grant‘s allegations against him. Grant filed a lawsuit against McMahon, accusing him of sexual assault, emotional abuse, and sex trafficking. Her attorneys announced they were retaining the services of SKDK’s Kendra Barkoff Lamy PR company prior to the documentary release.
With that said, here’s everything you need to know about the Vince McMahon documentary.
Where can I watch it?
All six episodes of “Mr. McMahon” were released simultaneously on Netflix at 12 am PST / 3 am EST on Wednesday, September 25. Each episode clocks at about 50 or 65 minutes.
Who participated in the Vince McMahon documentary?
Vince McMahon sat down for “more than 200 hours” of interviews for the project. He participated before the Janel Grant allegations surfaced and prior to his resignation. Janel Grant did not participate in the documentary.
In addition to McMahon appearance, the Netflix series features interviews from “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Hulk Hogan, The Undertaker, Shawn Michaels, Bret Hart, John Cena, current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes, and Chief Content Officer Paul “Triple H” Levesque. McMahon’s son and daughter, Shane and Stephanie McMahon, also appear in the latest documentary about their father.
Former WWE star Sasha Banks (aka Mercedes Moné) recently shared her thoughts on the Vince McMahon documentary. It is unknown if Mercedes was interviewed for the docuseries as she left WWE in May 2022, before the hush-money scandal against McMahon came to light.
WWE Hall of Famer Jake “The Snake” Roberts said he expects “a lot of bullshit” in the Vince McMahon docuseries. Click here to read what Mandy Rose said about the Netflix documentary prior to its release.
McMahon issued response to the early cut
McMahon participated in filming, but says he doesn’t approve of the cut he saw. In a statement released just two days before the release, the former wrestling promoter dubbed “Mr. McMahon” a “misleading” and “deceptive” depiction of him.
“Unfortunately, based on an early partial cut I’ve seen, this doc falls short and takes the predictable path of conflating the ‘Mr. McMahon’ character with my true self, Vince. The title and promos alone make that evident,” he said.
He continued, “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.”
“In an attempt to further their misleading account, the producers use a lawsuit based on an affair I ended as evidence that I am, in fact, ‘Mr. McMahon.’ I hope the viewer will keep an open mind and remember that there are two sides to every story.”
McMahon’s statement prompted a response from Janel Grant’s attorney, Ann Callis, who said the former WWE CEO “physically and emotionally abused, sexually assaulted, and human trafficked Janel Grant for more than two years.”
“Calling his horrific and criminal behavior ‘an affair’ is delusional and nothing more than a sad thought attempt to save his shredded reputation. Although Ms. Grant has not seen the ‘Mr. McMahon’ docuseries, we hope it shines a bright light on his abhorrent and criminal actions by accurately portraying the realities of his abusive and exploitative behavior,” per the statement.
McMahon reportedly tried to buy rights to the documentary
Many had expected the Vince McMahon documentary to portray the 79-year-old in a positive light, but producers Chris Smith (Tiger King) and Bill Simmons (The Ringer) went on to include the sexual assault and hush-money controversy in the docuseries.
According to Puck’s Matt Belloni, McMahon tried to buy the rights to the documentary following WWE’s merger with TKO. Belloni reported that McMahon got “cold feet” after watching the early cut, and tried to stop its release by offering to buy the rights, but Netflix declined.
WWE’s former boss reportedly distanced himself from his PR firm prior to the release. Sitrick and Company confirmed the development, but declined to provide further comments. “With respect to clients, we don’t comment beyond we are no longer working together,” Sitrick said.
Word from ‘Mr. McMahon’ director
With Mr. McMahon director Chris Smith to intends to “pull back the curtain to reveal the true Vince McMahon obscured beneath the persona he presented to the world.”
“Over the four years of production, the story evolved in truly shocking ways, culminating in some extremely harrowing allegations,” Smith told Netflix before the release.
“The final product is a revealing documentary that we believe offers a rich and nuanced portrait of the man and the complex legacy he left behind,” he added.
‘Mr. McMahon’ is currently streaming on Netflix.
