Mr. McMahon’ Producer Matt Maxson Admits Docuseries Really Didn’t Have an Ending Pre-Janel Grant Allegations

WWE made a groundbreaking announcement during their third-quarter financial call back in 2020—a multi-part docuseries on Vince McMahon would be heading to Netflix. The series promised to delve into the life of the WWE Chairman and CEO, showcasing his journey from a wrestling promoter to the architect behind WWE’s global empire. However, no one could have anticipated how drastically McMahon’s life would change in the years that followed.

What was initially planned as a look back at McMahon’s storied career transformed into something far more complex. In 2022, McMahon was hit with serious allegations involving sexual misconduct and hush money payments. These accusations led to his temporary retirement as WWE CEO. But McMahon wasn’t done yet. He returned to WWE’s board of directors, made a historic deal with Endeavor to merge WWE and UFC, and eventually faced additional legal challenges, including a lawsuit from former WWE employee Janel Grant, who accused him of sexual assault and sex trafficking.

Despite these controversies, the long-awaited six-part series, Mr. McMahon, finally premiered on Netflix on September 25, 2024, nearly four years after its initial announcement. The series, which had undergone numerous revisions and rewrites due to the unfolding events, offers a compelling and layered view of McMahon’s life and the scandal that has engulfed his later years.

The six-part series finally debuted on Netflix on September 25, 2024—nearly four years after its initial announcement. While many interviews were conducted early in the process, including segments with McMahon filmed in 2021, the content was reworked several times due to the ongoing scandal. Producer Matt Maxson shed light on the project’s evolution during an interview with Kevin Iole, explaining how the series shifted in response to the whirlwind of events surrounding McMahon.

“I got a call in June or July of 2021. I came onto a project that had been going on since 2018. It had, at that point, two acts already. Filming didn’t really begin until 2021. I was getting instilled pretty early on. We were taking something that, at the time, really didn’t have an ending. It wasn’t necessarily the most compelling story. It was a guy who built this empire up and at that point looked like he was on cruise control. We had all these different endings we were workshopping like, ‘Is AEW going to be the challenge for him?’ ‘Is this going to happen?’ We had gotten pretty far into production, all of 2021 and early 2022, and I remember we were screening cuts. We had a first draft for the first five or six episodes, and I remember sitting down to watch it. As we’re reviewing it, we’re giving each other notes on things, that was when the first Wall Street Journal article came out. We had to take a backseat from there and rethink everything from the ground up. I have never been on a project that has lasted this long that has felt like it’s taken so many acts. I think Bill Simmons said he remembers 14 cuts. I remember a lot more than that. It just felt like it went from something that felt static and stale and locked in time to where you’re nervously refreshing Twitter going, ‘Is something else going to come out that we don’t know about?'”

The initial idea of the docuseries was to capture McMahon’s career highs and lows, but the unfolding scandal turned it into a dynamic and ever-changing story. With a combination of archived footage and new developments, the series now provides a closer look at McMahon’s alleged misconduct, the fallout from his actions, and his complex relationship with the wrestling world.

Despite the ongoing legal issues, McMahon remains a pivotal figure in wrestling history, and the docuseries aims to encapsulate the impact he has had on the industry—both the triumphs and the controversies. In January 2024, McMahon faced further accusations, including a lawsuit filed by Janel Grant alleging sexual assault and sex trafficking, adding yet another layer to this evolving saga.

The Mr. McMahon docuseries may have taken years to complete, but it provides a comprehensive and detailed account of Vince McMahon’s life, showing how his legacy has been shaped by both his visionary approach to the wrestling business and the legal battles that have marred his later years.