By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)
The following are the combined notes I took while watching the six-part “Mr. McMahon” documentary that is available for streaming on Netflix.
Episode One – “Junior”
-The usual basics of Vince McMahon’s childhood were covered. There was no insight into the abuse that he claims to have suffered at the hands of his stepfather, nor were there any new details on his relationship with his mother.
-Vince met his father Vince McMahon Sr. and went for a hug, but his dad didn’t reciprocate. It’s quite the cycle. Vince has daddy issues, and many of the wrestlers he employed had their own daddy issues and looked to him as a father figure.
-The story of WWE’s national expansion is a reminder of Vince’s genius back in those days. While most of the other promoters were all about maintaining the status quo and keeping their territory, he expanded nationally regardless of the unwritten rules amongst the promoters.
-Vince said Dusty Rhodes was considered for the face of the company during the national expansion. He had the charisma, but it’s hard to imagine physique obsessed Vince pushing Dusty as the long term face of his company at that time. There was no mention of Jimmy Snuka being considered for that role.
-It’s impossible to take anything Hulk Hogan says seriously. He has zero credibility with me, so when he says something I’m unsure of, I can’t help but assume that he’s lying. And when if I think he’s being truthful, I actually find myself second guessing whether I know the actual story.
-Vince took credit for the WrestleMania name even though others have told the story that someone else came up with the name. Howard Finkel is credited online. It’s a little more catchy than “The Colossal Tussle” name that Vince was reportedly going to use, which was not mentioned.
-Overall, episode one was a very basic stroll through the WWE expansion. Not much new. It’s understandable because this documentary wasn’t intended to cater to the hardcore wrestling fans, but will the fluffy nature of the first episode keep casual viewers engaged? Either way, the lack of new insight into Vince’s childhood was disappointing.
Episode Two – “Heat”
-Vince McMahon performing “Stand Back” opened the episode. There was an unintentionally timely, yet brief mention of Saturday Night’s Main Event, but it was glossed over quickly.
-Hulk Hogan acknowledged that he went to Vince and stooged on Jesse Ventura’s attempt to start a union.
-WrestleMania 2 was touched on briefly before they moved into WrestleMania 3. Vince claims he approached Andre the Giant on the set of The Princess Bride to get him to have back surgery so that he could come back and face Hogan at WM3.
-Vince boasted they sold 93,000 tickets for WM3. Dave Meltzer was featured throughout the documentary and disputed the attendance number by saying there were 78,000 in the building. He also correctly stated that Hogan was a bigger star than Andre already so it was not a torch passing moment, Andre had already lost matches and had been bodyslammed before.
-Vince and Hogan both stuck to the story that Hogan didn’t know if Andre was going to put over Hogan during the WM3 main event. Good lord.
-Stephanie McMahon said she felt resentment that everyone talked about Hogan and her father wasn’t getting the credit as the creator. Hogan credited Vince by saying he would listen to him because everything he touched turn to gold.
-Vince and Hogan told the story of the No Holds Barred movie. Vince said he didn’t want to lose Hogan to Hollywood, so he told him they would make a movie together. Vince said it didn’t prevent Hogan from going to Hollywood, but it delayed it for a little while.
-Vince spoke about Hogan’s popularity dipping and said it was probably time for him to be on the bench for a little while. Hogan said he did what Andre did for him by passing the torch to Ultimate Warrior at WM6. They essentially jumped from WM3 to WM6.
-Vince claimed that the Hogan and Sgt. Slaughter story was working really well, but then reality hit in the form of Operation Desert Storm. Vince said Americans could die so they needed to pull back a bit. There was no mention of the show being moved from the Los Angeles Coliseum to the L.A. Sports Arena.
-The story of Dr. George Zahorian was mentioned briefly. Vince said he bought steroids from him. Vince said it wasn’t illegal to be prescribed steroids, but it was illegal to prescribe them just to sell them.
-Vince said he’s always enjoyed bodybuilding and physiques. He said he could add some entertainment value to bodybuilding and launched the WBF, but he had to fold it because all bodybuilders do is take steroids and the timing was bad. There was no mention of the WBF being a miserable failure.
-Vince McMahon and Bruce Prichard accused New York Post columnist Phil Mushnick of having a vendetta against the company. Mushnick said no one was critical of pro wrestling in the mainstream media at the time. Once he started criticizing McMahon and the WWF, he said his mailbox was stuffed with messages that said he didn’t know the half of it. He said he returned calls and it was mind blowing.
-Tony Atlas said that in today’s society, wrestlers would have been looked at as some of the worst human beings on the face of the earth. Atlas said he and all of the wrestlers abused women and said they were like pawns to them.
-The death of Jimmy Snuka’s girlfriend Nancy Argentino was discussed briefly along with Meltzer assuming that Vince had a part in making it go away.
-The ring boy scandal received more coverage. Mushnick said it was a pedophile ring and kids were being abused on Vince’s watch. Bret Hart said he thinks there was a lot of turning a blind eye to what was going on, but he questioned how it could be proved. Meltzer recalled Vince telling him that Pat Patterson was innocent. Vince said it was a gay witch hunt and Patterson had to be fired along with Terry Garvin and Mel Phillips. Patterson was brought back months later. Bruce Prichard said none of the allegations against Patterson rang true, but he declined to comment on the other two. Atlas accused Patterson of “grabbing my pecker” repeatedly in the locker room. Atlas said you took it or you would go home. He assumed he would have been fired had he gone to Vince about it. Atlas said Vince didn’t protect Patterson, he protected the business.
-Jimmy Hart was asked about scandals. He said he was trying to be cautious because he didn’t know what they wanted out in the open. Ugh.
-They replayed Rita Chatterton accusing Vince of rape. Vince said it never happened. “Once you’re accused of rape, you’re a rapist,” McMahon said. He said what happened was consensual. Vince said had it been rape, the statute of limitations had run out. Vince said people are digging up crap like that in an attempt to find something on him. *It was acknowledged at the end of the episode that Vince and Chatterton reached a multi-million dollar settlement, while adding that Vince continues to deny any wrongdoing.
-The federal steroids trial was covered. Vince said the federal government are bullies. Vince said he wouldn’t agree to a plea deal because he wasn’t guilty of anything. Vince claims he told the feds to “fuck themselves.”
-Vince said he did not wear the neck brace during the trial to gain sympathy from the jury.
-Former USA Network executive Kay Koplovitz said that had Vince been found guilty, the WWF would have been off the air.
-Hulk Hogan’s departure and jump to WCW was covered. Eric Bischoff spoke of giving Hogan a lucrative contract with fewer dates than the WWF would give him at the time. Vince recalled Hogan stating that he would never run against him, getting his release, and then showing up in WCW. Hogan confirmed that he told Vince he wouldn’t compete against him. Shane McMahon said Hogan showing up in WCW was a slap in the face.
-Hogan recalled the federal government wanting him to be the star witness against Vince in the steroids trial. Hogan said he was told that if he didn’t say what the government wanted him to say, the case me be redirected toward him and he was facing 17 years. Vince said he believes in the law of the jungle and when something is weakened, you want to pile on it and kill it. He said he felt like that was happening to him, but he understood it.
-The episode closed with Hogan saying he was granted immunity and knew what he was going to say.
-Episode two was stronger than the fluffy first episode. But they have sped through some important stories that I’m surprised were not covered in more detail.
Episode Three – “Screwjob”
-The Wendi Richter screwjob opened the episode. Richter said it was a painful night and her dreams were completely shattered. She said she was humiliated. Vince said life isn’t fair sometimes and he doesn’t fight fair. Richter said Vince is a businessman. Vince recalled Richter coming backstage, looking at him, bowing her head, and walking out. Vince said it wasn’t personal for him. He said there’s nothing he wouldn’t do for “our business.”
-Hulk Hogan said he told the truth during Vince’s steroids trial when he said Vince never sold him steroids or told him to take steroids. Vince said Hogan was crafty in terms of giving the government what they wanted but not what they really wanted. Bret said it was common sense that all of the main event guys were on steroids, but he said he never saw Vince tell him or anyone else to take steroids.
-Vince recalled when they were about to read the verdict, he thought, “Holy shit, that’s the moment you’ll never forget.” Vince said his life was about to change. Vince was found not guilty, but Dave Meltzer disputed Linda McMahon’s claim that it proved they didn’t have a steroids problem in the WWF. Vince said he didn’t learn anything other than that some people in the federal government suck.
-The focus shifted to the war with WCW. There was a lot of focus on the Huckster and Nacho Man skits that also spoofed Ted Turner. Eric Bischoff recalled showing the skits to Turner, who thought they were hilarious. There was a brief clip of Turner laughing while watching one of the skits. Vince McMahon said former USA Network executive Kay Koplovitz was friends with Turner and made them stop. Koplovitz was shown saying she found the spoofs to be distasteful and felt they were friendly competitors with Turner.
-Bruce Prichard said he wished they had been above doing the skits. Prichard said he figured out that Scott Hall and Kevin Nash were leaving the company because they were asked to take part in the skits and declined to do so.
-Paul “Triple H” Levesque and Shawn Michaels made their first appearances while talking about being in The Kliq with Hall and Nash. Michaels spoke with Vince about doing some type of tribute to Hall and Nash on their final night at Madison Square Garden. Vince agreed to do something. Prichard said it was sacrilegious to an old-timer to have in-ring rivals act like the show is over and all is good.
-Stephanie McMahon said she was at MSG that night thought it was cool, yet she also knew how upset her father would be.
-Cody Rhodes said it was cool to anyone his age, but it was the cardinal sin to the older generation of wrestlers.
-Undertaker said he wasn’t there, but he didn’t like it. Bret Hart said they killed wrestling that day by pulling back the curtain. Various people spoke about kayfabe and Undertaker mentioned that he worked hard to protect the business and his character.
-Levesque said it was becoming an antiquated thing and everyone knew. Levesque brought up newsletters and said there was a lot of innuendo. Michaels said he has no idea what kayfabe was still so important. He said that was their point and that everyone knew. Michaels said it was an innocent act that became a controversy.
-Vince said he let it happen, but there were repercussions. Levesque said he had to pay the price because Michaels was champion and Hall and Nash were gone. Levseque recalled having a King of the Ring win for him. Levesque said the Curtain Call received the pop of the night. He recalled telling Vince that the world was changing and they needed to change with it. Vince said yeah, but not right now. Vince told him that he had to do something, so Levesque would have to eat shit and like the taste of it.
-The Outsiders arriving in WCW and the lawsuit that followed was chronicled. “Stealing is in the eye of the beholder, isn’t it?” Bischoff asked. Bischoff mocked Vince for complaining about WCW raiding the WWF talent roster, and correctly pointed out that Vince did the same thing to the territories.
-Vince was asked if he saw any similarities to what WCW did to what he did to the territories. Vince said Turner’s philosophy was to hurt his competitor, whereas he wanted to compete. Vince said some might think it’s hypocritical for him to say that he doesn’t hurt others, he just does what’s best for him, yet when others come after him he doesn’t think they have the right to do it. Vince said what he says at times is totally different than he thinks. He said as a businessman, you have to put things out there that are not the way you feel, but it controls thought process by doing that. Well, then…
-Hulk Hogan’s heel turn and the launch of the NWO was detailed. Cody Rhodes said the turn may have been a case of there being too much heat. Vince said Hogan did the turn really well. Hogan reminded viewers that he played a heel before his Hulkamania run, so it wasn’t his first rodeo.
-Vince was asked if he regretted not hiring Eric Bischoff as an announcer. Vince said he doesn’t regret anything in his life. He said everything they were doing in WCW was basically a WWF creation.
-Bret Hart re-signing with the company and then being told by Vince that he couldn’t afford it. Shane said Vince tried to help Bret have leverage with WCW, then said all he had to do was do business the right way by dropping the WWF Title to Shawn Michaels.
-Shawn Michaels said he didn’t think Bret had a problem losing the match, it was that he didn’t want to lose to him. Bret said Shawn was “a real dick” at that time.
-Shawn got emotional while talking about his relationship with Vince. He said he’s spent more time with Vince than his own father. Michaels said he was in a bad place for a number of years and Vince put up with it, so he gave him his loyalty. Shawn said Vince didn’t want Bret didn’t leave Montreal as the champion, so he did his part in making sure that didn’t happen.
-The usual Montreal Screwjob story was recapped. Undertaker said Vince did what he had to do for business. Vince said he didn’t regret any of it. Prichard said it all led to the Mr. McMahon character. It concluded with classic footage of Vince saying that the screwjob would not be the final nail in the company, they were just getting started.
-This episode was a sprint through the beginning of the Monday Night Wars and the screwjobs involving Wendi Richter and Bret Hart. So much of this has been covered ad nauseam in the pro wrestling world, but it has to be recapped again given that the documentary was made with the larger mainstream audience in mind. Even so, there are just too many stories that are getting surface level coverage at best.
Episode Four – “Attitude”
-Vince spoke about his favorite wrestler as a kid being Dr. Jerry Graham. Vince said he was a heel and maybe that’s one of the reasons he liked him because he never liked the babyfaces. Vince said he wanted to be like Graham so badly that he talked his stepmother into dying his hair blond and he learned to strut like Graham did. Vince said Graham took him under his wing. Vince recalled riding shotgun while Graham drove his car through stoplights. Vince said Graham was so flamboyant and aggressive, and Vince decided that’s who he wanted to be.
-By the way, they have run disclaimers at the start of the show acknowledging that Vince resigned from WWE in 2024 after allegations of sexual misconduct, assault, and trafficking, and that most of the interviews took place before then.
-There was more on the Montreal Screwjob. Trish Stratus said that as a Canadian, she “f—ing hated” Vince.
-Vince said he had heat with the fans coming out of the Montreal Screwjob and decided to turn it into business. Vince said he always wanted to be a performer, but his father wouldn’t let him into the business in that manner. Vince said it felt natural to him once he started playing the Mr. McMahon character.
-Former USA Network executive Bonnie Hammer spoke about how heated things were between the WWF and WCW when she started working with Vince. She said he wanted to be more bold. Bischoff said he didn’t know that Vince was creating the Attitude Era.
-Bruce Prichard was asked when the Attitude Era was born. He recalled a night when Vince McMahon wasn’t at Raw. Prichard said Shawn Michaels stuffed a sock in the front of his bicycle shorts. Michaels said it was gauze. Michaels said Vince fined him $10,000 for being unprofessional. Michaels told Vince to go back and watch the footage and say it wasn’t funny.
-Prichard said Vince was livid and then three or four weeks later, Vince said Shawn Michaels was “attitude” and they needed more attitude. “The Attitude Era was born,” Prichard said.
-Cody Rhodes spoke about the anti-authority approach clicking. He said you didn’t know what was real and what was not, and you couldn’t turn away.
-Undertaker said they changed the writing so that it wasn’t geared toward the 12 year-old demographic, and was instead targeting the 18-34 demo.
-Steve Austin made his first appearance. Paul Heyman spoke about Austin’s brief time in ECW. Austin recalled Triple H being punished for the Curtain Call incident by having the King of the Ring win taken away from him. Austin won the tournament and created the “Austin 3:16” catchphrase that night after he beat a religious Jake Roberts in the tournament finals. Vince’s reaction was fear that it wouldn’t play well in the Bible Belt. Austin also said he came up with “And that’s the bottom line, cause Stone Cold said so” out of the blue.
-Austin recalled feeling like Raw became a better show than WCW Nitro and yet they couldn’t catch them in the ratings. He said they understood why there were still losing initially, but eventually he started to wonder if someone was being paid off.
-Mike Tyson’s appearance on Raw, which turned the tide, was chronicled. Eric Bischoff said he was so arrogant that when someone called him and said you won’t believe who the WWF was bringing it, Bischoff blew it off. Bischoff said he got “uncocky real fast” when he was told it was Mike Tyson.
-Footage aired of Stephanie McMahon in 2013 being asked about bringing in Tyson despite his baggage. Stephanie assumed he had not been arrested for rape by that point. “He had?” Steph said while looking at someone off-camera. Stephanie just nodded her head. Ouch.
-Austin said he wasn’t happy with the match at WrestleMania when he beat Shawn Michaels to win the title and Mike Tyson was involved. Austin recalled Vince telling him not to worry about it because it really starts now.
-The Austin vs. McMahon war was chronicled. Vince said he grew up dirt poor and therefore did not like rich people. He said he knew people who thought they were better than him because they had money. Vince said he loved to fight and was good at it, which meant he could be somebody. Vince said people said he did not fight fair and cheated. Vince said yes, but he won.
-Vince laughed when he was told that Bruce Prichard said he had been given the Mr. McMahon treatment in real life. Vince said he’s very passionate about the business and sometimes that passion is a bit effusive, so he can get out of bounds a little bit. Hammer said Vince loved blurring the line between fact and fiction.
-Former WWE creative team member Brian Gewirtz made his first appearance while talking briefly about the ratings battle.
-Bischoff said so many things WWE did were derivative of what they were doing in WCW. Bischoff pointed to DX being like the NWO, and Mr. McMahon being derivative of evil Eric Bischoff. Bischoff said Vince had to admit that he ripped him off, albeit that he did it better. Vince said that if Bischoff played the character before him, he didn’t play it as well.
-The Rock’s rough start and eventual rise was spotlighted and Dwayne Johnson was interviewed. Rock spoke about his family’s history in pro wrestling. Tony Atlas said that Rock walks and dresses like his father, and if you didn’t know better you would think he was Rocky Johnson.
-Rock recalled Vince informing him that he was going to make him the WWF Champion. Rock mentioned he would be the first WWF champion of color. Vince said he knew, but he didn’t see that. Rock said Vince was always about not caring what color a person is or whether they were a unicorn, if you’re drawing money then you’ll be champion. Tony Atlas said Vince doesn’t see black or white, he sees green.
-Dave Meltzer said the company makes more money today, but from a popularity standpoint the Attitude Era was the peak.
-Paul Levesque said was fun, but there are a lot things people can watch on line and he looks back and wonders how they got away with what they did. New York Post columnist Phil Mushnick said they knew they could get away with everything and the pushed it.
-McMahon called the Attitude Era “a standard deviation beyond what we were doing before.” He claimed the product was still family friendly. Ha! He said no one was killed. A clip aired of the “Buried Alive” headstone of Steve Austin and Undertaker, and of Triple H battering a coffin with a sledgehammer. Vince said there was no rape. Footage aired of McMahon standing in the ring and calling out someone while labeling that person a rapist. Vince was shown saying there was no use of knives or guns. Footage aired of Brian Pillman pulling out a gun when the Austin character broke into his home during Raw. Vince said it was still family friendly, maybe for more of an adult family, not kids.
-Prichard questioned whether he would have let his kids watch WWE during the Attitude Era and said he probably would have.
-Shawn Michaels said he was leading the charge during that era. He said now that he has a daughter, he feels there are times they could have been less objectionable towards women.
-Trish Stratus said the Attitude Era women weren’t really considered wrestlers. Stratus mentioned that Sable was a WWE Diva who knew exactly what her role was. Stratus also pointed out that the Jerry Springer and Howard Stern were also very popular during the same time in the ’90s. Stratus said the Attitude Era was a reflection of what was going on in the real world.
-Prichard conceded that bra and panties matches wouldn’t fly today, but he said that’s what was on television at the time.
-Vince said they more or less followed what was going on in the entertainment business and pointed out that a lot of their highest rated segments involved the women.
-Stephanie McMahon said they felt like they needed to be edgy because that’s what television was at the time. Stephanie said they always wanted to serve their audience, but she conceded they “maybe took it a little too far in some cases.”
-Levesque said that when you look back at it now and say how crazy it was and that it shouldn’t have been done or was inappropriate. Levesque said it was, then asked whether the guy who did it or the people who loved it were worse.
-The death of Owen Hart was chronicled. Vince recalled asking Owen Hart what he wanted to do after Bret Hart left. Vince said Owens told him that he wanted to stay. Bret said Owen had nothing to do with what went on between him and Vince and yet he knew Owen would pay for it. Bret said they humiliated Owen’s character as often as they could for a while to get to him.
-Vince said Bret feeling that they did something to Owen because Bret left only speaks to Bret’s ego. Vince said they were trying to make Owen a star.
-Bret recalled being on a flight when Owens fell to his death at the Over The Edge pay-per-view in 1999. Bret said something came over him and he knew something terrible had happened.
-Vince recalled the medical personnel working on Owen Hart after he fell from the rafters and thinking that he could surely be alive. Bruce Prichard recalled Jerry Lawler telling him that he thought Owen was dead. Prichard said a policemen pulled him to the side to let him know that Owen had been pronounced dead.
-Vince said he had to make the decision of whether the show should go on. Vince claimed the live audience didn’t really see what happened. Prichard said they didn’t announce Owen’s death to the live crowd. Vince said the crowd didn’t come to see someone die, they came to see a show. He said the businessman in him felt the show should go on. Footage aired of the wrestlers working in the ring next to Owen’s blood.
-Vince said Bret would feel like a brother should and he had every right to say anything negative he felt about the company. Vince said had it been him in Owen’s position, he would have wanted the show to go on. Bret said he thought at the time that they may have murdered Owens to get back at him.
-Footage aired of Martha Hart announcing the wrongful death lawsuit she filed against the company.
-Vince said they settled the lawsuit with Martha, and then found out it wasn’t their fault. He said the apparatus used was defective and the manufacturer knew that was the case. Vince said the company sued the manufacturer.
-Bret recalled a police investigator calling him to tell him that it was a horrible accident and there was nothing criminal that took place. Bret said he accepted that it was an accident and forgave Vince in his heart of hearts. Bret said he had plenty of issues to have issues with Vince, but they were on a professional level and not a personal level.
-Undertaker spoke about how things had reached a point where enough was enough in terms of how far they were pushing things in the ring.
-Graphics noted that Martha Hart and WWE settled their lawsuit in 2000, and that WWE settled its lawsuit with the manufacturer in 2003.
-This episode was balanced in terms of covering the success of the Attitude Era while also spotlighting the hypocrisy of McMahon claiming the product was still family friendly during that time. I enjoyed the hell out of the Attitude Era and it was comparable to a lot of the trashy television that was big at the time. The big difference is that Howard Stern, Jerry Springer, and others producing edgy content were not targeting children like WWE was. The scenes with Vince stating that they didn’t have guns only to show the footage of Brian Pillman holding a gun on Raw was priceless. I felt the producers went light on Vince for continuing the show after Owen Hart died.
Episode Five – “Family Business”
-Paul Heyman opened the episode by saying that the great success enjoyed of Vince McMahon, was driven by the overcompensatory behavior, rebelling against the first 12 miserable years of his life. Heyman said Vince escaping the abuse has been his life pursuit in creating an atmosphere in which he is untouchable and invulnerable to outside forces and in control of his own destiny.
-David Shoemaker said what we know of Vince’s childhood has only come from Vince himself. Shoemaker recalled Vince bringing up in a Playboy interview years ago that he suffered physical abuse from his stepfather while also implying that he was the victim of sexual abuse from his mother.
-Vince said he’s not afraid to look back. He said his childhood was difficult. He said there was fighting, infighting, and incest. Vince said once you get the crap beat out of you as a child and you’re still breathing, you win. Vince said he believes in getting rid of anything that bad happens to you. “Go the f— out there and go forward,” Vince said.
-Shane McMahon spoke about soaking it all in when he was younger. He recalled taking wrestler jackets to the back and being a referee while earning his stripes. Shane said he loved becoming an on-air character and said it was something he wanted to do since he was very little.
-Stephanie said growing up, some people loved her because of who her father was while other people would not give her the time of day because of who her father was.
-Paul Levesque said he pitched the idea of interrupting Stephanie’s wedding and revealing that he and Stephanie were married in a drive-thru wedding in Las Vegas while she was inebriated. Levesque recalled the fans chanting “slut” at Stephanie. He said Vince made the money sign with his hand in response.
-Stephanie said she looks back and can’t believe some of the stuff she did. She conceded that it was “sometimes a little weird” that her father was the person having her do some of the things she did as an on-air character.
-Levesque recalled being with Stephanie every day during the on-air McMahon-Helmsley storyline and that’s how they got to know each other. Vince said Levesque is a wonderful human being and they were friends. Vince recalled Shane being against the relationship. Vince said Shane asked if he was going to let his daughter date a wrestler. Vince said that’s who he was as well.
-Vince and Levesque recalled Vince pitching the idea of holding the actual wedding on pay-per-view, but Stephanie said absolutely not. Vince had Stephanie wrestle on television six days before their wedding. Stephanie said her mother threatened to divorce Vince on the spot if Stephanie suffered a black eye or broke her ankle.
-Sadly, there was no wedding footage of a drunken Michael Hayes singing at the wedding.
-The Vince and Linda relationship was chronicled. Vince said Linda was 17 when they were married. He said he promised that he would always love her and there would never be a dull moment.
-Stephanie said Linda never wanted to be on television and said she wasn’t a good actress. Linda said she’s not nearly as good at it as Vince, Stephanie, or Shane.
-Trish Stratus spoke of getting into the business via fitness modeling. She said she was a fan. She also said the role of women at the time was overtly sexual.
-Vince smiled while recalling that he kissed Trish in front of his wife, who was in a wheelchair during an angle on Smackdown. Trish said Linda was “super cool” about it and said they were all in on it. Linda said you must evoke emotion.
-Vince said he didn’t think the family had an objection to his on-air relationship with Trish. Vince said they were characters. Shane said he didn’t really care for it. Vince said Shane is a bit more conservative than the rest of the family. Vince said it was characters entertaining in a storyline.
-Trish said people still bring up Vince’s character making her get down on all fours and bark like a dog. Trish said they wanted the fans to feel the emotion they felt. Author Sharon Mazer said that while Vince was doing a performance and getting everyone to hate him, he was giving the fans a titty show. Dave Meltzer said he thought the segment sucked, but the show was geared to guys. Trish said they knew when they did the scene that the comeuppance would come at WrestleMania.
-Vince and Shane spoke about their first match at WrestleMania. Shane recalled wrestling his father when he was younger. Shane recalled Vince grabbing his hair and pulling back. Shane accused him of cheating. Vince told him that’s what he does in life. Vince said he cheats and he wins, and Shane needed to learn that lesson.
-During the match, Vince said Shane didn’t want to hit him, so he hit Shane several times and then it wasn’t a problem for Shane. Trish recalled slapping Vince during the match. Trish said Vince told her not to pull back and she did not.
-USA Network Bonnie Hammer said Vince was a master at blurring storylines. Hammer said he would twist something that started out as a piece of reality and then he would take it step by step so that viewers didn’t know what to believe or not to believe.
-Sable’s departure and sexual harassment lawsuit against the company was acknowledge. Vince said he didn’t remember much about the lawsuit and claimed it was kind of a blur. “All I know is she came back to work, so…”
-Footage aired of Sable’s return to the company and the on-air romance with Vince.
-Vince admitted that he remembered doing the 2001 Playboy interview and admitting to having affairs. Vince said he wasn’t playing a character then and he was very straight forward and honest. The interviewer asked if Vince was incorporating things from his life and inserting them into storylines. Vince said they were unrelated.
-Paul Heyman said Vince’s only monogamous relationship in his life is the business that he belt. Heyman said Vince doesn’t own the business, the business owns Vince. Heyman said Vince has super served it with his heart and his life. Heyman said if it hurts members of Vince’s family, those people be damned.
-Vince spoke briefly about taking the company public. He said it would allow them to go into the casino and restaurant business.
-Former WWE creative team member Brian Gewritz said WWE took control of the Monday Night Wars by 2000 and they used to laugh at WCW programming. Bruce Prichard said it felt like WCW wasn’t even trying. Booker T said you can’t win a war if you don’t have the right people making the decisions in the war room.
-WCW’s downfall and the company being acquired by WWE was covered. Gewirtz said they had a celebration on the flight after the sale. Prichard said it was insanity on the flight, but it was business as usual the next day. Eric Bischoff said he couldn’t bring himself to watch the Raw/Nitro simulcast. Vince said he expected to win. Gewirtz said it was bittersweet because Vince thrives on competition.
-Vince launching The XFL was up next. Vince said the ratings for the first week were huge and he thought it was a success. Gewirtz said everyone wanted to see it, but when they actually saw it the quality of play was bad.
-Bob Costas said he was bothered by the WWE sensibility that bothered him about the league. Costas admitted people think he’s a bit buttoned up about these things, but he wouldn’t have cared if there was some level of art to it, but it had none. Costas said the league was a disaster and pointed to the ratings collapse.
-Costas and Vince spoke about their HBO Sports interview. McMahon said he thought it was going to be a friendly interview. “Bob did his job,” Vince said. “He got me.” Vince said he was visualizing what it would be like if he had his hands around Costas’s neck. Vince said he was angry because he was set up.
-Vince losing the WWF name due to the World Wildlife Fund was addressed. Vince conceded that he didn’t want to give up the name. He said he’s had many failures and he doesn’t dwell on those and moves forward.
-Rock said he was approached about Hulk Hogan returning and his reaction was, “I f—ing love it.” Vince said there were times he wished he could choke Hogan over the years, but it’s about what the audience wants. Vince said you swallow your pride and bring him back.
-Rock spoke about his match with Hogan at WrestleMania and said he had goosebumps all over his body just thinking about it. Gewirtz, who today works for Rock’s Seven Bucks Productions, spoke about how Hogan and Rock looking side to side before locking up was not rehearsed and credited it to the two legends doing their thing. Rock said they didn’t change the finish to the match and he went over, but Hogan was the real winner that night.
-Vince’s ability to let go of past grudges for the good of doing business was touched on. Clips aired of Hulk Hogan returning and Eric Bischoff going to work for WWE were shown.
-The departures of Steve Austin and The Rock. They pivoted to “Ruthless Aggression” and the start of the John Cena era. Cena made his first appearance in the documentary as an interview subject.
-Cena recalled how he “shredded everybody” on a WWE tour bus when it came to rapping. Cena said he didn’t know Stephanie was on the bus and that led to him rapping as part of his character. Vince said Cena went balls to the wall and the audience loved him. Cena said when the audience starts to react to you, that’s when you garner Vince’s attention and that’s when their relationship picked up.
-Levesque was asked if there were ever times when they read a scrip and thought they went too far. Levesque said yes. Trish recalled getting a script that called for her to make out with another woman. Trish wondered whether it was a coincidence that she lost the title after she rejected that pitch. She said maybe and laughed.
-Vince recalled one of his storyline ideas was that Stephanie would get pregnant. Vince said he thinks his idea was that he was the person who impregnated her. Vince said that one didn’t make it.
-Stephanie said she calls her father Vince in business and Dad at home.
-Gewirtz said Vince had Stephanie and Shane do a number of different jobs in the company and was tough on them. Vince also said he was tough on his children. Stephanie said Vince was easier on her than he was on Shane, but she also didn’t challenge Vince like Shane did.
-Bonnie Hammer said she never understood where things stood with Shane in that sometimes he was embraced and other times he was not. She said she felt there was a bit of a black sheep thing at play.
-Shane recalled telling his father that they should purchase UFC when the company was in financial peril. Vince said he didn’t like the business model. Vince said they create characters in WWE and can use them forever, whereas UFC careers end. Shane said Vince passed on the opportunity to buy UFC. Shane said hindsight is 20/20, but it would have been a great investment. Vince said Shane only had a little bit of money and UFC required a huge investment, so it would not have worked if Shane had tried to acquire it.
-Paul Heyman recalled things escalating between Vince and Shane. He said Shane had an idea that he really believed in. Heyman recalled Vince telling Shane not while he was alive. Heyman said Vince handed Shane a knife and told him that if he wanted it so bad, he should stick the dagger in his chest because that’s what he needed to do to make that decision. Heyman said Vince told Shane that if he wasn’t man enough to do it, then he would have to take that into consideration. Heyman recalled Vince saying Shane could buy him out and try to get rid of him the way he would have had to have gotten rid of his own father.
-Vince said Shane left the company because he wanted to take his chair and thought it was time for Vince to leave. Vince said they grew apart. Shane said they weren’t seeing eye to eye, but Vince is the boss. Shane said he could watch the company implode or step away, so he stepped away. He said he gave his father a hug and that was it. Vince said family members don’t quite have the vision of someone who grew the business. Vince said he would advise anyone to not bring family into business because eventually it will implode.
-The episode closed with headlines regarding the scandal that ended Vince’s run with the company. A graphic noted that Sable settled her lawsuit with WWE in 1999.
-This episode was really all over the place. The family dynamic was interesting even though they went pretty surface level on the Vince and Shane split. Heyman’s knife story was wild.
Episode Six – “The Finish”
-Vince McMahon said it’s like he has two or three computers in his head. He said sometimes they work against him. Vince said he had one computer talking to him now and another one that was thinking something completely different. He said there’s a third computer that he could tap into if he wanted to. He said it’s difficult for him to pay attention to things at times. He said it bothered him because all he wanted to do was fit in, but he deals with it. He said he’s different and “f— the world.” Vince was asked what his other brain was thinking about now. He said having a lot of fun and something about sex.
-Vince bringing Donald Trump in for the Battle of the Billionaires feud was spotlighted. Vince said celebrities come in and they have fun. Vince said Trump was always a fan and was no exception. Bob Costas said Trump is closer to a wrestler than a statesman. Dave Meltzer said Americans elected a president who was playing a wrestler on TV.
-John Cena said Mr. McMahon was the best character ever, but it wasn’t used as frequently following the Attitude Era.
-Former WWE creative team member Brian Gewirtz recalled Vince bringing up the idea of his character being killed. The exploding limo scene was shown. Vince said the edit was perfect. He said people called and asked if he was okay. Gewirtz said Trump called Vince’s office to make sure Vince was actually okay.
-The McMahon death story was wrapped up due to Chris Benoit murdering his wife Nancy and son Daniel before killing himself. Gewirtz recalled doing a tribute to Benoit on Raw. He said they started to get the details of what Benoit did while the show was taking place. Vince said there was no correlation between steroids and what happened with Benoit.
-Former WWE wrestler Chris Nowinski made his first appearance in the documentary and spoke about his career ending due to concussions. Nowinski became an expert in the head trauma field and suspected that Benoit suffered from CTE. He said no one had ever heard of CTE back in 2007. Nowinski recalled Vince saying on NBC that they didn’t know what type of monster was. Nowinski said he contacted Benoit’s father, who tearfully agreed to let them study his son’s brain.
-Vince said the doctor came up with “ridiculous statements” about Benoit’s head trauma. Vince said Benoit’s diving headbutts were works. Ugh.
-Steve Austin recalled suffering one concussion during his career. He said if you’re suffering a lot of concussions while wrestling, then you’re probably doing something wrong. Austin said he’s not a CTE guy and doesn’t believe it in. Good lord. Thanks for sharing, Dr. Austin.
-Vince said they brought in Nowinski to speak to the talent. Vince said they stopped doing certain things, including hitting each other with folding metal chairs. Undertaker said he was pissed initially because he thought they needed chair shots to the head to help tell stories, but he understood it was best for business.
-Nowinski was asked if Vince’s motivation was business or what was good for the wrestlers. Nowsinski said he could not say, but it was good for both.
-Wrestlers dying young was addressed. New York Post columnist Phil Mushnick said the fans didn’t care or didn’t seem to care.
-Portions of Vince’s 2003 interview with Armen Keteyian was shown. Vince took no responsibility whatsoever for the wrestlers deaths at the time. When being interviewed for the documentary, Vince said many wrestlers took prescription drugs because it made them feel good. He said mixing those with steroids or something else was a horrible cocktail. Dave Meltzer said the company got some bad publicity, but most in the mainstream didn’t want to cover it because it was just wrestling. Meltzer noted that the company agreed to pay for rehab for wrestlers regardless of whether they still worked for the company. He said they also lightened the schedule by giving wrestlers an extra day off.
-Undertaker spoke about Vince deciding on the day of the show that his WrestleMania streak would end. Taker said he was concussed early in the match and still can’t recall being in it. Vince said it could have been a concussion, but he thinks Taker doesn’t remember the match because it was so traumatic for him. Um, sure.
-Taker recalled Vince going to the hospital and consoling his wife. Taker said he’s had 18 surgeries and walks with a limp, but he wouldn’t change anything and would still be wrestling if he could.
-Booker T said wrestlers sometimes think they are indestructible and that’s just who they are. He said he doesn’t want to see the next generation end up the same way.
-Cody Rhodes spoke about starting in 2007 and the drug policy being instituted at the time. Cody said was also around the time of the PG era starting.
-Brian Gewirtz spoke about changing the rating because what they were doing in the Attitude Era wasn’t going to cut it with advertisers. John Cena spoke about targeting more family and more kids. Vince said it paid off. Gewirtz said the stock improved and sponsorships became more lucrative.
-WWE’s Women’s Evolution was chronicled. Stephanie said it was started by the fans. Trish Stratus said she felt Vince was unsure about it, but ultimately he was about giving the fans what they want. Meltzer noted that Stephanie was made the Chief Brand Officer and was made a face of the company while Paul Levesque was gaining more power.
-Shane was out of the picture when he received a call from his father in 2016 and was told that Vince had an idea. Shane recalled the crowd going crazy when he returned and said he was getting goosebumps just thinking about it. Shane got emotional while saying it was so rewarding to have that type of adulation when you return to something you love. Shane said his father had pride in his eyes when he looked at him in the ring and that made Shane choke up.
-Shane got emotional again while recalling his WrestleMania 32 match and asking his children to come out during his entrance about ten minutes before the match. Booker T said Shane always seemed to be attempting to prove something to his father through the stunts. Shane conceded that he always tried to do a bit extra. Shane said he was supposed to go through the glass on the stage when Kurt Angle suplexed him, but he landed on his head. They showed the footage of Angle failing to suplex Shane through the glass two more times. Booker said he felt for Shane because he was trying to prove something to his father that night.
-Vince said Shane would take chances that no one else would. Shane said if it’s in your blood, in his view it’s an acceptable risk. Shane conceded that he was always looking for a pat on the back from his father. Vince said maybe there should have been more pats on the back. Vince said his father never did that for him and that’s okay. He said he’s always been proud of Shane because he did give it his all. Shane said Vince was proud of him after that match with Undertaker and he got a hug that night (which was shown). Vince recalled Shane getting emotional and telling him that all he ever wanted was his respect. Shane said he got a pat on the back and a hug, which was very hard to get.
-Undertaker, Stratus, and Cena also spoke about seeing Vince as a father figure. Taker said he would take a bullet for Vince. David Shoemaker said everyone in the company wants Vince’s approval, including his own kids.
-Shane spoke about how he wanted to take care of the family business. Meltzer said it didn’t happen and most people would say it’s because Stephanie was better at it than Shane was. Tony Atlas said Stephanie is strong like her father, whereas Shane is nice and nice gets taken advantage of in pro wrestling. Atlas said you know right off the bat that you can’t take advantage of Stephanie.
-They rushed through the launch of WWE Network and the lucrative TV rights deals, and Linda McMahon joining Donald Trump’s cabinet. The launch of AEW was acknowledged along with the return of Cody Rhodes from AEW to WWE.
-Vince’s succession plan was discussed. Shawn Michaels said you couldn’t rule out Shane or Stephanie, but there was talk that Levesque was the guy.
-Vince said there were a lot of succession plans, but it depended on where he was and whether he was able to contribute. When asked if he could see taking a step back, Vince said he didn’t see himself ever retiring. Vince said that when you stop growing, you die. Vince asked what people do when they retire. Vince said he has no sympathy for people like that. “So, go die,” Vince said. Funny, I have no sympathy for workaholics who can’t figure out that there’s more to life. Go work, Vince. Oh, wait…
-Hulk Hogan said he didn’t think Vince would ever retire. John Cena said he didn’t think Vince would ever stop because he loves it and it’s not work for him. Michaels said he couldn’t imagine a life where Vince wasn’t the main man in WWE as long as he had breath in his lungs. Booker said it would take a nuclear bomb exploding to make Vince retire.
-They cut to mainstream headlines of the scandal that led to Vince’s downfall. Meltzer asked how consensual the relationship was when the woman was having an affair with her boss. Meltzer said he assumed Vince would go after the reporter’s credibility, but he never did and that’s not like Vince.
-Footage aired of Vince appearing on Smackdown when the story broke. I was there in Minneapolis. Fans cheered loudly for Vince. I thought maybe many of the fans were simply unfamiliar with the story since it broke that day, but then Vince kept popping up on television and the vast majority of fans continued to cheer.
-A graphic noted that Vince cancelled his final interviews for the documentary after news of the scandal broke.
-One of the Wall Street Journal reporters said the reaction in some circles was “What did you expect?” He said that some of what was played for laughs as the Mr. McMahon character was not funny and was very, very serious.
-Another WSJ reporter recalled the story from 2006 of Vince McMahon being accused of exposing himself to a tanning booth worker.
-Mainstream coverage was shown of the WSJ story that Vince had paid over $12 million in hush money to four women over a 16-year period. One of the settlements was for $7.5 million to a former wrestler who alleged that Vince coerced her into oral sex. She said once she declined to do more, her contract was terminated.
-Vince’s retirement tweet from July 22, 2022 was shown. This was followed by footage of Stephanie McMahon discussing Vince’s retirement on Smackdown and leading a “Thank you, Vince” chant. Ouch.
-Cody Rhodes said the reaction in the locker room was uncertainty and chaos in that people were wondering what WWE would look like without Vince.
-Hulk Hogan was asked whether the business could survive without Vince. “Honestly, without Vince I don’t think it will.” Derp!
-In 2022, Meltzer was asked if he saw Vince returning. He said yes.
-Footage aired of news coverage from January 2023 when Vince returned as executive chairman and Stephanie resigned as Co-CEO. It was noted that the WWE Board of Directors had voted against his return, but Vince had the controlling stock.
-Paul Heyman was shown talking with Steph and saying Vince always put her in position to battle him. “It sure feels that way,” Stephanie said before laughing.
-Footage aired of Bruce Prichard from 2024 saying he didn’t know why Stephanie McMahon left the company.
-Mainstream headlines for WWE selling to Endeavor were shown. Prichard said it was a new challenge for Vince in that he was overseeing two companies (um, sure). One of the WSJ reporters noted that Endeavor owned 51 percent of the stock and that Vince no longer had the controlling shares.
-Heyman said it’s not about the last name or family legacy, it’s about who is best qualified. Heyman said we live by the law of the jungle, and the lion who still rules this kingdom wouldn’t have it any other way.
-It was noted that WWE made a media rights deal with Netflix on January 23, 2024.
-Prichard spoke with one of the producers and said he saw some of the episodes of the series and thought they sucked. Prichard said he didn’t think it was balanced and it was a gotcha piece that was about making Vince look bad. Prichard said he’s close to Vince and it’s personal to him. Prichard said the human side was missing. Prichard said Vince is a businessman, but the other side to Vince is that when Prichard’s wife got cancer, Vince made sure she got the best treatment in the world. Prichard said she had a four-year life expectancy and that was 24 years ago because Vince made sure she got the best care available. He said the documentary was about “see what an asshole Vince McMahon was.” Prichard said he would support that if Vince were an asshole, but he’s not.
-Footage aired from mainstream shows just two days later regarding the Janel Grant lawsuit filed against Vince. A WSJ reporter said a source tipped her off about the lawsuit being filed. She said she heard from sources that people in WWE were surprised by the lawsuit.
-Another WSJ reporter said Janel Grant was the woman they first reported on in 2022. They ran through some of the details of the claims made in the Grant lawsuit, including that Vince defecated on her during a threesome, both men took turns restraining her, and Vince forcefully used sex toys on her. The screen shots of Vince’s text messages exchanges with Grant were shown.
-It was noted that Grant claims that McMahon shared explicit photos of her with Brock Lesnar and that Lesnar liked what he saw. McMahon was trying to re-sign Lesnar to a WWE contract, and Grant alleges that sex with her was part of the deal.
-Vince resigned a day after the lawsuit was filed. A WSJ reporter said it suggested that things had changed because Vince was no longer in control and had to leave.
-The story of Ashley Massaro’s claim that she was raped by a doctor during a Tribute to the Troops event was chronicled. After Massaro took her own life, her attorney released a previously unreleased statement from Massaro, who alleged that Vince McMahon made sexual advances. She said she rejected Vince and then he tried to embarrass her. Footage aired from a television segment with McMahon yelling at Massaro until her character cried.
-Shoemaker noted that WWE has been thriving without Vince.
-Footage aired of Stephanie McMahon at WrestleMania 40, along with Levesque talking about the record setting event.
-Undertaker was asked about Vince’s legacy. “My goodness,” Taker said before stammering. “His legacy is just… I don’t know, he…”
-Stratus said that was a tough question to answer.
-Booker T pondered the question and said, ‘Man, that’s a good question.”
-John Cena said he might be the wrong guy to ask that question.
-Tony Atlas said Vince’s legacy will be that he was the greatest promoter of all-time. Atlas said that you can’t take that from him even though he’s done things that he doesn’t like or respect.
-Heyman was shown saying that McMahon wants more and more and more. He said it doesn’t stop and that’s how you build from a million to a billion to ten billion.
-Vince was shown being asked about his legacy in 2021. Vince said he doesn’t have one. He said everyone has a certain feeling about who they think he is, but they don’t know him. Vince said a lot of people have confused who his character on television was with who he is. Vince said when he looks in the mirror he knows who he is.
-Another clip aired of Vince being asked to describe himself. Vince said it would be difficult, then said egomaniac, physical culturist, someone who needs to be challenged every day, sexually active, psychologically challenged, sort of a paradox of paradoxes. Is it just me or does Vince really want everyone to know that he’s still having sex?
-Vince said sometimes performers start believing in their own character and lose all sense of who they really are personally. Vince said he’s wondering which is the character and which is him. He said maybe it’s a blend. He said one is exaggerated a little bit, but he’s not sure which one. I wish they could have included the PR statement he released on social ahead of this documentary coming out.
-Graphics noted that Vince is under federal criminal investigation related to allegations of sexual misconduct and trafficking. Another graphic added that Brock Lesnar has not publicly commented on his involvement in the allegations. Finally, a graphic said Janel Grant’s lawsuit was paused while the federal investigation was conducted.
Powell’s POV: Obviously, the documentary had to be updated with new interviews following Vince’s scandals and his departure from WWE. I don’t think anyone came off too poorly in terms of gushing over Vince prior to the lawsuit. Prichard certainly defended Vince in a follow-up interview before the lawsuit was filed and he took issue with whatever version of the documentary he saw. I’d love to know if Prichard shared the story of Vince helping his wife the first time around or of there were any other stories he shared that he felt made Vince look good that were left on the cutting room floor. He has a platform so hopefully he will address this.
-I didn’t find the documentary to be a hatchet job. Nor do I feel like they did a great job of nailing “Madman” part of the slogan that was used to promote the documentary. They could have been much tougher on Vince. And for some reason, I don’t believe there was a single mention John Laurinaitis. TKO executives were given a total pass. They didn’t show Ari Emanuel gushing over Vince when TKO was formed let alone why he felt the need to keep him around early on despite some of the allegations against him. There’s a lot more to discuss. Jake Barnett and I will discuss it during the September 26 edition of Dot Net Weekly.
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