Bill Simmons Explains Why Mr. McMahon Wasn’t Targeted at Die-Hard Wrestling Fans

Netflix’s Mr. McMahon docuseries has officially dropped, and one of the common critiques is that it doesn’t present much new information for long-time wrestling fans. Producer Bill Simmons recently addressed this during an episode of The Bill Simmons Podcast, explaining the broader audience they had in mind.

“We’re making it for everybody,” Simmons said. “The A-story is Vince, and the B-story is the 50-year history of wrestling. You can’t fully separate them because the past 50 years of wrestling is Vince’s story.”

Simmons acknowledged that hardcore fans may not find the series compelling since they are already familiar with much of wrestling’s history. This presented a challenge for the team when developing the show.

“Yes, a lot of this stuff is out there,” Simmons admitted. “But what’s not out there is who Vince McMahon really is. How did people relate to him? How do they feel about him now? In the interviews, you sense this reverence for him, but also fear. We wanted to capture this image of a seemingly invincible guy who, let’s face it, has done some bad stuff and carries a lot of skeletons and demons.”

David Shoemaker, another producer on the project and guest on the podcast, added that separating McMahon from WWE is no easy task. McMahon’s personal story is tightly woven into the fabric of wrestling history, making it difficult for documentarians to distinguish between the two. However, McMahon’s personality remains the true focus.

“It always comes back to Vince,” Shoemaker explained. “It’s his version of events, him staring into the camera and trying to explain himself, perhaps for the first time. The amount of access we got, just in terms of hours of him answering questions, was unprecedented. A lot of that footage is in the docuseries, but there are die-hard wrestling fans who would pay to see all the raw footage of Vince just sitting there. The sheer volume of that material is incredible.”

Simmons and Shoemaker mentioned that four hours of footage ended up on the cutting room floor—mainly because, on one particular day, McMahon’s voice wasn’t up to par. They also suggested that Mr. McMahon could have easily been a 10-episode series instead of just six.

In the end, while Mr. McMahon may not offer new revelations for wrestling veterans, it still delivers a rare look at the man behind WWE’s empire, making it a compelling watch for a broader audience.