There’s a bit of irony that Vince McMahon — as his character Mr. McMahon — got off on telling people, “You’re firrrred!” and his essentially forced exit from the WWE, which he had founded more than 40 years ago. And the timing couldn’t have been worse, as the six-part documentary Mr. McMahon was intended to go one way but ended up submitting to another: that is, the even darker side of the wrestling icon. And now Vince McMahon is taking aim at the doc, saying it’s an unfair depiction.
Vince McMahon took to social media this week – just a few days ahead of Mr. McMahon’s September 25th debut on Netflix – to dispute the content and reputability of it, saying he saw an early cut that had worked in the new revelations about his life. “I don’t regret participating in this Netflix documentary. The producers had an opportunity to tell an objective story about my life and the incredible business I built, which were equally filled with excitement, drama, fun, and a fair amount of controversy and life lessons. 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.”
This is something that has been a topic for wrestling fans for quite some time now: where did Vince McMahon end and Mr. McMahon begin? How much crossover was there after all? The more and more WWE fans thought about it – and considered some of the truly gross angles involving the likes of Trish Stratus and Sable, just to name two that involved him directly on camera – it became clear to many that there never really was a distinction.
Vince McMahon added, “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.”
The Mr. McMahon persona is a complicated one, but he can really be boiled down to the archetype of the power-tripping boss who will stop at nothing to make sure everyone serves him. Vince McMahon took the character on in 1997 as the Attitude Era — a time when more violence, vulgarity and sexuality was being featured in WWE (then WWF) — dawned. This persona allowed him to engage in feuds with the likes of Bret Hart and “Stone Cold” Steve Austin but also actively engage in storylines that pushed female superstars into more sex-driven content. He also allowed himself to win the 1999 Royal Rumble, but that’s the least of the offenses here…
What do you expect to see in the documentary Mr. McMahon? Are you surprised by Vince McMahon’s tumble?