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After what feels like years of anticipation, Mr. McMahon, the Netflix feature documentary series from The Ringer's Bill Simmons, Zara Duffy, and director Chris Smith, has officially been slated to be released on September 25th, just ahead of WWE Bad Blood the following weekend.
Now, for fans in the know, this news has been a long time coming, as Simmons has been hinting at the doc's release for years now but Bash in Berlin marked the first time a WWE Superstar was publically asked about the feature, with a brave reporter asking the “American Nightmare” Cody Rhodes if he plans to watch it when it comes out next month.
Filling the shoes of both the WWE Champion – fresh off a win over Kevin Owens – and of Paul “Triple H” Levesque, who left Germany early to see his daughter off to college, Rhodes gave a very diplomatic answer to the question, noting that his more pressing concern is re-watching Game of Thrones instead of a documentary about the man who brought him back to the promotion.
“In terms of, am I going to watch it? Not to sound cheeky by any means. I am deep in a Game of Thrones re-watch. That is a h*ll of a commitment. I think there is a bit of misinformation in terms of WWE has no involvement in this documentary, as far as I know. I would imagine I would get around to seeing it. In terms of the more serious and the meat of your question, the locker room being quiet or silent. I don’t think that’s a matter of belief versus non-belief. I think, strictly speaking, we want to be doing what we were doing out there. The focus and attention that it takes to have a great story and have a great match, and do that every single night, has left most of us to where we’re finding the information out just as you are,” Rhodes noted via Fightful.
“That includes the resolution of this information. In terms of what happened, how it happened, and how justice comes about. Whatever it might be. I wouldn’t look at it as an active attempt from the locker room to be silent. We are just doing what we do day-to-day WWE business.”
Asked the rare follow-up question, for comment on the Janel Grant lawsuit that is currently tying up the actual Mr. McMahon in court, Rhodes noted that he simply doesn't have enough information to comment.
“I don’t know enough about the information to give a good enough answer,” Rhodes noted. “I’m sorry.”
Now granted, it is a tad odd to hear Rhodes didn't have enough information to comment on the lawsuit, as he actually gave a really good answer to a similar question just after the Royal Rumble when the allegations were fresh, but then again, much like the man he was replacing, it's clear he really wanted to get out of the question without saying anything too headline-grabbing in the moment – ironic I know.
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Mr. McMahon has a chance to really change Vince's public perception
So what, you may wonder, is Mr. McMahon? Well, in the official announcement of the documentary's release date, Variety shared the official synopsis of the series, which will run over six episodes.
Mr. McMahon chronicles the rise and fall of Vince McMahon, controversial businessman and co-founder of WWE. From his transformation of the WWE from a small, regional business into a global entertainment powerhouse to the explosive sexual misconduct allegations that led to his eventual resignation, this six-episode series offers a deep dive into McMahon’s life and his enduring franchise. Culled from over 200 hours of interviews with McMahon himself (prior to his resignation), his family members, business associates and some of the most iconic names in wrestling history, as well as the journalists who uncovered McMahon’s allegations — filmmaker Chris Smith (‘Tiger King’) and executive producer Bill Simmons (’30 for 30′) present an unflinching, no-holds-barred look at one of the most enigmatic figures in sports entertainment.
Reaching out to the film's director about his goal for the series, Smith noted that he wanted to make sure fans got a full look at the man behind the persona, which became all the more interesting after the past few years.
“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,” Smith told Variety. “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.”
When Mr. McMahon began production, Simmons and company thought they were making something similar to Andre The Giant, the documentary his production company produced for HBO a few years ago. Instead, they landed on a deeper story more akin to Icarus, the Oscar-winning documentary about the Russian Olympic Gymnastics team that began filming before they were hit by a major doping scandal. While it's hard to imagine the show will be too harsh on WWE for lawsuit reasons, fans will have to tune in to find out, as it truly has the potential to change to make a serious impact on the McMahon narrative forever.
