Mr. McMahon, Netflix's latest documentary, tells the story of one of the biggest names in the history of professional wrestling behind a massive cast of legends.
The documentary's core subject is Vince McMahon Jr., the former wrestling mogul who co-founded the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) before it became what's known today as World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE).
Featuring some of the biggest legends of the sport and important players in McMahon's life and career, the six-episode series shows his rise and fall in the industry. It was even produced right as he came into one of his lowest points in the limelight.
All six episodes of Mr. McMahon dropped on Netflix on September 25.
All Real People in Netflix's Mr. McMahon
Vince McMahon
Mr. McMahon's core player is none other than Vince McMahon Jr., who co-founded the modern WWE and was its leading executive for the better part of 40 years.
Although fans already know much about McMahon, he admits in this documentary that he did not want fans to know much about him. He helps detail how he got his start in the industry from his father (who he met at 12 years old) before eventually purchasing the WWF from him and making it his own thing.
McMahon evolved in the business, starting as an impromptu ring announcer before running the wrestling company and making public appearances as the "Mr. McMahon" persona.
In June 2022, McMahon stepped down as chairman and CEO of WWE pending an internal investigation before returning in January 2023. March 2024 saw him leave the company for good, selling his stock amidst a second round of allegations of sexual assault, abuse, and exploitation.
- X (formerly Twitter): @VinceMcMahon
- Wikipedia: Vince McMahon
- IMDb: Vince McMahon
Hulk Hogan
One of the most prominent wrestlers to appear in Mr. McMahon is Terry Bollea, far better known to fans as Hulk Hogan. He met McMahon years before his takeover of the WWF, eventually joining the company and turning into one of the biggest names of the 1980s.
This documentary sees Hogan detailing his experience with wrestling, including explaining how the fights were predetermined in terms of who won and lost.
Also shown was the darker side of his time in the limelight, including hurting TV host Richard Belzer and his multiple disputes with McMahon over various subjects. One of those instances was his role in 1982's Rocky III alongside Sylvester Stallone.
Hogan wrestled for 35 years before retiring in 2012. He was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2005, and he is still part of the WWE family today, helping promote the sport and the league.
- Instagram: @hulkhogan
- Wikipedia: Hulk Hogan
- IMDb: Hulk Hogan
Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson
Arguably the biggest single name to appear in Mr. McMahon is legendary wrestler and movie star Dwayne Johnson, better known as "The Rock."
Johnson started as a third-generation wrestler after his grandfather and father worked for McMahon and his father, his dad being Rocky "Soul Man" Johnson. McMahon expressed how similar The Rock was to his father and recalled pushing him down fans' throats, leading to plenty of hate for him.
He started to get more love when he became a bad guy (known to wrestling fans as a "heel"), becoming a WWE Champion multiple times over on his way to megastardom.
These days, Johnson reigns as one of the most popular movie stars in the world, and he still has a part-time gig with the WWE. He also has about 100 movie/TV credits to his name, including leading roles in movies like Black Adam, Moana, and the Fast & Furious franchise.
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- Instagram: @therock
- Wikipedia: Dwayne Johnson
- IMDb: Dwayne Johnson
John Cena
Before becoming one of today's most popular movie stars, John Cena was a wrestling megastar with the WWE after joining in 2001. After holding the championship belt a record 13 times, Cena recently announced that he will officially retire from wrestling in 2025 before a near-certain Hall of Fame induction.
Cena spoke about his early days working with McMahon building his character in the WWE, taking many of the things he did not like about the world and using them in his act.
He explained how he and other wrestlers started to get Vince's attention upon becoming popular and connecting with the audience. Cena also gave McMahon credit for teaching him how to be a performer and bond with wrestling fans.
These days, Cena is one of the biggest actors on the planet with nearly 100 credits to his name. He portrays Peacemaker in the DCU, most notably in his solo Peacemaker series, and he has roles in The Fast Saga, Bumblebee, and Barbie.
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Joe Palazzolo
Joe Pazzolo is a reporter with the Wall Street Journal who discusses the state of the WWE throughout its long history.
Regarding the company's past, Pazzolo spoke about pro wrestling becoming more of a mainstream commodity. However, he also dove into how the company was not quite ready for the spotlight it got when it first moved into primetime, struggling in its early days.
- X: @joe_palazzolo
- IMDb: Joe Palazzolo
Bret Hart
WWE Hall of Famer Bret Hart is a legacy wrestler who fought in the ring from 1978 until 2011. He was then nominated to the WWE Hall of Fame in 2006.
Hart was at the center of plenty of controversy during his time as a wrestler, including playing a role in 1997's "Montreal Screwjob."
The Hall of Famer shared how McMahon often lied to him about fights and the business but described wrestling as an art form. He also expressed some regrets about parts of his career, including wishing he could have had time to himself when the sport boomed in the '80s.
- Instagram: @brethitmanhart
- Wikipedia: Bret Hart
- IMDb: Bret Hart
Tony Atlas
Anthony White, better known to fans as Tony Atlas, is a WWE Hall of Famer who has been involved with the sport since 1978. He is currently on a Legends contract with the WWE, which he signed in 2012.
Atlas shared insight into the WWE model with fans in his interview, noting how the sport turns "fantasy into reality."
He also dove into McMahon's hiring practices, explaining how most of the wrestlers who worked for McMahon came from other organizations. The WWE's top executive would then try to run other companies into the ground while working his own performers hard, often seven days a week.
- Instagram: @tonyatlanta
- Wikipedia: Tony Atlas
- IMDb: Tony Atlas
Paul Heyman
Paul Heyman still reigns as one of the top pro wrestling managers in the game after working as a promoter for years. He is one of the WWE's current executives and was just inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame's class of 2024.
Heyman has a long history with Mr. McMahon after meeting him at New York's Madison Square Garden when he was only 15 years old. He described how McMahon looked and presented himself like the Pope of the arena.
Another topic of discussion with Heyman was the clash between Vince McMahon Jr. and Vince McMahon Sr. as the younger leader came into his own with wrestling. His father was not able to accept the kind of changes he wanted to make to expand the business, leading to fights between them.
- Instagram: @paulheyman
- Wikipedia: Paul Heyman
- IMDb: Paul Heyman
Linda McMahon
Linda McMahon is Vince's better half, who met him when she was only 13 years old and he was 16 years old. The two were married in 1966 and have been together ever since.
Mrs. McMahon spoke highly of her husband, explaining how Vince always wanted to connect wrestling with every area of the entertainment industry he possibly could. She also dove into his struggles with his father as Sr. wanted Jr. to know what it was like to struggle at times while running the business.
Currently, Linda McMahon is in the world of politics. She served as the 25th administrator of the Small Business Administration between 2017 and 2019 under former President Donald Trump.
- Instagram: @sbamcmahon
- Wikipedia: Linda McMahon
- IMDb: Linda McMahon
Bruce Pritchard
Bruce Prichard is a longtime wrestling executive, booker, and producer who has held multiple other job titles in the industry since 1973. He is currently the WWE's Executive Director, a position he has held on and off since 1987.
Prichard took a look back at McMahon's early days as a commentator and ring announcer, saying his former boss was horrible when he first started in that job.
He also dove into the history of different wrestlers like the Iron Shiek and how they helped influence fans, particularly in the context of world relations in the '80s and '90s.
- X: @bruceprichard
- Wikipedia: Bruce Prichard
- IMDb: Bruce Prichard
Eric Bischoff
Eric Bishoff is a TV producer and veteran professional wrestling personality, who is best known for his work as the Executive Producer and later Senior Vice President of World Championship Wrestling (WCW). He was also made a member of the WWE Hall of Fame in 2021.
Bischoff looked closely at McMahon's personality, describing how he would always look to do things that nobody else was possible. This included going across the country to other wrestling factions and signing over their talent to the WWE, taking no prisoners while doing so.
During his time at WCW, he felt the organization was always looking up at the WWE, calling them a distant second-place finisher to their biggest competition.
- Instagram: @therealericbischoff
- Wikipedia: Eric Bischoff
- IMDb: Eric Bischoff
Cory Rhodes
Cory Rhodes has been part of the pro wrestling world for nearly 20 years, debuting in 2006. He is the current Undisputed WWE Champion and has performed with multiple companies over the years, including All Elite Wrestling (AEW).
Rhodes is also a legacy in the industry as his father, Dusty Rhodes was one of Vince McMahon's early picks to perform in the WWF and WWE.
The younger wrestler explained how his father was looked at as somebody who did out-of-the-box things in the rings and could be an entertaining personality for fans.
- Instagram: @americannightmarecody
- Wikipedia: Cory Rhodes
- IMDb: Cory Rhodes
Dave Meltzer
A major press member interviewed for Mr. McMahon was Dave Meltzer, the editor of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. He also has published work with the Los Angeles Times, Yahoo! Sports, and the Oakland Tribune.
Meltzer addressed how big wrestling became as McMahon and the WWF grew and evolved, particularly touching on the arrival of Hulk Hogan being a turning point for him.
He also addressed the controversy behind Wrestlemania III, which McMahon said was the biggest live event in sports history at the time. Meltzer said only 78,000 people were in attendance rather than the 93,000 McMahon reported.
- Instagram: @davidmeltzer
- Wikipedia: Dave Meltzer
- IMDb: Dave Meltzer
Jimmy Hart
Jimmy Hart is a WWE legend who has wrestled professionally since 1978. He was with the WWE when it was still the WWF from 1985 until 1993, and he was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2005.
Hart shared insight into some of the WWF's history during his time there, including the company's partnership with MTV which helped both companies grow.
He also looked back at the first Wrestlemania, after which the sport became a global phenomenon with cameras following the wrestlers everywhere they went. Additionally, he touched on some of the scandals that went on behind the scenes but did not want to elaborate on details.
- Instagram: @jimmyhartmouthofthesouthwwehof
- Wikipedia: Jimmy Hart
- IMDb: Jimmy Hart
David Shoemaker
David Shoemaker is the author of the hit book The Squared Circle: Life, Death, and Professional Wrestling, which was published in 2013.
In Mr. McMahon, he detailed how the WWE leader came from nothing and how his father helped him build his dreams of being something big.
Later, Shoemaker touched on how McMahon became a target for people after the first Wrestlemania, finding himself at the center of multiple scandals that threatened his empire.
- IMDb: David Shoemaker
Stephanie McMahon
Stephanie McMahon is Vince McMahon's daughter who has her own 20-year career as a wrestler between 1998 and 2018.
She later transitioned into an executive role with the company alongside her father, working as the chief brand officer before being promoted to co-CEO and chairwoman in 2022 when Vince retired. However, she resigned in January 2023 when her father returned to the WWE.
Stephanie largely dove into personal experiences with the business in her interviews, explaining how her parents mortgaged everything they had on the WWE, Wrestlemania, and other similar ventures most of her life.
- Instagram: @stephaniemcmahon
- Wikipedia: Stephanie McMahon
- IMDb: Stephanie McMahon
Shane McMahon
Shane McMahon is Vince's son and Stephanie's brother, who worked with the WWE in various roles starting when he was 15 years old. Most of his time was spent as a wrestler or an executive, although he left the company seemingly for good in 2020.
Looking back to his early life, Shane spoke on how his parents never talked finance much around him or his sister, but that he could feel both the tension and excitement.
He also discussed some of the scandals in his time with the company, including Hulk Hogan's defection, which he called an enormous slap in the face to his father.
- Instagram: @theshanemcmahon
- Wikipedia: Shane McMahon
- IMDb: Stephanie McMahon
Phil Mushnick
Phil Mushnick was a columnist for the New York Post who seemed to have a vendetta against the WWE, even though he was never assigned to cover it.
He wrote multiple scathing columns against McMahon and the WWE, calling the company leader a dirtbag, amongst other choice names.
He even expressed in the documentary that he thought McMahon was guilty of aiding and abetting multiple scandals, or at least guilty of neglecting and ignoring those who suffered.
- X: @PhilMushnick
- Wikipedia: Phil Mushnick
- IMDb: Phil Mushnick
Shawn Michaels
Shawn Michaels is a WWE legend who wrestled for the company from 1998 to 1998, then again from 2002 until 2010. He was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2011 and now works as the Senior Vice President of Talent Development Creative for NXT.
Michaels was deep in his time with the WWE at the end of the Hulk Hogan era, sharing his hope to become one of the next big things when Hogan retired.
He also touched on the concept of kayfabe (a term used to describe the practice of portraying staged events as genuine), discussing both its importance to the sport and how it became so controversial.
- Instagram: @officialshawnmichaels
- Wikipedia: Shawn Michaels
- IMDb: Shawn Michaels
Sharon Mazer
Sharon Mazer is the author of a book titled Professional Wrestling: Sport and Spectacle, sharing her thoughts on pro wrestling in this documentary.
In her interviews, she spoke on how the sport is so deeply embedded in American culture while noting how much McMahon's impact on it is largely ignored.
Other clips show her discussing the fake and staged part of pro wrestling, diving into the history of that idea and how deeply it was implanted into the culture of the WWE.
Kay Koplovitz
Kay Koplovitz is the founder of the USA Network, which became the WWE's official networking partner for decades.
While she touched on how much success the network had with pro wrestling in its early days, she also did not seem pleased at points when looking back on how bad things got.
Koplovitz even admitted to having serious problems with the more adult-oriented direction the sport took once it really started to get going.
- Instagram: @kaykaplovitz
- Wikipedia: Kay Koplovitz
Triple H
Paul Levesque, better known to wrestling fans as Triple H, is one of the sport's legendary figures. He spent 27 years as a wrestler with the WWE before retiring in 2022, and he was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2019.
Triple H currently works as the CCO and head of creative for the WWE and is married to Stephanie McMahon.
The wrestling icon shared insight into his relationship with McMahon and his history of playing a character as a wrestler, explaining how people need to be smart enough to know what the sport really is as a show.
- Instagram: @tripleh
- Wikipedia: Triple H
- IMDb: Paul Levesque
Undertaker
Mark William Callaway is one of the most famous wrestlers in history, although he more commonly goes by the name of The Undertaker. He joined the WWE in 1990 and became a mainstay at Wrestlemania until his retirement in 2020, and he was inducted into the Hall of Fame shortly after in 2022.
The Undertaker had a long history of working with McMahon as the WWE became a powerhouse, first hoping to make a name for himself in the wake of Hulk Hogan's retirement.
Known for his "Deadman" persona, he became a superstar in wrestling and won awards for his performance and gimmicks.
- Instagram: @undertaker
- Wikipedia: The Undertaker
- IMDb: Mark Callaway
Trish Stratus
Trish Stratus is a legendary wrestler who started working for the WWE in 1999, and she performed as recently as 2023. She was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2013.
Stratus addressed the era of wrestling in which she first debuted, especially how the '90s led the sport to get more risque and adult in nature as female wrestlers became more popular.
She was even part of a hugely controversial moment when she kissed McMahon for show in front of his wife, turning McMahon into an even bigger heel for WWE. His family even approved of the stunt, helping those kinds of moments become more popular.
- Instagram: @trishstratuscom
- Wikipedia: Trish Stratus
- IMDb: Trish Stratus
Steve Austin
Stone Cold Steve Austin is synonymous with the sport of wrestling, wrestling with the WWE from 1995 until 2003. Although he was forced to retire from in-ring events due to serious knee and neck injuries, he was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2009.
Austin looked back to the start of his career during the WWE's "Attitude Era," expressing doubt in the beginning about how far he would go.
Making a name for himself with WCW, McMahon noticed him and turned him into the Stone Cold Steve Austin persona for the WWE in the mid-'90s. Known for his trash-talking and hot-headed nature, he was the center of multiple controversies and became famous for getting much of America angry at him.
- Instagram: @steveaustinbsr
- Wikipedia: Steve Austin
- IMDb: Steve Austin
Mr. McMahon is now streaming on Netflix.
