Vince McMahon Claims He Shares No Similarities With His Evil ‘Mr. McMahon’ Character In New Netflix Doc: “I’m Not That Guy”

Professional wrestling artfully blurs the line between reality and fiction. As the sport experiences another boom period, fans are just as curious about all the behind-the-scenes machinations as they are about the bell-to-bell action between the ropes. The Cody Rhodes/Roman Reigns/Seth Rollins/Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson story that highlighted this year’s WrestleMania was met with near-universal acclaim because it deftly blended on-screen and off-screen storytelling, giving us a literal peek behind the curtain at the real-life twists and turns that led to Rhodes ending Reigns’ historic championship run.

Mr. McMahon , Netflix’s new six-part docuseries directed by Chris Smith and executive produced by Bill Simmons, has lofty aspirations as it attempts to gain some insight into the mind of wrestling’s most enigmatic figure: WWE co-founder Vince McMahon.

On the eve of its Netflix release, the series faced some unsurprising controversy when McMahon voiced his displeasure with the documentary on social media , writing that the producers used “typical editing tricks with out of context footage and dated soundbites” to “distort the viewers’ perception and support a deceptive narrative.”

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Continued McMahon, “In an attempt to further their misleading account, the producers use a lawsuit based on an affair I ended as evidence that I am, in fact, ‘Mr. McMahon.’

Conceived during the famed “Attitude Era,” the character of Mr. McMahon was the ultimate antagonist, memorably feuding with “Stone Cold” Steve Austin or the babyface du jour while performing heelish acts like forcing Trish Status to get on her knees and bark like a dog, making countless wrestlers literally kiss his ass , choking out his daughter Stephanie , and graphically making out with Stratus in front of his (kayfabe) comatose wife.

In Episode 4 of Mr. McMahon (“Attitude”), McMahon was asked if he shares any similarities with his onscreen alter ego Mr. McMahon. Vince was unequivocal with his answer: “None whatsoever.” Those closest to the former CEO of WWE disagreed.

Vince’s son Shane McMahon said that “Mr. McMahon is an extension of Vince McMahon, but blown way out of proportion,” while Hulk Hogan, who ushered in a new era of wrestling with Vince as he main evented almost every WrestleMania from 1985 to 1993, wasn’t as ambiguous. “Exactly the same person. It’s not a far stretch.”

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Many people interviewed felt similarly.

• Shawn Michaels: “The difference between Mr. McMahon and Vince McMahon? Probably not that much.”
• Bruce Prichard: “The character of Mr. McMahon is really just Vince. He’ll tell ya different. No. Mr. McMahon is Vince.”
• “Stone Cold” Steve Austin: “The Mr. McMahon character is pretty close to Vince the man, but, obviously, highly exaggerated.”

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In January 2024, McMahon resigned from TKO, which was formed when WWE merged with UFC in 2023, after a former employee, Janel Grant, accused him of subjecting her to “countless depraved and humiliating acts .” McMahon had previously stepped away from the WWE in June 2022 after it was revealed that he agreed to pay hush money to Grant. The Wall Street Journal later reported that McMahon paid more than $12 million to four women to cover up “allegations of sexual misconduct and infidelity.”

The majority of interviews in Mr. McMahon , including the ones with Vince, were filmed before the sexual misconduct allegations were made public. On the subject of the similarities between Vince and his on-screen persona Mr. McMahon, the pro wrestling mogul reiterated that he’s “not that guy.”

“I’m very, very passionate about our business,” McMahon says in the documentary. “Sometimes that passion is a bit effusive, so I can probably get out of bounds a little bit.”

Continued Vince, “A lot of people have confused through the years who my character was on television and who I am. It used to bug the hell out of me. I’m not that guy. And then I realized, ‘It doesn’t matter what you want, Vince. It doesn’t matter how you wanna be perceived. It’s the way you are being perceived, and perception is reality.’ You can’t change the way people think about you.”

The docuseries concludes with a note stating that “Vince McMahon is currently under federal criminal investigation related to the allegations of sexual misconduct and trafficking.”

All six episodes of Mr. McMahon are now streaming on Netflix.

If you or someone you know needs to reach out about sexual abuse or assault, RAINN is available 24/7 at 800-656-HOPE (4673), or online at RAINN.org .

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