Vince McMahon’s character is on a public trial. Netflix has premiered Mr. McMahon, a six-part docuseries chronicling the life story of the former WWE Chairman, from his beginnings with his family’s scripted sport business up to the sex trafficking allegations that brought his career to a hard stop. As for what went down in that middle area, one side of Vince was on full display. In the mid-1990s, Vince began appearing on WWE programming as an on-screen figure, first a neutral color commentator and eventually morphing into an over-the-top evil boss to antagonize the company’s top good guys, like “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, The Rock, Triple H, John Cena, CM Punk, Roman Reigns, and many others over the years.
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WWE Stars Dispute Vince McMahon’s Character Claims
Where does Vince McMahon end and Mr. McMahon begin?
When asked about the parallels between his on-screen persona and his actual personality, Vince McMahon told Netflix’s Mr. McMahon documentary interviewer that there were “none whatsoever.”
This claim was universally pushed back on by a number of WWE talents interviewed for the documentary.
“Mr. McMahon is an extension of Vince McMahon, but blown way out of proportion,” Shane McMahon, Vince’s son and former WWE wrestler and executive, said.
“The Mr. McMahon character is pretty close to Vince the man but obviously highly exaggerated,” Vince’s longtime on-screen rival “Stone Cold” Steve Austin said. “The best characters in wrestling are guys at their core with the volume turned up. What you saw from me as Stone Cold was me with the volume turned up, same with Vince.”
“The difference between Mr. McMahon and Vince McMahon? Probably not that much,” current WWE Senior Vice President of Talent Development, Creative and former WWE wrestler Shawn Michaels said with a laugh.
“Exactly the same person,” WWE Hall of Famer Hulk Hogan said. “It’s not a far stretch.”
“The character of Mr. McMahon is really just Vince. He’ll tell you different. No, Mr. McMahon is Vince,” longtime WWE employee and current WWE Executive Director Bruce Prichard said. “A lot of the promos and the diatribes that have been cut on other people, I’ve had actually cut on me in real life. ‘Ah, I’d never say that.’ I said, ‘Yeah, you would. You said it to me.’”
How Mr. McMahon’s Traits Carried Into Vince’s Personal Life
One of the Mr. McMahon character’s most prominent personality traits was his womanizing tendencies. Mr. McMahon regularly cheated on his wife Linda with female WWE stars, notably having a recurring on-screen affair with Trish Stratus. Mr. McMahon would always get humiliated in the end, famously being defeated by Shane at WWE WrestleMania X-Seven after Linda attacked him.
Mr. McMahon’s infidelity carried into Vince’s personal life, as he had numerous legitimate affairs over the years and paid off the women with hush money. This past January, one of Vince’s affairs, former WWE employee Janel Grant, filed a lawsuit against him for sexual abuse and sex trafficking. That lawsuit is pending an investigation.
Mr. McMahon is now streaming on Netflix.
