Netflix is set to release a documentary about former WWE Chairman Vince McMahon on September 25, leaving some to wonder what kind of portrait the future home of “WWE Raw” will paint of the controversial executive.
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POST Wrestling has published a report with details of the docuseries provided by a source who has pre-screened all six episodes, noting that it begins to say that most interviews were conducted before various events spanning back to 2022 – including the Janel Grant lawsuit and McMahon’s initial resignation before that – but those events are touched on with brief clips featuring Joe Palazzolo and Ted Mann, the Wall Street Journal reporters who reported about multiple non-disclosure agreements McMahon had made with former WWE employees alleging he had committed sexual misconduct. But it’s not a subject that is substantively addressed until the last episode of the series.
The docuseries instead turns to what is described as a linear history of McMahon’s life and career, with the rest of the first episode said to focus on his childhood, early days in wrestling, and the eventual purchase of WWF from his father. The narrative reportedly delves into the “Hulkamania” era of WWE, the creation of WrestleMania, and WrestleMania III marking the peak of that period, and then the decline of Hulk Hogan and the company in the early 1990s come into focus.
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Coverage of Vince McMahon’s scandals over the decades
The docuseries’ coverage of WWE around that time reportedly delves into the steroid and ring boy scandals, with an interview on the matter with New York Post reporter Phil Mushnick; Mushnick drew the ire of McMahon in the 90s with his reporting on the scandals.
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Archival footage is also said to appear featuring the late Tom Cole, the former ring boy and alleged target of abuse whilst working for the company, and Rita Chatterton, the former referee who accused McMahon of sexual assault in 1986.
Tony Atlas reportedly appeared for an interview for the series, claiming that he was groped in the locker room by Pat Patterson. When asked why he didn’t speak up sooner, Atlas is said to have laughed and reasoned that McMahon wouldn’t have cared.
Finally, the last of the six episodes are reportedly focused on Grant’s sex trafficking lawsuit against McMahon and WWE first filed in January. Grant herself does not appear for an interview in the series. Instead, there are said to be insights from Khadeeja Safdar, the Wall Street Journal reporter who broke the news of the suit, as well as WWE creative executive and long-time employee, Bruce Prichard, and Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer. It should be noted that all information described previously has derived from a pre-screened version of the docuseries and as such, there may be changes made to the final production when it releases. The report notes that Netflix representatives were contacted to point out inaccuracies or details to be added, but they declined to comment.
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