Shocking WWE names in Netflix's Vince McMahon docuseries; controversial topics confirmed - Reports
WWE is preparing for the Netflix era of its flagship show, Monday Night RAW. In a major happening completely separate from RAW's move to Netflix in January, the streaming giant will premiere its Vince McMahon docuseries, first announced in October 2020. Surprising new details have been revealed, including big names and officials involved.
Netflix will premiere all six one-hour episodes of Mr. McMahon on Wednesday, September 25. The trailer includes footage with Vince, Triple H, Hulk Hogan, Jimmy Hart, John Cena, The Rock, Bret Hart, Bruce Prichard, Eric Bischoff, and Steve Austin. These were supposedly culled from more than 200-plus hours of interviews with Vince's family members, business associates, top talents, journalists, and the man himself.
Some reports suggested World Wrestling Entertainment's relationship with Netflix led to significant uncertainty over the series and what'll be covered. POST Wrestling spoke with a source who pre-screened all six episodes, and it was revealed how a note opens the series to say interviews were filmed before significant events of 2022-2024: Vince's resignation and surprise return, the WWE - UFC merger, the Janel Grant allegations.
These stars are confirmed to have new interviews for the series, according to POST: Hogan, Rock, Triple H, Cena, Austin, Bret, Bischoff, Atlas, Linda McMahon, Shane McMahon, Stephanie McMahon, Paul Heyman, The Undertaker, Cody Rhodes, and Wendi Richter.
The premiere briefly touches on Grant's initial allegations, then covers the billionaire's childhood, early WWE days, and buying the company from his dad. Episodes continue with coverage of Hulkamania, the launch of WrestleMania, the early 1990s business decline, and scandals along the way. Longtime reporter Phil Mushnick, dubbed anti-wrestling by many, was interviewed on the 1992 underage 'ring boys' scandal, and the 1993 federal steroid trial.
Archived footage from this period reportedly includes the late Tom Cole, who accused Pat Patterson of sexual misconduct when he was just 14, plus Rita Chatterton, the female referee that accused McMahon of rape in 1986. The Phil Donahue Show footage from the infamous 1992 episode on sexual harassment claims in WWE is also shown.
A controversial Tony Atlas interview was filmed, with the Hall of Famer accusing Patterson of groping him in the locker room. Atlas laughed in response and acted like McMahon wouldn't care when asked why he didn't speak up. The main focus of the finale is the Grant allegations.
The company has no production credit on the series and is only credited on-screen for archived footage. It's interesting that Nick Khan had mentioned WWE Studios being a co-producer back in October 2020 when he revealed the project. The WWE President noted then how they reached a "groundbreaking deal" to sell the multi-part documentary to Netflix for a profile on McMahon. However, Netflix's recent premiere announcement had no mention of WWE's 22-year-old film studio.
Ex-WWE employee allegations against Vince McMahon in new Netflix series
The sexual misconduct allegations against Vince McMahon, brought on by former World Wrestling Entertainment employee Janel Grant, are covered in the upcoming Mr. McMahon Netflix docuseries on the former Chairman. However, Grant and her attorney were not interviewed.
Wall Street Journal reporters Ted Mann and Joe Palazzolo appear in the first episode to briefly touch on the initial allegations. They are brought back in the finale, along with colleague Khadeeja Safdar, who first reported on the lawsuit. The sixth episode mainly focuses on the Grant allegations.
In addition to The Wall Street Journal reporters, the finale includes interviews with Wrestling Observer editor Dave Meltzer, and Bruce Prichard, WWE's Executive Director of the Creative Writing Team. Grant's lawsuit was filed long after series production began, and McMahon filmed his interviews before resigning.
Sources weren't clear on how McMahon's scandals have impacted various aspects of the project, such as WWE's involvement, and the final cut. It should be noted that this information is based off a pre-screening of the series, so the final product may be different. The Ringer's Bill Simmons is the Executive Producer, along with director Chris Smith of Netflix's Tiger King and Fyre.
Zara Duffy, Matt Maxson, and Abhay Sofsky are also credited as producers, while longtime wrestling author David Shoemaker, of The Ringer, is also credited on-screen, and he's in the trailer. The opening lists Smith's Library Films with the main production credit, while Ringer Films gets the "in association with" credit.