Mr McMahon Episodes Review
Episode 4 Attitude
As the credits rolled on episode 3, the dawn of the attitude era was slowly coming to fruition, talent were stepping up their game, whilst the company was switching lanes, in order to target the 18-34 male demo graphic. This. would go on to be called the attitude era. When Vince was a teenager, his idol was. Dr Jerry Graham, a heel wrestler from the nineteen fifties, he copied his swagger, his attitude, and his overall look, as he wanted to emmulate his hero. He even got to be trained by him, and he had a blast to the point, that this was how he was going to live his life. In the fastlane. The Attitude Era gave talent their own arcs in order to grow, as the industry changed around them, because In 1996 WCW was king, and the then WWF was lagging behind. The talking heads throughout this episode, from the likes of. Shawn Michaels. Stone Cold Steve Austin. HHH, and. The Undertaker, do give some good insight into how the business was in these days, but as they talked, a continuous amount of doudt came to my mind, and the question was, is it me, or are they just saving face. Stone Cold talked about the curtain call incident, which led to him winning the King Of The Ring Tournament in 1996, and his promo became a lightning in a bottle moment, for himself and the company, this would in my opinion start a trend with monumental moments happening in each year. 1996 saw this promo. 1997 saw the Montreal Screwjob. 1998 Mick Foley, getting launched off the top of the Hell In A Cell, and 1999, saw. Steve Austin get run over, as all of these moments paved the way for what was to come. In 1998 controversy created cash, when Mike Tyson showed up on Monday Night Raw, and being announced as the guest enforcer, for the main event at that years Wrestlemania. Tyson's reputation at this point, was not in the best of place, as he had been out of prison for four years, serving a sentence for Rape. I just want to let this be known. I grew up a boxing fan, and an admirer of Tysons, however. I do not condone what he was sent to prison for in anyway shape or form. I believe that there's good in everyone, and it's up to that person to want to change their life for better of those around him. This. Was. Seen as a controversial move, and a standing point for Controversy creating cash. I found it quite alarming when they showed footage from back in 2013 surfaced, showing Stephanie McMahons lack of knowledge about his crime, because it showed a clear state of pure arrogance on her part. This time period would go on a see a boom within the company. Austin had won the belt from an injured Shawn Michaels at Mania 14, and that was it, the WWF were off to the races, as there Monday Night War with WCW intensified. The Pro Wrestling industry that is built on emotion, and this was ever more pressent when Vince turned himself into the most hated man on tv. When his Mr McMahon alter ego was born off the back of the Montreal Screwjob. This to me was indication of paracital tendencies being played out on a global scale, as he blurred the lines, between what was real, and what was fake. Eric Bischoff said that. Vince had used the formula that WCW had created, Vince countered this by saying, yes, but I did it better. The situation with Sable was brought up, and if i'm being honest. I think this has brought to light, how the industry has failed women throughout the decades. ESPN then did their own news piece on how the industry had grown, and in my eyes, they talked about the ugly truths, that no one wanted to talk about, this gave McMahon the oppotunity to pull back the curtain on his own hypocrisy. Owen Harts death, and the surrounding legal issues that came alongside this were talked about with miniscule detail, as bret divolged into his own heartache, and how he felt sorry for his brother at the time. Ok my thoughts. I thought that this was a thought provoking episode, that delved into the depths of controversy, and how the show must go on mantra was used to devastating effect. Over The Edge 1999, should never have continued after Owens death, no show, whether it's. Music. Sport, or. Theatre should continue after anything like this. so the fact that Vince thought that he was above this, made me feel sorry for him, because you must be a low person, in order to think this was ok.
Episode 5 Family Business
I thought this episode acted as an interesting look into the McMahon children, and a cry for help, at the same time. From the go with the flow mantra that the attitude era had given birth to, and following storyline that involved Trish Stratus. What unfolded here, was overarching arc of belittling power, as sable's harrassment, and Vince's affairs, were brought into light. His childhood was also brought talked about, as stories of rumoured incest became known, to the treatment of his own kids, who were pushed with varying results. His venture into American Football The XFL, was a complete commercial failure, his interview with Bob costas was a joke, and the downfall of WCW was just plain bad, this would prompt the WWF to change course again. They had won the Monday Night War, and they owned their competion. In hindsight looking back on this. It was a bad move, because the ratings started to suffer, and live attendences were also down, because the fear of competion had been killed, which meant a new era was on the horizon. Ruthless Agression. My thoughts. This episode to me was sad, and was filled with hard truths, that explain everythinh in my opinion. The Abused, has become the abuser. This has been a study into children who suffer abuse, and how some go on to commit awful crimes, this whole Docuseries, needs to examined in schools, because education can guide minds away from taking these bad life lessons.
Episode 6 The Final
As the Ruthless Aggression era, was starting to reach steam, storylines were being given an edge with reality. Case and point, the death of Mr McMahon. This. Was going to be a through storyline, that was going to run throughout the rest of 2007, but real life events sadly caught a grip on the world. What happened would go on to have an everlasting effect on the business as a whole. The Chris Benoit murder and suicide. After Chris murdered his wife Nancy, on the 22nd of june, and then subsuquently afterward, murdered his son Daniel. Vince and his company's wellness policy was brought into question, as steroids were blamed again, but this in my mind was just a crutch, as CTE would have a large part to pay. The Undertaker, and. Stone Cold Steve Austin, gave their thoughts on CTE, whilst Taker offered his own experience of suffering a head injury, Austin slammed what he thought of the condition, claiming the old school mentality trick, which doesn't work for me. Chris Neurinski was a wrestler who had a brief run in the country, that was until he suffered a serious concussion, he went on to become an expert in CTE, he was the man who studied Chris's brain, and the out come was staggering, he had the brain of an eighty three year old altzeimers patient. McMahon completely blazaid this off, as a normal person flipping out. This. Is a cop out, and a way of avoiding giving a proper answer. The Company's wellness policy was tightened. The death of young Wrestlers was then brought into question, and. Vince was taken to task, leading to an awkward encounter on a sports tv talk show. 2015 saw the rise of the womens revolution, but this came to light, the tragic story of Ashley massaro, came up. Ashley was attacked whilst on a tour for the troops in 2006, and when she told the office what had happened to her, she was told, that it's in her best interest to not go public, as it could've affected the company's business with The National Guard. Ashley took her own life in 2019, just days after her 43rd birthday. It hs been long speculated that what happened to her, and the help she didn't receive led to what would eventually happen. Shane McMahon returned to the business in the early part of 2016, and it was seen as a success, but at what cost, he's never really had a true relationship with him, and I think this is the son becoming the father, and the past echoing the future. In 2022. Vince stepped away from WWE, due to allegations of Sexual Assault, and paying out hush money, to cover up his wrong doing, this led to him announcing his retirement, just weeks after he gave a vague rah rah speech on smackdown, that was met with wide condemnation. He would come back into the company in early 2023, because he was still a majority shareholder. To oversee the sale to Endeavor. fast forward one year later, and he was gone again, after he had sold the company to Endeavour, forging both WWE in with the UFC, to form TKO holdings. The Janelle Grant Lawsuit was filed in late January this year, and at the time of writing it's still going on, plus I have said enough on the subject. Love is a form of loyalty, and when it comes his own employees. I got the impression, that when it comes to Vince, he looks at them, as disposable. The Undertaker. John Cena, and. Trish Stratus, all compared to him to a father figure, which led to me think, that loyalty is a blindmans game, because i've lost time for these individuals, for defending this paracital digrace of a man. WWE is a family, this is a statement I have stuggled with over the past decade, and this Docu Series hasn't changed my mind, yes i'm still a fan of the industry, I just feel that conversations need to be had, so that we don't face anything like this again.
My Thoughts On The Series
My thoughts on this series is really simple. In the style of Netflix Documentaries are put together, this is a facinating look into the world complete hypocrisy, and all out narcasism. McMahon hasn't come off looking desperate, and all of the talking heads haven't made great cases for themselves, other than Bret Hart, and. Dave Meltzer, because all this series has proven, is that money and greed, mean more than love and compassion, when you take from others. This series covered what I all ready know, but in a new light given what we now know, about the subject matter.