Mr McMahon
Introduction
There was a period sometime in my impressionable years of growing up that I was addicted to World Wrestling Federation aka World Wrestling Entertainment (erstwhile WWF and now WWE) that featured so many stars of the ‘Attitude Era’. Each of the stars had a sense of uniqueness and a finishing move which we all would have imitated while discussing about the sport in school. Yes, we were careful not to actually get into a physical form of wrestling but I must admit that it was a lot of fun to imitate their style of speaking or their actions. One of the things that WWE did right was create characters and a storyline so close to reality that it was be virtually impossible to distinguish between the reality from the show. And like all storylines, there were characters that were massively loved, and some massively hated.
One such character that did fall in the latter category was the head honcho of WWE Vince McMahon. There was something irritating and infuriating about his outlandish character that did thrive on negativity, and was fine to gather hate all in the name of entertainment. Be it his strutter or his immoralities on show, he would invariably be the center of all attraction as a character on the show even as his misdoings outside the arena garnered a lot of media attention. He was virtually living two lives while blurring the lines between his reality and his virtual reality that made him a fascinating character to study. And with the new Netflix show Mr. McMahon, I was expecting a balance of celebration and expośe, both of which found their weights in the life of Vince McMahon.
The Good
Whenever there is a docuseries on a famous personalities, the first thought usually is that the show would whitewash their image and make them holier than Jesus Christ. But, that thankfully doesn’t hold true for the docuseries Mr. McMahon. While the show traces his journey from his childhood which was filled with difficulties, there is almost like an undercurrent of his flaws that runs throughout the narrative. The show doesn’t shy away from highlighting his alleged involvement in multiple s*xual harassment lawsuits that were filed on him, or even his involvement in the provision of steroids to his wrestlers at the WWE. The show is also weary of highlighting the fact that most interviews were conducted before January 2024 wherein there was a major lawsuit filed against him for a case of s*xual misconduct and r*pe that forced him to quit his position of power.
On the celebration side, this was a typical rags to riches story to begin with while having an insurmountable ambition of creating a multi-billion dollar industry in Pro-Wrestling. This included poaching talent which was created by other stately organizations and creating an image which would double up as a character in the wrestling entertainment. The eccentricity of ambitions with regard to Vince McMahon would often reach new heights even as he strived to provide entertainment by broadening his vision with the formation of Wrestlemania, something that was nicely highlighted. As a parallel success story stood World Championship Wrestling, and its journey involving the head honcho Eric Bischoff was expertly shown too. It almost acted as a case study on how the changes times directly coincided with the fate of WWE and WCW, both of which were inversely proportional to each other, even as the former took precedence eventually.
The vision of Vince McMahon could never be denied given how it strained the borders of hideousness all at the cost of entertaining the fans. This included created characters in the attitude era like The Undertaker or the crowd favourite Stone Cold Steve Austin or even later on John Cena, all of it that made for a nostalgic watch particularly when they were miked up here. Amidst this, the layered narrative did reveal his passive issues with his own children who were involved with the organization. Yet every now and then, his flawed personality would come to the forefront with various cases being filed against him including out of court settlements that he did subject to. But the show successfully highlights on the fact that he did grow his organization WWE to new heights, with a dedicated Network and brand endorsements that reached a peak in the past two decades while acknowledging his vision at the end of the day.
The Not So Good
I belong to the generation that was witness to the attitude era of WWE going onto the era of realism. And so while the show did touch upon the era briefly, I really wished for the makers to spend a little more time in touching upon the nostalgic factor of the show which honestly was the golden era of wrestling. The signature styles of each wrestlers were so unique that we still have them fresh in our minds even today. A little more of nostalgia would not have hurt.
Additionally, the show did bring to light the latest lawsuit filed against Vince McMahon that forced him to quit his position of power in January 2024. I did feel that the entire episode that transpired in the final half hour of the show was a little too swift for my liking. I did feel that there was enough material in the story to flesh out an entire episode out of it which would have further dealt with several layers of the case, and brought out skeketons from the closet. The fact that Vince himself cancelled the final round of interviews was a deterrent given that the context was revealed from only one side of the concerned party. Well I guess he might be guilty after all!
My Take
I still do feel that there must be boundaries to entertainment. While it is appreciable to push the boundaries in order to quench the thirst of the viewers, when I do look back, some of the tasks performed in the storyline were hugely problematic and highly offensive. The sheer objectification of women in the wrestling field was atrocious to a point that they were treated as s*x toys all in the name of entertainment being catered to young impressionable minds. The sheer audacity of blurring the lines between real and reel was ridiculous more from a mental standpoint wherein the performers wouldn’t be sure on what their personality actually is. Needless to say that there was a lot of discretion required.
Secondly, s*xual misconduct at a workplace is a strict no-no. If the allegations are true (which I feel they are), then it will go down as the most hideous crime ever committed by Vince McMahon. Being the ‘Boss’ of the organization, he really needed to set the right example even while there needed to be an independent body setup to look into such matters. Nope, there is just no excuse for this infuriating crime, it never was, it never will be! Even his audacity to continue with the show when the premises of the arena were witness to a death on live TV was simply outrageous. So everything from a moral standpoint is wrong with Vince McMahon and his organization. But his ambitions and goals if looked at from a consumer stand point was truly appreciable. His vision definitely was praise-worthy and the kind of achievement that he inflicted with WWE was simply amazing! As the saying goes – like him or hate him but you cannot ignore him.
Conclusion
The show Mr. McMahon is the grand celebration and expośe of an outlandish personality that is equally admired for his achievements and hated for his actions, universally speaking! Hence, this documentary did provide a fascinating character study of his persona that you may love or hate but simply cannot ignore. And the show leaves you with a question too – can you separate the art from the artist? Available on Netflix and Highly Recommended!
