WWE speculation on controversial Vince McMahon line in Netflix series; Janel Grant statement - Reports
The WWE Universe is buzzing over Vince McMahon and Netflix's new docuseries. The ex-chairman is no longer with the company he co-founded due to sexual misconduct allegations made by former employee Janel Grant, who has offered a statement on the matter. Backstage sources are also opening up on the controversial series from WWE's new streaming partner.
All six one-hour episodes of Mr. McMahon will premiere on Wednesday, September 25, on Netflix. The project features new interviews with Vince himself, Triple H, Linda McMahon, Stephanie McMahon, Shane McMahon, John Cena, Paul Heyman, and many other interesting names. The controversial topics covered and WWE's official involvement were also recently revealed.
The premiere episode will briefly touch on the sexual misconduct allegations against McMahon, but they will be the focus of the finale. Regarding internal WWE reactions to the trailer, Fightful Select noted that some company sources believe this was established to help take any potential heat off interviewees who may have fondly discussed McMahon before the 2022 allegations surfaced.
"I don’t think at this point anyone should care about the life and times of Vince McMahon above the legal situation he’s in," said one veteran WWE talent.
According to the report, over one dozen sources who discussed the docuseries unanimously wanted to wash their hands of Vince McMahon. This goes for people across the company, from wrestlers to staff and higher-ups.
Netflix's "Mr. McMahon" trailer opens with the billionaire commenting that he's always portrayed as a bad guy. Some within WWE feel that this line was designed to increase chatter about the docuseries ahead of the upcoming premiere.
It was also confirmed last week that Grant and her attorney were not interviewed for the series. Grant's lawsuit against McMahon was filed long after producers began working on the project, but Vince's interviews were filmed before he resigned. Fightful Select asked Grant's spokesperson about her lack of involvement in the series, and it was confirmed that the producers did reach out.
"Netflix's documentary group made initial outreach to Janel's representation for an interview for this project. Despite this, no such interview came to fruition," said Janel Grant's spokesperson.
Grant's representative did not respond to an inquiry about what "not coming to fruition" means and whether Netflix followed up. WWE still has not commented on the docuseries trailer in any official capacity.
WWE legend says Tony Khan tries to be like Vince McMahon
Tony Khan launched AEW in 2019. The lifelong pro wrestling fan has openly talked about looking up to Vince McMahon in the past, but he's also not shy about wanting to surpass World Wrestling Entertainment.
Eric Bischoff recently reacted to Goldberg's comments on Khan and Dixie Carter on his Wise Choices podcast. He thought the TNA President wanted to be the female McMahon before she wanted to run the company, and he sees similar behavior in Khan.
"Tony wants so badly to be considered of Vince McMahon in his prime, or to achieve what Vince or Paul Heyman did, or probably even Yours Truly in the 1990s, to be in that fraternity of major league promoters who had a major industry impact... he's never going to be that guy," Eric Bischoff said.
Bischoff continued and reiterated his feelings on the AEW-ROH owner. He also made scathing remarks on Khan's potential legacy and the impact he'll have.