If there is only one thing that can be taken from the statements in the documentary “Mr. McMahon,” then it is none other than the WWE founder himself.
In an interview in the final episode of the series, Vince McMahon says that performers in the wrestling business begin to believe in their on-screen characters and lose all sense of who they really are.
“I’m asking myself now, who is the character and who am I? I guess it’s maybe a mix. I’d say one is a bit over the top, but I’m not so sure which,” he said.
That’s not hard to say.
Despite his tremendous performance in making WWE a globally recognized brand and one of the biggest forms of entertainment, the controversies that surrounded McMahon during his rise to power – from allegations of drug and steroid abuse to numerous accusations of sexual assault – were not addressed in the six-part Netflix docuseries.
What you should know: How to watch series about Vince McMahon on Netflix
Just days before the show’s premiere, McMahon harshly criticized it, saying it was a “misleading” and “deceptive” portrayal of himself. After watching it, it’s clear why McMahon didn’t like it: because all of his baggage was laid bare.
Throughout the series, he says that the “Mr. McMahon” persona he portrays on screen – a manipulative, power-hungry and sexually depraved boss – is far from his true personality. But the similarities between what we saw on screen and what we experienced behind the scenes are hard to see.
There are many moments where McMahon gets praise. The series shows how he nationalized WWE and won the war with WCW, and how the “Attitude Era” changed the popularity of wrestling forever. WWE legend Tony Atlas called McMahon “the greatest promoter of all time” and the Undertaker said he would take a bullet for him. Other stars said he was like a father to them.
While it was instrumental in making wrestlers into stars, there was also the fear that it could quickly change your career. Basically, you do what I want you to do or face the consequences. The great Trish Stratus said it didn’t seem like a coincidence that she lost the Women’s Championship the following week after denying kissing another woman on-screen.
“There was a fear among the cast that they would be punished if they didn’t do what was asked of them,” Stratus said. “And yes, that did happen to some of them on occasion.”
McMahon also showed a lack of empathy and self-awareness about things he allegedly did wrong. He denied allegations of sexual harassment made against him, including by former referee Rita Marie. Atlas said in the early days of the company, “we abused women beyond measure. We all did.”
There also seemed to be no regrets about the handling of Owen Hart’s death. Even though he fell to his death in the ring in the middle of a show, McMahon argued the show went on because if it had been him, “I would have wanted the show to go on,” and the audience came to watch the show even though Hart’s blood stained the mat. When discussing the double murder and suicide of Chris Benoit, McMahon suggested the wrestler “went crazy” and that wrestling had nothing to do with what happened, even though researchers said they found Benoit suffered from chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE).
And then there was that weird interview segment where McMahon said he had two brains and one was thinking about something other than what he was doing. When asked what the other brain was thinking about, McMahon replied: sex.
That’s not nearly the case, however, as McMahon confirmed what is arguably one of the most ridiculous WWE pitches of all time. McMahon was once pitched a storyline where his daughter Stephanie was pregnant and he was the father of the child. Stephanie McMahon said she immediately turned it down, but the WWE boss had to chuckle when he thought back to the storyline he wanted to do. If he thought something would make money, he didn’t care if it was morally reprehensible.
“This is business, and there is nothing I wouldn’t do for the business,” McMahon said in one episode.
In more than five hours of footage, viewers were probably hoping to see McMahon address the sexual harassment and human trafficking allegations against a former WWE employee. Ultimately, McMahon has staunchly defended himself and isn’t afraid to do so on camera.
Instead, he canceled his final interviews with the production team.
Several interviewees said that what made McMahon so good in his role was that he blurred the lines between fantasy and reality, leaving fans unable to tell whether what they were seeing was true or not.
When asked if Vince McMahon and Mr. McMahon are the same person, the stars involved in the docuseries were divided. Some said they are not at all identical, while others said they are the same or close. McMahon himself said no one really knows who he is, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. Since taking over WWE from his father in 1982, McMahon has spent every second showing the world exactly who he is.
Vince McMahon is Mr. McMahon. And Mr. McMahon is Vince McMahon. You can’t separate the two.
