As the Mr. McMahon release date quickly approaches, here’s what you need to know about the controversy surrounding former WWE boss Vince McMahon and the allegations against him, plus details on the new Netflix documentary series.
The world of sport has been at the centre of many documentary releases of late, whether it’s Netflix’s popular anthology series Untold or Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney’s Welcome to Wrexham.
Now, the focus is turning to professional wrestling. Earlier this year, WrestleMania XL: Behind the Curtain was released (eventually), and Netflix still has plenty to offer when WWE’s Monday Night Raw hits the streaming service in 2025.
In the meantime, the six-part documentary series Mr. McMahon is set to arrive and has generated a lot of reaction. Warning: some may find the content offensive.
Mr. McMahon focuses on the rise and fall of Vince McMahon
Produced by Chris Smith and Bill Simmons, Mr. McMahon is a six-part documentary series that explores the rise and fall of Vince McMahon.the co-founder of WWE.
“The series covers McMahon’s transformation of WWE from a small regional company to a global entertainment powerhouse, and the explosive allegations of sexual misconduct that led to his eventual resignation,” reads the official synopsis.
Drawing on more than 200 hours of interviews, McMahon features family members, business associates, iconic names in the wrestling world and journalists who covered the allegations, as well as McMahon himself.
Interviewees include Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Hulk Hogan, Stone Cold Steve Austin, John Cena and Paul “Triple H” Levesque, as well as Wall Street Journal reporters Ted Mann and Joe Palazzolo.
Release date revealed after delays
Mr. McMahon will be released on Netflix on September 25, 2024 at midnight PT / 3 a.m. ET. Although the docuseries was initially announced in October 2020, it was delayed following numerous allegations against him.
Smith, who produced Tiger King, explain“Mr. McMahon’s goal was to pull back the curtain and reveal the real Vince McMahon, hidden beneath the persona he presented to the world.
“Over the course of four years of production, the story evolved in truly shocking ways, culminating in some extremely harrowing allegations. The final product is a revealing documentary that we believe offers a rich and nuanced portrait of the man and the complex legacy he left behind.”
Numerous interviews were conducted before the first allegations were revealed in 2024. According to Stick Reporter Garrett Martin, who saw the show, McMahon and his family declined to do further interviews after former WWE employee Janel Grant filed a lawsuit accusing him of sexual assault and trafficking.
Martin then stated that it appears the only other people who were re-interviewed after the Grant trial were wrestling journalist Dave Meltzer and WWE employee Bruce Prichard.
McMahon’s Allegations Explained
As of September 2024, McMahon is under investigation by U.S. federal authorities following serious allegations of sex trafficking and sexual assault.
When the latest allegations came to light, He resigned from his position at TKOthe company formed by the merger of WWE and UFC.
McMahon is a central figure in the world of professional wrestling, having transformed WWE into a global entertainment juggernaut.
He took control of his father’s company in the early 1980s, revolutionizing the industry by expanding WWE’s reach through national television deals and pay-per-view events.
McMahon also became famous for his on-screen persona, Mr. McMahon, a tyrannical boss known for his catchphrases like “You’re fired!”, his brisk walk, and his feuds with WWE Superstars.
But that all changed in June 2022, when news broke that the WWE Board of Directors was investigating allegations that he paid millions of dollars in kickback deals for relationships with former WWE employees.
He initially retired as CEO and Chairman of WWE, only to return in January 2023, helping facilitate a merger deal that saw WWE and UFC combine forces, now operating under the newly formed TKO banner.
McMahon was TKO’s executive chairman and board member until January 2024, when former WWE employee Janel Grant filed a lawsuit accusing him of sexual assault and trafficking.
The lawsuit, first obtained by The Wall Street Journal, alleged that “McMahon pressured Ms. Grant into a physical relationship in exchange for a long-promised job with WWE.”
The article goes on to say that things escalated, with McMahon being accused of recruiting “individuals to have sexual relations with Ms. Grant and/or both of them.”
The former WWE boss is also accused of “sharing sexually explicit photographs and videos” of Grant with other men inside and outside the company.
“McMahon also subjected Ms. Grant to acts of extreme cruelty and degradation that caused Ms. Grant to dissociate and/or become numb to reality in order to survive these horrific encounters,” the complaint adds.
“As an example of McMahon’s extreme depravity, on May 9, 2020, he defecated on Ms. Grant during a threesome, then ordered her to continue pleasuring her “friend” with feces in her hair and running down her back.”
Finally, he claims that “WWE benefited financially from McMahon’s commercial sex act enterprise” after he presented Grant “as a sexual commodity at their disposal.”
Although he denied the allegations, McMahon resigned from his position at TKO. A spokesperson said at the time that the position was “filled with lies, fabricated obscene incidents that never happened, and vindictive distortion of the truth.”
An update in the case came in May 2024, when it was revealed that Grant had agreed to stay the trial pending a federal investigation, which is currently ongoing.
Mr McMahon’s reaction explained
When Mr. McMahon’s release date was announced, There was some level of apprehension given Netflix’s deal with WWEand whether it would look into the allegations in depth. However, that has since changed McMahon issued a statement on the document.
In August, in an X/Twitter post indicating that the documentary series includes interviews with McMahon, his family and big names in wrestling, one answered“But not Janel Grant who made the accusations that led to Vince’s humiliation and complete downfall.
“Is this for legal reasons or did the documentary makers not want to pursue these accusations further since #WWE is coming to Netflix in 2025???”
“Given that WWF is going to be on Netflix every week, I don’t think this will be very good,” another said, while a third added: “Well. We’re going to learn a lot about Netflix as this show airs…”
A fourth added: “I hope no journalistic integrity is lost because of your new relationship with @WWE.” And a fifth said: “Very interesting considering the TV deal they signed.”
Others are concerned that the investigation is still ongoing, including this person who asked: “Why can’t they wait until the court decisions are made? The charges are still pending. There may have to be a jury trial. You’re contaminating the whole process.”
However, on September 23, McMahon released a statement criticizing the docuseries, describing it as “misleading” and claiming that “much has been distorted or omitted altogether in an effort to intentionally confuse viewers.”
But his warning does not appear to have had the desired effect: rather than scaring off viewers, it reassured them that Mr. McMahon will not water down the allegations.
“In a way, the fact that Vince is not a fan and he makes that statement is probably the best promotion for the show.” said one on Reddit, while another wrote: “Ok I’m really interested in this now that Vince is publicly disowning it.”
Grant’s attorney Ann Callis also responded to his statement, pointing out how the former WWE boss described what happened with her client as an “affair.”
“Vince McMahon physically and emotionally abused Janel Grant, sexually assaulted her, and exploited her as a victim of human trafficking for over two years. Calling his horrific and criminal behavior an ‘affair’ is a delusion and nothing more than a sad attempt to salvage his tattered reputation,” she said.
Callis concluded by saying, “We seek to hold McMahon, John Laurinaitis and WWE accountable and give Ms. Grant her chance in court.”
Mr. McMahon premieres on September 25. For more news, find out if smartschoolboy9 has ever been arrested, Netflix’s Into the Fire: The Lost Daughter, and what legal experts have said about Lyle and Erik Menendez’s ongoing fight for freedom.
