Vince McMahon Docuseries Sets Netflix Premiere Date

The Netflix docuseries on former WWE boss Vince McMahon has set its premiere date.

The series, titled “Mr. McMahon,” will debut on Sept. 25. It consists of six one-hour episodes. The official synopsis for the series states:

“‘Mr. McMahon’ chronicles the rise and fall of Vince McMahon, controversial businessman and co-founder of WWE. From his transformation of the WWE from a small, regional business into a global entertainment powerhouse to the explosive sexual misconduct allegations that led to his eventual resignation, this six-episode series offers a deep dive into McMahon’s life and his enduring franchise. Culled from over 200 hours of interviews with McMahon himself (prior to his resignation), his family members, business associates and some of the most iconic names in wrestling history, as well as the journalists who uncovered McMahon’s allegations — filmmaker Chris Smith (‘Tiger King’) and executive producer Bill Simmons (’30 for 30′) present an unflinching, no-holds-barred look at one of the most enigmatic figures in sports entertainment.”

The docuseries was originally announced back in October 2020. Less than two years later, McMahon announced his retirement from WWE amid an investigation into misconduct allegations by the WWE board of directors. He made a stunning return to the company in early 2023 to negotiate its sale, which eventually happened when Endeavor bought WWE and merged it with UFC under the TKO Group banner. McMahon then resigned from the TKO board of directors after a former employee filed a lawsuit against McMahon, accusing him of sexual abuse and trafficking her to other men.

“The goal behind ‘Mr. McMahon’ was to pull back the curtain and reveal the true Vince McMahon, obscured beneath the persona he presented to the world,” said series director and executive producer Chris Smith. “Over the four years of production, the story evolved in truly shocking ways, culminating in some extremely harrowing allegations. The final product is a revealing documentary that we believe offers a rich and nuanced portrait of the man and the complex legacy he left behind.”

Along with Smith, Bill Simmons and Zara Duffy serve as executive producers on “Mr. McMahon.” The series is produced by Library Films in association with Ringer Films. source: variety.com

Paul Heyman Explains Why He's Always Been A "Triple H Guy"

The term "Paul Heyman Guy" has been used over the years to categorize the wrestlers that Heyman managed, who almost always went on to capture gold and become main event stars. However, according to Heyman in a recent interview with "Notsam Wrestling," he too has people to whom he looks up.

"I can't speak for Paul Leveque, I don't know when or where he may have garnered that level of respect for me, I can tell you: I've always been a Paul Leveque guy," Heyman said.

Heyman then recalled the first time he ever met Levesque backstage during one of ECW's appearances on "WWE Raw." Levesque and Heyman had a conversation about the man who trained Levesque, Killer Kowalski, and Heyman was struck by the young wrestler's vision.

"The vision that he had, that as much as 'I love the past and I'm grounded in the rudimentary and fundamental ways of the business, we got to push it forward;' even back then, in '97, I was like 'Wow, this guy has his finger on the pulse of the future,'" Heyman recalled.

Paul Heyman went on to further describe his current experience working with Paul Levesque in WWE today, and claimed that's it's an absolute honor because "Triple H" is a collaborator. The WWE Hall of Famer further claimed that Levesque listens to the room he's in, takes the best out of everyone's ideas without sacrificing his own big picture, and makes it fit into the parameters of a television show or premium live event.

"That level of collaboration at the top? I don't know anybody in the history of this industry that does it as well as Paul Levesque," Heyman proclaimed.

credit "Notsam Wrestling" and Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.

Triple H: WWE Has A Little Something For All Ages, You Never Want To Age Yourself Out

Triple H wants WWE to appeal to all ages.

Since becoming the Chief Content Officer of WWE, Triple H has started to push the boundaries of a PG product to appease some of the adults that tune in on a weekly basis. Many fans even suspect that Raw will become an edgier product when it makes the move to Netflix in 2025.

While speaking to Full Press Wrestling for a brief interview, Triple H talked about appealing to all ages can be a tricky thing.

“The tricky part about what we do is you’ve got to have something for the 60 year old, you’ve gotta have something for the 40 year old, you’ve gotta have something for the 30 [year old], 20 [year old], and you gotta have something for the 10 and 6 year old. You’ve gotta have a little bit of something for everybody. The characters, the storylines. You never want to age yourself out, you don’t want to shoot yourself [in the foot by being] too kiddy because even the kids won’t like it then right, they don’t want somebody pandering to them. You’ve got to have something that crosses everything and it’s the trick of what we do, a little something for everyone.”

source: fightful.com

Triple H Meets Kevin Durant At Fanatics Fest NYC, Gives Him Texas Legacy Title

Game recognized game, as Triple H met up with Kevin Durant at Fanatics Fest NYC. In a tweet, WWE Chief Content Officer Triple H shared a clip in which he met NBA star Kevin Durant backstage at the convention. He gave him a Texas Longhorns Legacy Championship, and Durant expressed his excitement.

Ran into @KDTrey5 at @FanaticsFest and had to make sure he could (literally) carry the @TexasLonghorns legacy wherever he goes. #HookEm @Fanatics pic.twitter.com/KhJns5tV92

— Triple H (@TripleH) August 18, 2024

Durant is a two-time NBA Champion and a former NBA MVP. He is also a 14-time All-Star, among other accolades.

Afa Anoa'i, part of WWE Hall of Fame tag team, dies at age 81

Afa Anoa'i, the WWE Hall of Famer best known for being one-half of the Wild Samoans pro wrestling tag team, has died at 81.

His death was announced by his family Friday, two months after his younger brother and tag team partner, Sika, died in June.

Afa is the uncle of WWE superstar Roman Reigns.

"It is with deepest regret that we announce the passing of my father Afa Anoai Sr.," his son Samu wrote on Facebook. "It was a peaceful transition and he was surrounded by loved ones. Please respect our privacy as we mourn our father."

According to the Wrestling Observer, Afa had been recently admitted into hospice care and experienced two heart attacks while battling pneumonia in January.

WWE paid tribute to Afa on Friday, observing a moment of silence during "Friday Night Smackdown."

Afa and Sika were a prominent tag team in WWE (then WWF) during the early 1980s and were three-time WWF tag team champions. They worked in a number of promotions, including the NWA, Mid-South Wrestling, Georgia Championship Wrestling and the AWA, winning 20 tag team championships around the world.

The Wild Samoans were inducted in the WWE Hall of Fame in 2007.

Afa and Sika last appeared in WWE at the "Hell in a Cell" premium live event in 2020 to celebrate Roman Reigns' victory over Jey Uso.

"Our family has suffered another great loss with the passing of my uncle and WWE Hall of Famer, Gataivasā Afa Amituana'i Anoa'i," Reigns wrote on X on Friday. "We thank everyone for their support and are comforted by the fact that he now rests in peace. Afa and my father, Pola'ivao Leati Sika Anoa'I were loving brothers, the greatest tag team of their generation, and now they're reunited together in heaven. Rest in Power Wild Samoans." source: espn.com

Triple H Unveils WWE Speed Women’s Tournament Set to Debut on September 4th

There's a major update for WWE fans following the Speed series. Chief Content Officer Triple H recently announced that the first-ever WWE Speed Women’s Championship Tournament will make its debut on September 4th. This exciting event will air exclusively on X (formerly known as Twitter) at 12 PM ET / 9 AM PT.

In his announcement, Triple H expressed his enthusiasm:

“Time to turn #WWESpeed up another notch… excited to announce that the WWE Speed Women’s Championship Tournament will premiere Sept. 4 at 12pm ET / 9am PT, exclusively on @X.”

As a reminder, the inaugural WWE Speed tournament saw Ricochet crowned as the first Speed Champion. He eventually lost the title to Andrade, who is set to defend it against the winner of this upcoming tournament.

TKO Details Repayments By Vince McMahon For Misallocated Funds

Former WWE Chairman Vince McMahon resigned from WWE and parent company TKO in January following the filing of a sex trafficking lawsuit against him by Janel Grant, 18 months after his initial resignation in 2022 following reports he had misappropriated company funds to pay NDAs to Grant and others. McMahon has since been reimbursing the money waylaid to WWE — which merged with UFC under TKO in September 2023 — and the company's latest quarterly report indicates he has continued to do so since his resignation.

"Mr. McMahon has agreed to make future payments to certain counterparties personally," the report reads. "As of December 31, 2023, total liabilities of $1.5 million are ... owed by Mr. McMahon to certain counterparties."

It's further noted that as of June 30, 2024, McMahon had made the payments to the relevant parties in full and directly.

"In connection with and/or arising from the investigation conducted by a Special Committee of the former WWE board of directors, Mr. McMahon has agreed to reimburse the Company for additional costs incurred in connection with and/or arising from the same matters," the section concludes. 

McMahon returned to WWE after his initial resignation in January 2023, announcing his intent to secure a sale of the company. That turn of events led to the formation of TKO, with which McMahon continued as Executive Chairman. Grant's lawsuit in January this year alleged gross sexual misconduct and trafficking at the hands of McMahon during her time with the company, which he has continuously and vehemently denied, and saw him resign from his roles with TKO and WWE.

Happy Birthday Triple H

Paul Michael Levesque
July 27, 1969

AJ Styles Believes Triple H Is Trying To Make Pro Wrestling Bigger

Ahead of his in-ring debut with Pro Wrestling NOAH, AJ Styles is singing the praises of his boss, Triple H.

SmackDown Superstar AJ Styles participated in today’s Nippon Budokan Tournament Press Conference. When asked about what being able to compete in NOAH this weekend means for the current state of WWE, Styles said Triple H is trying to show that they are willing to work with other companies to make pro wrestling bigger than ever.

“I think this is showing the Triple H era of what WWE is all about,” AJ Styles. “Because I’m not the only one that is wrestling in Japan tomorrow night. IYO SKY is also wrestling along with myself, and that just goes to show what Triple H is trying to bring throughout the world and WWE, whether it be in NOAH or somewhere else.

“Having the opportunity to wrestle there is big for everybody, and it just shows how we were willing and able to work together so that we all can make pro wrestling as big as we possibly can.”

Styles competed against Noamichi Marufuji on July 13th at Destination 2024.

WWE touts historic numbers for Money in the Bank premium live event

 

WWE, part of TKO Group Holdings, today announced that Money In The Bank 2024, which featured the surprise announcement of WWE Superstar John Cena's retirement in 2025, became the highest-grossing WWE arena event in Canada in company history.

In addition to the record-setting weekend, WrestleMania XL: Behind the Curtain has amassed more than 2.3 million total viewers since its July 3 debut on WWE’s YouTube channel. The documentary takes viewers behind the scenes of the chaotic build to WrestleMania XL and features interviews with Dwayne Johnson, Cody Rhodes, Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins and WWE Chief Content Officer Paul Levesque.

"Weekends that bring visitors en masse to our host cities play an important part in our planning process,” said WWE President Nick Khan. “The results are a testament to our Superstars, our creative team led by Paul Levesque, our media & production team led by Lee Fitting and, most importantly, our fans who both attended and created our massive viewership."

Money In The Bank highlights include:

GATE: Money In The Bank 2024 became the highest-grossing WWE arena event in Canada in company history.

ATTENDANCE: More than 45,000 fans attended the four events running Thursday to Sunday, including the debut of WWE Superstar Sami Zayn’s comedy show, Sami Zayn & Friends Do Toronto, in addition to Friday Night SmackDown, Money In The Bank and NXT Heatwave at Scotiabank Arena.

VIEWERSHIP: Saturday’s show became the most-watched Money In The Bank of all time, with viewership up 46 percent from last year’s record-setting number.

JOHN CENA: WWE Superstar John Cena made international news with his announcement that he will retire from in-ring action following The Last Time Is Now John Cena Farewell Tour in 2025.

MERCHANDISE: In partnership with Fanatics, merchandise sales were up from last year’s record-setting number, with the Canadian-themed Money In The Bank briefcase grabbing the top spot as the best-selling item of the weekend.

FAN HOSPITALITY: Money In The Bank weekend set a revenue record for fan experience packages offered by exclusive partner On Location.

SOCIAL: Cena’s retirement announcement amassed more than 65 million social media views in the first 24 hours, making it WWE’s most-viewed social segment since WrestleMania XL.

Stephanie, Aurora, Murphy, and Vaughn

John Cena Announces Retirement Tour, Wrestlemania 2025 Will Be His Last Match

John Cena has done the unthinkable.

The former 16-time world champion made a surprise appearance at this evening’s Money In The Bank premium live event in Canada, where he received a hero’s welcome. Cena got on the mic and told the WWE Universe that was officially retiring from WWE after two decades. He added that the great Canadian fan base always shows up when wrestling is at its hottest, and WWE is hotter than ever.

Cena then revealed his plan for retirement, stating that he will be at the Raw premiere on Netflix, he’ll compete at the 2025 Royal Rumble, the 2025 Elimination Chamber, and at WrestleMania 41 in Las Vegas. However, those events will be his last, with the indication being that Mania 41 will be his final match. To end his speech, Cena challenged any future WWE superstar to step up to the plate, because “The Last Time Is Now.”