'Mr. McMahon' Producer Says Docuseries Lacked A Compelling Ending Before Sexual Misconduct Allegations

Producers working on the Mr. McMahon docuseries were struggling to put together a compelling ending for the Netflix show until the sexual misconduct and hush money scandal around McMahon began in June 2022, it has been revealed.

Mr. McMahon producer Matt Maxson told Kevin Iole:

"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?'"

Vince McMahon has remained engulfed in scandal since the Summer of 2022. McMahon initially "retired" as WWE CEO and Chairman before forcing his way back into the company in early 2023 and selling it to Endeavor. McMahon then resigned as TKO Executive Chairman in January 2024 after he was accused of sex trafficking, sexual assault and physical and emotional abuse by Janel Grant in a lawsuit that also named WWE and John Laurinaitis as defendants.

Vince McMahon reportedly tried to buy back Mr. McMahon from Netflix after watching early footage and he condemned the series ahead of its release. McMahon isn't working with Kevin Dunn on a response to Mr. McMahon, though, contrary to social media rumours.

H/T Fightful