Mr. McMahon: The man who blurred the lines between life and fiction

For the uninitiated, Vincent Kennedy McMahon is the former Chairman and CEO of the WWE. The wrestling company you might have heard from where stars such as John Cena, The Rock and many others started their careers.?

Netflix has come out with a bombshell five part documentary which covers the rise and subsequent fall of one of greatest entrepreneurs, entertainers, and real life juggernaut Vince McMahon.?

The average fan might not know the person behind the TV cameras who created this fantasy world we relished in our childhoods. That person is Vince McMahon. A larger than life character, as well as a savvy businessman. It was he who took WWE from the locally broadcasted wrestling program to a 9 Billion Dollar company whose exclusive broadcasting rights were acquired by Netflix in January 2024 with a total sum of 5 billion dollar over 10 years.?

The five part series looks back at the life and upbringing of Mr. McMahon. The first few episodes cover his life’s hardships in growing up surrounded by poverty. Coming from a separated home, he had lived with his mother and his abusive step father. Being able to survive and not getting killed was a gift to him as he openly mentioned in the documentary. Once he hit 12, he reunited with his biological father, and started working in his company then known as WWE.

In the start of the 1980s, Vince Sr. his father, sold the company to his son Vince Jr. The wrestling business was separated into different territories, and Vince Jr. with the vision of making WWF a globally recognized brand went on to buy up each and every promotion and its wrestlers. At the onset of the 1990s, he had established the company as a country wide mainstream entertainment platform. From that time, the household names such as The Undertaker, Kane, Triple H, The Rock all came out as rising stars exceeding the boundaries of wrestling itself and coming to be known as the mainstream personas we know and love today.

It was not all good vibes that Netflix wanted the viewers to see. Vince’s deprived personality and allegations of predatory behavior were also showcased quite explicitly in this documentary. Several times Vince as well as other wrestlers themselves have mentioned that the “character” Mr. McMahon and the real life “Vince McMahon” were not so different. Hinting to the fact that Vince was no angel, and his on screen persona often blurred the lines between fiction and real life scenarios. There were multiple allegations as well as settlements of millions of dollars between Vince and certain WWE female employees which Netflix clearly portrays as proof of Vince’s wrongdoing over the years.?

The best way to describe how a “fake” wrestling show reached such heights is to be reminded of the fact that the business of wrestling from the start is no different than a weekly drama series. The goal is to capture the audiences’ emotion, ensuring this goal means that they will tune in every week. In reaching this goal, traditionally a “good” character and a “bad” one is created, yet often the “gray” ones are preferred by the audience themselves. This depiction matches up with the rise up popularity of The Rock, Stone Cold, and John Cena characters which now are the good ones cheered by fans but started off being the antagonists or “heels” known in the wrestling world.? This series also provides a deep insight into storytelling, and how storytelling often imitates real life events in politics, foreign wars, historical prejudices and more.?

Overall, to know wrestling is to know the American society itself. It is a reflection of the times in which global events shaped the narrative both in the ring and outside of it. By all accounts, no scandal was ever large enough to subdue the popularity of WWE, and the most recent allegation put forth against Mr. McMahon seems this time is no exception. The boss has retired, yet famously in all of his interactions with the media he famously said that he will die on the job.?

The father figure to many wrestlers, Vince holds a special place in everyone’s hearts. The WWE has been the source of kids’ entertainment not only in the USA but also all over the world. Moreover, Vince as a character and person till the end remains a mysterious and overbearing figure in the realm of wrestling fandom. He is no angel, but he is a madman, a visionary, and the proverbial mastermind behind one of the largest entertainment companies the world has ever seen.?