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Kelly Rissman
US News Reporter
Details have emerged of what Netflix viewers can expect to see in the eagerly awaited docuseries about former WWE owner Vince McMahon due for release on 25 September.
A report from Post Wrestling has shed further light on the Mr McMahon documentary and to what degree the allegations of sexual abuse and human trafficking are discussed.
A trailer for the series was released on 5 September and sparked some concern among fans that many of the allegations brought forward in a lawsuit by former WWE employee, Janel Grant, would be glossed over.
McMahon stepped down from the company which he had run since 1982 in January amid allegations that he sexually exploited and trafficked Grant to other men during his tenure as CEO.
The aforementioned report reveals that in the first of six episodes, the claims against McMahon are briefly mentioned, with Wall Street Journal reporters Joe Palazzolo and Ted Mann appearing to talk about the stories they broke in January.
The Grant lawsuit reportedly doesn’t return until the final episode, where the likes of Khadeeja Safdar of the Wall Street Journal, veteran wrestling journalist Dave Meltzer and current WWE creative executive Bruce Pritchard are all interviewed. Grant herself does not appear in the documentary but Netflix did reach out to her representatives, as per Post Wrestling.
The remainder of the documentary is said to tell a linear story of the trials and tribulations of McMahon’s reign in WWE and the many controversies attached to him including the steroid and ‘ring boy’ scandal in the 1990s.
79-year-old McMahon opens up the trailer by saying: “People have wondered who I really am. Portrayal of me is I’m a bad guy. But no one really knows me.”
McMahon is one of a plethora of faces that were interviewed for the piece, which apparently resulted in more than 200 hours of footage.
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Amongst the other famous faces from the wrestling world featured in the trailer include Hulk Hogan, Dwayne Johnson, John Cena, “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, Paul ‘Triple H’ Levesque and Bret “The Hitman” Hart.
The series which comes from Tiger King director Chris Smith and 30 for 30 producer Bill Simmons, was announced by WWE back in 2020 before the lawsuit against McMahon was filed but the company has reportedly had no involvement in its production.
Smith has previously said in a statement: “The goal behind Mr McMahon was to pull back the curtain and reveal the true Vince McMahon, obscured beneath the persona he presented to the world. Over the four years of production, the story evolved in truly shocking ways, culminating in some extremely harrowing allegations. The final product is a revealing documentary that we believe offers a rich and nuanced portrait of the man and the complex legacy he left behind.”
