Hiya!

Whichever way you think of him, Vince McMahon is a legend in the wrestling industry. He’s the reason why the professional wrestling industry became the mainstream success it is today. He’s also the one who made the WWE the powerhouse multi-billion dollar company it is today. However, in light of the recent and serious allegations levelled against him, the name “Vince McMahon” is also a kind of rancid blemish the WWE is now trying to scrub from the minds of people.

So, when Netflix, shortly after their deal with the WWE to broadcast RAW on their streaming platform, started to promote their Mr. McMahon documentary, I was extremely curious with what direction they were going to take. Were they going to show Vince McMahon as some legendary business mastermind who took all sorts of risks to make the WWE the sports entertainment pinnacle it is today. Were they going to portray him as a kind of ruthless, tyrannical boss who always gets what he wants? It turns out it was both and, also, not any of the two.

So, you would think the Mr. McMahon documentary would be focusing on Vince McMahon and his life story. That’s not necessarily true as, while it does tackle aspects of his upbringing as well as his own perspectives on some of the major controversies he’s face throughout his life, it does feel more focused on his company, the WWE, and how it intertwines with his life. It is safe to say the two are intertwined and joined at the hip, so to speak. However, throughout the 6-episode Netflix documentary, it does seem more like a telling of the WWE and all its historical moments, both good and bad.

For example, the first episode does tackle Vince McMahon’s early life before his biological father brought him into the world of the WWE, then known as the WWF… kind of. It’s actually more like a blurb when he talks about how he grew up poor and how he was beat up by his stepfather before his father took him in. They do talk about his early life before his entry into the wild world of professional wrestling here and there to give some background on why Vince McMahon behaves like the Mr. McMahon character. The thing is it’s never done in any great detail so I’m just left wanting more.

Instead, what we get is more of a documentary of the evolution of the WWE as a product with a little introspective as to what was in the minds of the people behind the scenes. Things like how Vince McMahon was both a trailblazer and a jerk for disrupting the non-verbal territories agreements during the early days of wrestling and how the entire Attitude Era slowly evolved during the Monday Night Wars. We also got a clear understanding on how the Mr. McMahon character came to be during the Attitude Era and how he got the evil boss character idea. The problem is longtime wrestling fans are very familiar with them already so it’s not really telling us anything new. It feels more like a reiteration of stuff fans have learned throughout the years.

That’s not to say there isn’t some introspective to be found here. One thing they did focus on what Vince’s relationship with his family, who he eventually brought into the WWE as on-screen talent. Fans already got an idea of how hard he was on both Stephanie McMahon and Shane McMahon, with Shane seemingly having to fight more for his father’s love. Even the people they interviewed saw this as Shane wasn’t as ruthless as his father when it came to business side of things.

This is very evident during one portion where Paul Heyman described one particular argument during a Creative meeting. Shane McMahon pitched the idea and Vince was dead-set against doing it. Tempers flared and, according to Paul Heyman, Vince took out a knife and told Shane he would stab and kill him in order for them to run with his idea. This sounds totally fabricated because there’s no way a sane person would take an argument this far. Then again, there is a saying where truth is stranger than fiction, right? Still, these little peaks behind the curtain on what Vince McMahon is really like comes off as few and far between.

I will say I do like these interview portions of all of the people Vince McMahon has encountered through the years. Throughout most of his life, Vince has made a lot of friends and he’s also made a lot of enemies and they all get a chance to voice out their opinions on him.

One thing I did notice is how the people who are loyal or, at the very least, cordial towards him is it’s because Vince McMahon is more than willing to welcome them back into the fold… as long as there’s an opportunity to make a ton of money with that person. A good example of this would be Hulk Hogan who, in Vince’s mind at the very least, stabbed him in the back when he left for the competition. Years later, after he bought out the competition, he was okay with working with Hulk Hogan. However, Vince still hates people who are strongly against him, such as Phil Mushnick, who wrote hitpiece after hitpiece against him and the WWE, he still hates with a passion. It doesn’t matter if what he wrote is true or not. He badmouthed him and his company so he must be evil.

Probably one of the most surprising things shown in the documentary is the disconnect in Vince McMahon’s mind regarding him and the Mr. McMahon “character” he portrays on WWE TV. The way he sees it, it’s just an amalgamation of all the terrible things he’s seen rich and powerful people do while growing up. On the other hand, the other people they talked to, including Paul Heyman and, even stalwart Vince McMahon defender, Bruce Prichard, say the Mr. McMahon character is pretty much how Vince McMahon is in real life. Take that as you will.

The last episode deals mostly with the fallout from the most recent lawsuit and allegation of misconduct Vince McMahon had levied against him. This is where the entire Mr. McMahon documentary sort of collapses on itself as it’s at this point Vince McMahon and virtually all of his supporters stop volunteering to give interviews for the documentary. While I understand why, it just becomes not as interesting as you don’t get to see both sides of the argument. You don’t get an insider’s perspective if they believe or have an inkling if it’s possible Vince McMahon could do that. The documentary strongly implies it is but, without a counterpoint, it’s also kind of moot.

I will say, if you are a wrestling fan, the Mr. McMahon Netflix documentary is still a worthwhile watch. While you may not know anything new about the man, you will get a neat little history package of the man and the empire he built. If you’re planning to watch it to learn about some massive truth bombs about Vince McMahon, you will leave unsatisfied. If this documentary was one of the Big Four pay-per-views of the WWE, I’d say it’s like Survivor Series. It’s still worth watching but don’t expect anything big from it.

Byee!

Have you seen Mr. McMahon? What did you think of the Netflix documentary? Let me know in the comments section below!