Mr. McMahon Producers Reveal Whether WWE Was Involved In Final Edit Of Netflix Series

Netflix's "Mr. McMahon" docuseries was officially released on Wednesday, and spotlighted several serious issues surrounding the former CEO and the company itself, such as labor abuses, union busting, the 1994 steroid trial, and the current sex trafficking lawsuit involving both McMahon and WWE.

With the docuseries featuring interviews from former stars such as The Rock, Triple H, and Bret Hart, as well as showcasing exclusive content from WWE's archives, "Mr. McMahon" Executive Producer David Shoemaker revealed how much WWE participated in the final edit of the project on "The Bill Simmons Podcast." 

"WWE was involved at the beginning, and is no longer involved in the documentary, right? So like, I don't know ... I mean, obviously Vince wouldn't have sat down initially if he wasn't comfortable doing it. And obviously we were able to make the documentary that we did because we had that freedom ... in terms of what happens next, I mean, I don't know. I mean, the people that work at WWE might have snuck screeners somehow, but for the most part, they're going to be seeing it at the same time that the world sees it." 

Simmons also chimed in on WWE's involvement, explaining that they had a deal with the company to have access to their extensive content library, and felt like they tried their best to make the docuseries as balanced as possible.

"We did have access to their entire library. Everything we wanted. That was part of the deal, and then I think that the most appealing thing to me is that I think a lot of docs have gone that hagiography route, that autobiography route, and I don't feel like this is it. We really tried to have balance in every direction as much as we possibly could. And whether people agree, that's how it played out, I don't know. But there's just not a lot of documentaries that have balance like that anymore."

Either way, both Shoemaker and Simmons stress that neither WWE or McMahon himself had any say over the final cut of "Mr. McMahon," although they do see irony in the docuseries finally releasing, after a lengthy development, right when WWE is enjoying its most successful period in years.

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit "The Bill Simmons Podcast" with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.