As recently as Monday, Vince McMahon said that he doesn’t regret participating in Netflix’s upcoming Mr. McMahon docuseries.
His actions, however, say otherwise.
With the long awaited series set to finally be released on Wednesday, the disgraced former WWE chairman now finds himself back in the spotlight. That includes a report from Puck News’ Matthew Belloni, who revealed in his most recent “What I’m Hearing” column that McMahon had actually tried to purchase the project back from Netflix after initially signing off on it in 2019.
According to Belloni, McMahon’s attempt to buy the docuseries back from the streamer came in 2023 after revisions were made to include his first resignation from WWE following reports that he had paid hush money to help cover up allegations of sexual misconduct, as well the company’s merger with UFC.
Writes Belloni:
McMahon was still nervous about the doc, and after seeing early footage, he actually tried to buy the project back from Netflix, per two sources familiar. (Netflix declined to comment.) Vince also had Endeavor C.E.O. Ari Emanuel, his new partner in TKO, chime in on his behalf, also voicing concern about the doc’s treatment of Vince’s alter ego, “Mr. McMahon,” which ended up being the title of the doc.
Netflix opted to hold onto the project, which was originally set to be released this past March. Only that was before McMahon would be forced to resign again — this time, seemingly for good — following a lawsuit from a former WWE employee accusing him of sexual misconduct, including assault and trafficking.
That prompted the docuseries to be pushed back again, with the lawsuit and allegations against McMahon reportedly being the focus of its sixth and final episode. Obviously, there are still plenty of questions about how Netflix — which has a business partnership with WWE — will handle the sensitive nature of the allegations. But between McMahon reportedly attempting to buy the project back and his recent statement accusing it of misleading viewers, all indications thus far are that it will be far from a puff piece.
About Ben Axelrod
Ben Axelrod is a veteran of the sports media landscape, having most recently worked for NBC's Cleveland affiliate, WKYC. Prior to his time in Cleveland, he covered Ohio State football and the Big Ten for outlets including Cox Media Group, Bleacher Report, Scout and Rivals.