Recap: 'The 9 Lives Of Vince McMahon' Documentary On VICE TV

On December 12, VICE TV aired a documentary surrounding the life of one of wrestling's most polarizing and influential figures, Vince McMahon. Entitled, "The 9 Lives of Vince McMahon," the television documentary covered the "real story" of the former WWE Chairman and CEO's impactful, and often controversial, moves in the professional wrestling business.

The documentary description reads: "Despite lawsuits, allegations, scandal and controversy, Vince McMahon has dominated the world of wrestling for over 40 years, turning it into a multibillion-dollar global empire."

The opening scene denotes Vince McMahon's declining to participate or make any statements in the project, before foreshadowing with a clip of his daughter, Stephanie McMahon addressing Vince's most recent announcement that "stunned the world." The narrator notes that while Vince has confronted many possible "career-ending scandals" throughout his multi-decade career, he's kicked out every time.

The documentary transitions to Vince McMahon's origin story, as he grew up in a poor, run-down trailer park in North Carolina. Though Vince didn't talk much of his childhood, he did once allude to a dark past, suffering alleged abuse from his mother, and another teenager, while growing up. Vince's mother would often bring multiple men into his family's life, voiding him of a true familial bond until he meets his biological father, Vincent James McMahon, at the age of 12.

Through his father, Vince Jr. is introduced to the professional wrestling world and eager to join it. However, his dream would be deterred.

The documentary delved into Vince McMahon's efforts to "modernize" the wrestling industry, while still stressing the importance of maintaining kayfabe, which was then challenged by John Stossel.

The "20/20" journalist began an investigation into wrestling's kayfabe aspect, which threatened to "lead to an exodus of disillusioned fans." Amidst his quest, Stossel recruited wrestler Eddy Mansfield for the story, who showed him some of the ins and outs of the business, like intentionally blading to create blood. During a meeting with WWF wrestler David Shultz, Shultz stayed in character, stunning Stossel with a slap to the face. As Stossel's project is released, he further sued for damages from the slap. McMahon eventually buys off Stossel to make the issue go away, and starts a trend of "buying his way out of problems."

The documentary then overviews a string of controversies, including the murder investigation involving one of the WWF's top stars at the time, Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka. In 1983, Snuka's girlfriend, Nancy Argentino, died after Snuka claimed she fell. However, the autopsy report wasn't indicative of an accident, but rather ruled a homicide. McMahon rushed to Allentown, Pennsylvania, where Snuka was being questioned, and later released. As rumors swirled that McMahon bailed Snuka out of the police interrogation, the case went cold until 30 years later. Snuka was arrested in 2015, and charged with third-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter for Argentino's death.

As McMahon beckoned for "larger than life" superstars, his wrestlers kept getting bigger, and bigger – professionally and physically. Pressure began building for talent to put on weight to fulfill McMahon's vision, which resulted in talent taking performance-enhancing drugs, such as steroids. As the documentary explained, one doctor would even "set up shop" for talent to "purchase their candy." In 1991, steroids became illegal without a prescription and that doctor, George Zahorian, soon got caught and convicted.

McMahon was indicted on conspiracy to distribute steroids and faced the possibility of eight years in prison and half a million dollars in fines. He denied the charges. With the trial looming, he "retooled" WWF, shifting focus to smaller performers, and advocated for a "drug-free" environment. McMahon even showed up for his trial in a neck brace, apparently looking for sympathy from the jury. McMahon's former prized investment, Hogan soon emerged as a key witness for the prosecution in the trial but essentially exonerated Vince of any drug distribution. Many other witnesses followed suit, downplaying McMahon's involvement in the related charges, and accordingly, McMahon was found not guilty.

The documentary then turns to the "Monday Night War" between WCW and WWF, as McMahon claimed his rival "stole" his talent, including Hogan, Roddy Piper, Curt Hennig, Scott Hall, and Kevin Nash, amongst many others. As a result, the WWF struggled to compete, with WCW winning the rating war for 83 consecutive weeks. This lit a fire underneath McMahon, as instilled some new tricks into his playbook, carving out an edgier and often more violent approach to his programming, effectively morphing into the Attitude Era.

With "Raw" and " WCW Nitro" airing on the same nights at the same time, McMahon even wrote himself into programming too, engaging in feuds with the likes of Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, and even his own family. As McMahon attempted to sustain this vision, he often pushed the boundaries of conventional television, and sometimes, went too far.

In late 1996, Steve Austin engaged in a scripted home invasion, where Brian Pillman "shot" at Austin with a gun, which resulted in serious backlash. McMahon later publicly apologized.

In 2006, McMahon once again faced his own allegations at the Tanzabar Tanning Salon in Boca Raton, Florida. The WWF CEO allegedly asked an employee to take a photo of him to send to his "girlfriend," then showed naked photos of himself, before attempting to grope her. The employee called the police, but they decline to prosecute due to insufficient evidence.

The documentary then quickly recounted Eddie Guerrero's tragic death in 2005, as McMahon utilized Randy Orton to exploit Eddie's death.

Less than two years later, one of Eddie's good friends and fellow wrestlers, Chris Benoit, passed away. The WWF orchestrated a tribute to Benoit, without knowing the full story surrounding his death. Police later ruled it a murder-suicide, as Benoit strangled his wife Nancy, then suffocated his son the next day, before taking his own life the day after that.

Vince scrambled to do damage control after learning the facts of the case, but speculation began to brew that drug abuse contributed to Benoit's fatal act. Benoit was taking steroids, and many believe Vince knew, and still didn't stop it. As Benoit's severe case of CTE later comes to light, McMahon was again under major scrutiny, and accordingly banned all chair shots to the head.