Nick Khan Details Real WWE Reaction To Vince McMahon Doc

Not everyone was a fan of the Netflix documentary on Vince McMahon.

Despite first being discussed back in 2020, it wasn’t until September 25, 2024 that “Mr. McMahon” finally premiered on Netflix. The docuseries that looked back on the life and many controversies of Vince McMahon was originally supposed to have involvement from WWE Films, but plans were changed.

Several delays hit the project, and it underwent just as many changes, especially in light of Janel Grant’s lawsuit against McMahon, John Laurinaitis, and WWE. In the suit, Grant alleges she was sexually abused and trafficked by and at the behest of McMahon.

This meant the finished six-part documentary saw a huge shift in tone for the final episode, which centred around the lawsuit and McMahon’s alleged sexual misconduct.

Nick Khan Reflects On Vince McMahon Documentary

During an appearance on The Bill Simmons Podcast, WWE President Nick Khan discussed the documentary and how it was received. Khan said the company needed to “get through” the controversy before confirming that those close to McMahon didn’t like it.

Simmons worked on the project as a producer.

“Episodes one through five, it was all fine. Episode six obviously had a lot of tawdry allegations in there. The most important thing in the company was, ‘Hey, this is not for us to spike it.’ That’s not what the deal was and the deal that was struck with Netflix was prior to me joining WWE on a full-time basis.

So it was sort of trying to help everyone who was watching it stay calm, and ‘we’ll get through this thing and get to the other side of it,’ which hopefully we are now.

It went everywhere from ‘Hey, it was phenomenally done’ to ‘Oh my God, this thing is not true, it’s not factual.’ There were people who loved it as an objectively told profile of a person, and people who were close to the subject who didn’t like it, which I would understand, and I think you understand.”

For his part, Vince McMahon claimed he’d been “misrepresented” in the documentary, adding that producers had given a “misleading” account of the material. McMahon urged viewers to watch the series with an open mind, telling them there are “two sides to every story.”

Janel Grant’s legal team said the series only scratched the surface of McMahon’s criminal actions, noting there was no difference between the “Mr. McMahon” character and the person behind it.

H/t to Fightful