I love professional wrestling, and even at a young age, I connected Mr. Vincent Kennedy McMahon with the squared circle.
And, how could I not? In the Attitude Era with the Rock and “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, Vince McMahon made himself into a character, and he was probably one of the greatest heels of all time. Not only that, but his family was brought into the storyline, and so the McMahon empire is pretty much synonymous with “professional wrestling” for me.
So, I was really excited for the Netflix docuseries, Mr. McMahon (Though McMahon himself wasn’t too happy with it), as I really wanted to learn more about the man, the myth, the mogul. And, after finishing the 6-episode series, I have to say, it was really good! However… there are a couple of things that could have been a little bit better. Let’s talk.
Love: They Made Sure To Talk About The Entire McMahon Family, And They All Gave Their Impression Of Vince
One thing I loved about the Attitude Era (amongst many things) was that it kind of blurred the lines between fact and fiction. Sure, some storylines, like the one involving Linda McMahon being in a sort of comatose state in a wheelchair was ridiculous, as was Vince McMahon’s limo exploding.
However, storylines involving Stephanie McMahon marrying Triple H, or Shane McMahon not being “good enough” to inherit the family business kind of seemed like they were somewhat rooted in reality. I mean, Stephanie McMahon DID actually marry Triple H (though, not by the ludicrous means portrayed on television), so you never knew what you were going to get when it came to the McMahon family.
And, I'm glad that this docuseries made sure to have all of the core members of the family-that being Vince, Linda, Stephanie, and Shane-discussing both Vince McMahon, as well as the business itself.
We hear from each member of the family and learn that Linda really didn't like being on TV, but she did it to advance the storylines. We find out that Steph put the kibosh on televising her marriage, and that Vince called her “selfish” for doing so. We even hear from Shane saying that everything he mostly did was to gain his father's respect–including putting his body on the line.
Sadly, we also hear from other people in the industry, like Paul Heyman, who has a heartbreaking story involving Shane that really makes me look at McMahon’s progeny in a whole new way.
All of this is to say that the docuseries feels pretty in-depth when it comes to the McMahon family. That being said…
Could Have Been Better: I Wish We Could've Heard From Gail Kim and CM Punk
There are a number of wrestlers who were interviewed for this docuseries, including The Rock, “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, The Undertaker, Booker T, Trish Stratus, John Cena, and Hulk Hogan, just to name a few (but surprisingly none with arguably the greatest wrestler of all time, Kurt Angle, which is disappointing).
That said, besides Bret Hart, who once had a complicated relationship with McMahon, I would say that the other wrestlers involved with this docuseries are those who had mostly positive relationships with him (Hell, The Undertaker even said how he would have taken a bullet for McMahon).
And, sure. That's cool. I love hearing how many wrestlers viewed Vince as “a father figure.”
Even so, it would have been nice to hear wrestlers with, let’s just say, less flattering things to say about McMahon.
One person I would have loved to have seen was Gail Kim, who has said that McMahon just didn’t get it when it came to diversity. It would have also been interesting to hear her thoughts as a counterpoint to the idea that some of the wrestlers put forward in this docuseries that the only color Vince sees is green, as in money, and that he doesn’t see race.
However, I think an even more interesting interviewee might have been CM Punk, who famously did an explosive “pipe bomb” promo (which was apparently a worked shoot) on McMahon. I also would have loved to hear what he had to say about being fired on his wedding day.
Sure, CM Punk surprisingly returned to WWE not too long ago, but that was after Paul Levesque took over creative. Hearing Punk talk candidly about McMahon prior to being rehired could have been eye-opening.
Sadly, it seems like they played it as safe as possible with these interviews. But, be that as it may…
Love: They Didn't Shy Away From Really Sensitive Topics, Like Chris Benoit And Owen Hart's Death
Okay, so maybe Vince didn't really get criticized all that much in this docuseries by his employees, but that doesn't mean the doc didn't cover some pretty thorny topics.
For instance, I honestly did not think they would go into “the Montreal Screwjob,” or how Bret Hart felt when it was going on.
I also didn't think they would touch Owen Hart's death with a ten-foot pole, or even have the audacity to ask how McMahon felt about it. That seemed off-bounds, but they went there, and I'm glad they did.
But, the biggest, biggest surprise was that they they actually covered Chris Benoit's murder-suicide, which I thought was completely off-limits. You see, Benoit's name was pretty much not allowed on WWE television following the events, and it was always taboo whenever anybody referenced what a good wrestler he was.
So, I was extremely surprised when they spent a whole section of the docuseries talking about what Benoit did, and how it could have possibly been connected to CTE. I truly didn't think they would take it there, but they did.
Could Have Been Better: It Feels So Incomplete
In the very first episode, it lets the viewers know that Vince McMahon’s interviews were not finished due to the breaking news of his allegations, and this is a huge blow to the overall production.
I say this because the last episode, “The Finish” ironically feels largely unfinished since we don't hear Vince's thoughts on the scandal that he became so embroiled in.
Now, this makes perfect sense since I'm sure McMahon lawyered up and was possibly advised not to speak on anything involving the legal woes he was going through.
It's still a downer, especially since McMahon himself probably would have been very open about the scandal at the time when it was happening. So, the final product doesn't feel all that complete, which is an issue since the rest of the docuseries is mostly riveting (and revelatory) stuff.
Loved: McMahon Was Willing To Be Very Open, Which Was Surprising
Have you ever seen the movie, Saving Mr. Banks, in which Tom Hanks played Walt Disney?
I only bring this film up because instead of really getting an in-depth look at Disney, warts and all, we got a highly sanitized version of the man whose only real vice (according to what we saw in the film) was that he smoked. Truly shocking stuff.
However, the McMahon docuseries is very open. McMahon talks about how he thinks about sex a lot, and that he did have affairs. He talks about his failure with the XFL, and how he saw himself as a character when he was on television, which basically enabled him to make out with other women in front of his wife with reckless abandon.
He also muses on the steroid scandal, and how he felt like people were out to get him. His rival, Eric Bischoff, intimates that McMahon might have borrowed the evil owner angle from him, and McMahon just shrugs it off, implying that perhaps this is the case, but he did it better.
In every way, Vince McMahon is quite open, and I loved that about this docuseries. It certainly made for a must-watch.
So, in the end, while the docuseries wasn't perfect, it was quite engaging. Have you watched it yet? For more news on all things WWE-related, be sure to swing by here often!
