Mr. McMahon: Gourou du catch

This documentary has to be viewed in the current climate that WWE & Netflix have a deal, & both have a shared interest in promoting Raw in 2025. So if you are a long-term wrestling fan, this disjointed documentary won't tell you anything new.

It clearly started out life as a puff peice for WWE & Vince McMahon, who gets to talk a lot about himself while not really revealing anything much about himself. However, there are some unintentionally creepy moments in his interview that Netflix exploits to the full. The talking heads on the whole say positive things about McMahon, & even those who speak out against him feel like they've been specially selected by Vince, so that he can rebuke their comments & knock them down like skittles. Whether he does this successfully is up for debate.

The documentary appears to have been shelved in 2022 when McMahon stepped down as CEO. You can almost feel the bitterness when Netflix puts up the caption that McMahon ceased all interviews at this time, leaving them high & dry. When WWE & Netflix brokered a deal for Raw, the finishing of this documentary must have been on the table as part of the deal, timed to promote the new partnership. Then the law suit happened, & what you are left with is a mess of a final episode.

The last 15 years are glossed over, & if you don't know much about WWE, you are left thinking John Cena was the last big superstar. Roman Reigns is relegated to someone who just wanders around in the background & a few match clips. The second half of the episode covers the law suit, but here Netflix hands are tied. As the investigation & law suit are not concluded, & they are now linked to WWE they really can't say much. It's just a few rehashed news clips & screen shots of text messages briefly flashed on screen which leaves the last episode, & series on a whole, feeling like a disappointment. Perhaps McMahon sensed this & has spoken out about distancing himself from the project, & there's a story that he tried to buy it back to keep it from airing. This just sounds like Vince McMahon the showman/the promoter, generating heat for the show to get people to watch it, & it worked. He's probably laughing behind the scenes, & reinforcing that he's still involved with the WWE product, without officially being involved.

I started following the WWF in the mid-70's with Bruno Sammartino, all the way through the Hulk Hogan era, and then only sporadically after that with Stone Cold and The Rock. So I have to say I was probably looking forward to this more than just about anything that has been released on streaming in the last few years.

Professional wrestling used to be so secretive, but now that McMahon has admitted the whole thing is more entertainment than a sport, many of the secrets have been revealed. I've seen some things over the last few years that have revealed some of it, and this documentary confirmed and revealed more for me.

As for Vince McMahon, he is a very polarizing, complex man. Think along the lines of Bobby Knight, Donald Trump, Woody Hayes, or George Steinbrenner. So I'm not sure what to think about him as a person, but as a businessman, he is a genius to do what he did with the transformation of professional wrestling.

Most documentaries on streamers are endless, and should be cut down. Conversely, this is only six episodes long. I think this could have easily been 10 episodes, and still would have been interesting.

The dark side of one of the most entertaining spectales in the world ? YES PLEASE. See the true colors of one of the most impressive self made billionaires and pioneers in modern sports and entertainment. All the controversy and ups and downs that went on through Mcmahon and the industry told broad and openly by the most important , influential and respected people involved. Each episode tackles what each era of the wrestling business dealt with and it's shocking that it never ceased to exist. How can something so pure and real as wrestling have total different face to it once you see it through the eyes of this show. A MUST WATCH.

Don't expect a big beat up of Vince McMahon here. Being mostly filmed before the last damaging allegations, this is more a focus on Vince McMahons business mind - and how he swallowed the whole wrestling world under his ruthless ambition and business acumen.

It's at its most interesting giving an insight into the workings of Vince McMahons mind, he reveals more than he needs to at times (including how he has sometimes said things to get ahead and sway/program others as promotion), the other most interesting is the history of WWE. I learnt a lot although some WWE die-hards will prefer the Dark Side of the Ring.

It doesn't shy away from the allegations, and is better for it. Bret Hart, Dave Meltzer and Eric Bischoff are great interviews. Vince is too reserved at times. He's a brilliant mind, and a brilliant villian, but potentially not a good guy. Time will tell so enjoy this documentary for what it is.

Big wrestling fan here, already knew most of the stories that were told, though I did learn some things I didn't know, like for example things about Vince's childhood. Thought the production was really good & watched it all in one day, but the single most important thing people need to know about this is that it was mostly recorded in 2021 which means that you have to wait until the final episode for all the recent allegations. This is why I understand why wrestling fans especially, will have maybe expected more cause they already heard many of the stories, but I still think its a good watch, not an epic watch but a good one, where you will also learn more about other wrestlers from the way they speak about Vince.