For
better or worse, the McMahon name is synonymous with wrestling. After buying the
WWWF from his father,
Vincent Sr, Vince dropped the first "W" and turned it into a multi-million
dollar industry. Besides his savvy business sense and a wicked stubborn streak,
his acquisition of Terry Bollea (aka Hulk Hogan) helped the WWF skyrocket during
the mid-80's. Along the way, Vince does battle with Ted Turner, starts a
football league and gets more involved in the business - by becoming part of the
talent. Oh, he also has one of his wrestlers engage in a bit of necrophilia.
This two hour documentary traces his life story from his early days announcing,
all the way to his recent attempts to start his own religion. There are
appearances from Shawn Michaels, Trish Stratus, Kurt Angle, Big Show, as well as
Linda, Shane and Stephanie McMahon. The disc is broken down into the following
twenty-nine chapters:
- the Announcer
- They really don't spend much time talking about Vince's career as an
announcer. After mentioning that his father was having problems with Ray Morgan,
he told Vince he was the new announcer - regardless of the fact that he had
no experience.
- the Promoter
- Eric Bishoff, Greg Gagne, Jimmy Hart, JBL and others talk about the
way wrestling territories were "divided" in the past. Gagne also
mentions how Vince basically "stole" Hogan from his father's company,
thereby causing Gagne to file for bankruptcy. Or, as Sgt. Slaughter comments "Vince screwed everybody."
- the Monday Night War - After
entering into a contract with Ted Turner to provide Turner's station with
wrestling content, Vince is forced to go to court. He later decides to see
Georgia Championship Wrestling to the Crocketts, so Turner would have his
own "wrasslin'" company.
- the Birth Of Mr. McMahon
- According to Vince, the character of "Mr. McMahon" was born during a
episode of Raw in March 1997 when Bret Hart shoved Vince on his ass. They
also discuss the "Montreal Screwjob" and after listening to they way Vince
and Shane talk about it, they almost have me believing that "Bret screwed
Bret".
- the Evolution Of Mr. McMahon
- According to Bruce Prichard, Jim Ross and Vince himself, the fans and
their hatred of Mr. McMahon is responsible
for the evolution of the "character".
- Austin vs. McMahon
- However, Stone Cold is the one that deserves the most
blame
credit for Vince's time in the ring.
- the Athlete
- Vince's wrestling ability, or rather, his lack of wrestling ability is
discussed.
- the Chairman
- The success of the WWF/E in the 90's and the day they went public is
discussed. There's also footage of the WWE invading Wall Street.
- the Philanthropist
- Kurt Angle, Jim Ross and others talk about the WWE's charity efforts with
the
Make A Wish Foundation, Rock the Vote, Special Olympics.
- XFL
- During the discussion of the failed XFL, Joey Styles and Eric Bishoff
comment that they think if the XFL
wasn't closely tied to the WWE, it might still be around.
- the Risk Taker
- Vince and his many controversies are discussed. Everything from his infamous
appearance on Bob Costas' HBO show to Katie Vick is mentioned. For the
record, he still doesn't see anything wrong with HHH screwing a corpse.
- Triple H/Stephanie Dating - Vince,
HHH and Stephanie discuss "life imitating art".

- Dysfunctional Family
- Vince, Linda, Steph and Shane talk about Vince's fondness for having his
family on camera. For better or worse.
- the Ladies Man
- Vince's twisted relationship with the various WWE divas is talked about.
- the Competitor -
Quite a while is spent talking about Vince's acquisition of the WCW. Some interviewees think that he
might've lost something the day he became the "only game in town"
and that he misses the competition. I happen
to agree with this. Eric Bishoff, Jerry Lawler and Dusty
Rhodes talk about how buying WCW and dismantling the "territories" was
probably not the best thing for the business.
- Father vs. Son
- Vince talks about competing with Shane at WrestleMania X-7. This match is on disc two.
- Kiss My Ass Club
- Vince's love affair with his ass and the thrill he feels when he gets other people to
literally kiss it is discussed during this chapter. In case you're
wondering, William Regal was the first member.
- Brand Extension
- Once Vince bought out his competition, the company found itself
struggling. Vince decided to split the company into two separate "brands" to
create his own competition. After Bruce Prichard
mentions that the split being confusing since the shows look the same, JBL
talks about "brand loyalty". This "brand extension" never made
sense to me. Especially when you have wrestlers, such as Kane, wrestling in
an "I Quit" match one day, and then showing up on the other brand the
following day. Would that really happen if Vince didn't own both brands? Of
course not.
- Vince McMahon And Stone Cold's Volatile
Relationship
- Besides their in-ring differences, Vince and Stone Cold have had
altercations outside the ring. This segment talks about the time Steve quit
the WWE. However, he's done it on THREE separate instances, so i'm not sure
which time they were referring to. Possibly the first?
- Hires Eric Bischoff Back
- After buying the company he worked for, Vince decided the best revenge
would be to hire his ex-nemesis Eric Bishoff and make him the general
manager of Raw.
- McMahon-O-Mania
- Stephanie's role as general manger of SmackDown! and Vince's last rivalry
with
Mr. America Hulk Hogan is talked about.
- the Bully
- Vince's rivalry with one-legged wrestler Zach Gowen is briefly discussed.
- Honored
- Footage of Vince's induction into the Madison Square Garden's "Walk Of
Fame" is show.
- Father vs. Daughter - Steph and Vince's
rivalry, as well as their "Father vs. Daughter "I Quit"" match (found on
disc two) is discussed. This match took place six days before her wedding to
Triple H's wedding. In addition to having to worry about facing his
opponent, he was also warned by Linda, Shane and Triple H to not put a mark
on Stephanie. Triple H also mentions that Vince talked to him about making
their wedding a pay-per-view. Seriously. Stephanie also talks about Vince approaching her about a storyline
where he would turn out to be the father of her first child. When she turned
him down, he suggested that Shane be the father. Luckily, she (wisely)
declined.
- Leading By Example - Vince's love of performing and his willingness
to do things that he would ask his wrestlers to do is discussed. The double quad tendon
injury he suffered during the Royal Rumble is mentioned, as well as how his inability
to call the shots on the show was more painful than the injury itself.
- You're Fired!
- A brief compilation of Vince's various firings is shown. Kurt Angle
reminisces on his firing from SmackDown!. JR talks about his multiple
firings and the infamous "Colon cancer" skit. Matt Hardy's on hand to
briefly mention the drama between him, Lita and Edge. It ends with an
amusing archival anecdote from Shawn Michaels about the time he was called
to Vince's office and fired.
- the Patriot - Vince's love for
America and the WWE's visits to
Afghanistan is discussed.
- McMahonism
- Vince's recent rivalry with the born-again Shawn Michaels, as well as
Vince's attempts to start his
own religion are talked about.

- the Grandfather
- After talking about his love for his grandkids and how much he looks
forward to being able to spend time with them, the documentary winds down by
telling us how much of a hardass and egomaniacal person Vince is. Kurt Angle
makes an appearance during this segment, telling us that Vince has a heart.
Weird that he ended up at TNA, no?
In addition to the documentary, these extras
round the first disc:
-
Stories
- I Enjoy the Fight
- Vince talks about getting enjoyment out of fighting and his days in
military school.
- Ultra-Competitive
- Triple H tells an anecdote illustrating how competitive Vince is.
- No Vacation
- Another Triple H segment where he laments Vince not being able to enjoy
his success.
- Regal's Rehab
- William Regal discusses how Vince was responsible for his rehab.
- the Sleeping Giant
- Big Show talks about prank that Vince pulled on him during a flight to
Afghanistan.
- I'm the Boss
- Another Big Show tale about being in Germany and Vince displaying that Mr.
McMahon charm.
- I Remember My Dad
- Stephanie shares some personal reminisces about her father.
- Extras
- Slammy's "Stand Back"
- By popular demand - Vince performing "Stand Back" at the 1987 Slammy Awards.
- VKM Training Package
- Footage of Vince training for his match against Austin.
- Deleted Scenes
- the Motorcycle
- Vince talks about his motorcycle accident in Greenwich.
- WWE Championship
- 9/11 Smackdown! Taping
- A two minute recap of the first "live assembly" after the terrorist
attacks of 9/11.
- Stuck In His Ways
- William Regal, Stephanie and John Cena talk about Vince's stubbornness and
ability to talk people into his way of thinking. Jimmy Hart also
tells an amusing story about Vince convincing Dusty Rhodes.
- the Walk
- A short analysis of Vince's unique walk to the ring, along with some WWE
wrestler's interpretation of it.
- Matches
- Mr. McMahon vs. Stone Cold Steve Austin
[Raw 4/13/98]
Disc two contains some of Vince's matches:
- Steel Cage Match [Mr. McMahon vs. Stone
Cold Steve Austin - St. Valentine's Day Massacre 2/14/99]
-
[26:27]
- Handicap Ladder Match [Mr. McMahon &
Shane McMahon vs. Stone Cold Steve Austin - King Of the Ring 6/27/99]
-
[19:10]
- No-Holds-Barred Match [Mr. McMahon vs.
Triple H - Armageddon 12/12/99] -
[36:44]
- Street Fight [Mr. McMahon vs. Shane
McMahon - WrestleMania X-7 -4/1/01]
-
[20:49]
- Street Fight [Mr. McMahon vs. Ric Flair
- Royal Rumble 1/20/02] -
[19:09]
- Street Fight [Mr. McMahon vs. Hulk
Hogan - WrestleMania XIX 3/30/03]
-
[28:06]
- "I Quit" Match [Mr. McMahon vs.
Stephanie McMahon - No Mercy 10/19/03]
-
[16:10]
- Buried Alive Match [Mr. McMahon vs.
Undertaker - Survivor Series 11/16/03]
-
[13:44]
- This is the match that was responsible for the Undertaker changing
from "American Bad Ass" back to "the Deadman".
Video:
Like most WWE DVD documentary presentations, this one sported a mostly
sharp, colorful picture with deep blacks and a vibrant color palette. There were
some slight compression issues due to the pyro and graphics used during the
matches, but that's to be expected. It's presented in the WWE's standard full frame 1.33:1 ratio.
Audio: The Dolby Digital 5.1 sound
was crystal clear and enveloped my living room while I was watching it.
Conclusion: Vincent Kennedy McMahon has led a charmed life. His
father might've laid the foundation for the business, but Vince blew it up
to heights that no one expected. The documentary does an adequate job of
taking us through McMahon's life and times, but I was disappointed there
wasn't more discussion about Vince's early days before and shortly after his
father made him announce. In fact, it wouldn't have bothered me if
they put all the extras on the second disc, and expanded the documentary an
hour or so. Love him or hate him, you can't deny the mark he's made on
professional wrestling (later "sports entertainment") and fans of his
product will definitely want to own this collection. Other than the glossing
over of his early days, i'll give this one a Highly Recommended for
WWE fans. |