New Vince McMahon docuseries will cover controversial WWE exit

When Netflix first announced a docuseries chronicling the life of Vince McMahon in Oct. 2020, the WWE founder was still firmly in charge of the pro-wrestling juggernaut. At the time, it was believed the six-part docuseries would portray McMahon in a positive light due to WWE's direct involvement in the project, which is being produced by The Ringer's Bill Simmons and "Tiger King" executive producer Chris Smith.

All that changed when WSJ's Joe Palazzolo dropped a bombshell in June 2022, alleging that McMahon was being investigated by the WWE Board for using company funds to pay a departing employee $3 million as part of a settlement. In subsequent months, WSJ reported that McMahon had agreed to over $12 million to four women within 16 years to "suppress allegations of sexual misconduct and infidelity." The reports were enough to trigger SEC and federal prosecutors to launch investigations and for McMahon to announce his retirement from WWE.

While McMahon attempted a brief return, he was forced to resign again by WWE's parent company, TKO, after Janel Grant — a former WWE employee — made sexual assault accusations against her former boss. A civil suit involving McMahon and Grant was recently stayed at the request of the DOJ , which was said to be preparing to investigate the McMahon allegations.

The good and the bad

It's been nearly four years since the announcement of the Netflix project and it turns out there was a reason for the delay. The team behind  didn't want to push out a docuseries glossing over the allegations, which dropped shortly after production in 2021.

On Thursday, Netflix confirmed that "Mr. McMhaon" — a six-part series dropping on Sept. 25 — will include interviews with "the journalists who uncovered McMahon's allegations." The streaming platform further noted that the series was crafted from 200 hours of interviews with McMahon (prior to his resignation), his family members, business associates and some of the most iconic names in wrestling history.

While controversy swirled around McMahon's exit from WWE, his contributions to pro wrestling are noteworthy. As such, the docuseries rightfully plans to highlight the same.

"The series covers McMahon's transformation of WWE from a small, regional business into a global entertainment powerhouse," a statement from Netflix read, "and the explosive sexual misconduct allegations that led to his eventual resignation."

It's refreshing that Netflix is taking the "rise and fall" approach rather than honing in on one or the other. As the old saying goes, one must separate the art from the artist to do justice to a story.

As for TKO/WWE, the company doesn't figure to be affected in a major way by McMahon's potentially negative portrayal. The company has low-key blacklisted him since Grant's allegations, removing most of his mentions and media from its YouTube and social presence. The docuseries could be the last nail in the coffin.