From The Locker Room To The Screen: The Making Of WWE’s Groundbreaking Documentaries

Professional wrestling, with its compelling blend of athletics, theater, and captivating storylines, has been captivating fans around the world for generations. WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment), the undisputed leader in the industry, boasts a rich and storied history that stretches back to the early 1950s. Initially founded on January 7, 1953, as Capitol Wrestling Corporation, the company was radically transformed by the vision of Vince McMahon, ultimately evolving into the global entertainment behemoth we know today. Well aware of the inherent entertainment potential of wrestling’s larger-than-life characters and frequently far-fetched storylines, WWE has made a serious effort to enter the realm of documentary filmmaking, giving its devoted fanbase an unprecedented glimpse behind the skillfully constructed facade of professional wrestling.

The Genesis of a Global Empire: The Evolution of WW

The year 1984 marked a watershed moment in the history of WWE. Hulk Hogan’s exciting victory over The Iron Sheik, a spectacle of pure, unadulterated patriotic fervor, launched Hogan into main event status, more or less ushering in the era of “Hulkamania.” This watershed, coupled with McMahon’s shrewd acquisition of lucrative television deals and the new strategy of selling videotapes directly to the masses, allowed WWE to expand its reach exponentially across the United States, breaking into new markets and creating a loyal following.

But McMahon’s ambition extended far beyond dominating the world of wrestling. He envisioned WWE as a mainstream entertainment powerhouse, a cultural phenomenon that transcended the limitations of its niche origins. To achieve his ambitious dream, McMahon conceived WrestleMania in 1985, a gamble that would transform the professional wrestling universe forever.

WrestleMania’s massive success was powered by a groundbreaking joint-promotional campaign with MTV, notoriously known as the Rock ‘n’ Wrestling Connection. The landmark partnership brought mainstream media coverage and celebrity involvement to WWE, further solidifying its position in the pop culture firmament. Celebrities like Cyndi Lauper and Mr. T not only showed up at WrestleMania but also got involved in storylines, blurring the lines between the wrestling world and mainstream entertainment. This progressive approach solidified WWE’s position in the cultural zeitgeist and cleared the way for future partnerships and expansion into various forms of media.

Peering Behind the Curtain: WWE’s Documentary Style

WWE documentaries, which were once in-house productions and are now often outsourced to large streaming companies like Peacock and traditional networks like the A&E Network, have for many avid fans come to be virtually interchangeable with the professional wrestling documentary genre. These slickly produced documentaries explore the often complex realities of professional wrestling, subtly blurring the already unclear boundaries between reality and fiction so intrinsic to the industry’s appeal. As noted documentarian Robert Greene so rightly observes, documentaries, much like professional wrestling’s staged storylines, inherently involve the construction of a narrative that presents a particular version of reality to the audience. Being aware of constructed narratives is especially crucial to studying WWE documentaries, as they are often highly curated to present a particular image or perspective.

The Anatomy of a Documentary: Key Steps in Production

Producing an actually compelling and insightful documentary is a complex and multifaceted process, involving a series of important steps and requiring a broad range of skills.

Research and Planning: Laying the Foundation: Extensive and serious research is essential in order to gain a proper and in-depth understanding of the topic of the documentary. This involves going through old records, interviewing relevant individuals, and reading contemporary media coverage to build a soundly researched opinion. Without a solid foundation of research, the documentary may turn out to be superficial or inaccurate.

Treatment Creation: Charting the Way Forward: A documentary treatment is a detailed roadmap of the project as a whole. It concisely outlines the central topic of the film, the overall narrative thread, the central characters involved, the overall themes to be covered, and the type of footage required to tell the story effectively. The treatment acts as a blueprint for the filmmaking process so that all individuals involved are striving to accomplish the same thing. The treatment also plays a critical role in raising finance and recruiting crew because it provides the prospective investors and crew members with a sense of the project’s vision and scope.

Scheduling and Budgeting: Managing Resources: Creating a detailed and realistic schedule and budget is crucial to managing the production process effectively and avoiding costly overruns. This involves breaking down each stage of production into manageable tasks with clearly defined timelines and allocating resources appropriately. Detailed budgeting keeps the project on a financial track, while good scheduling enables the production team to meet deadlines and maximize efficiency.

Script Writing: Shaping the Story: Documentary scripts come in two principal forms, one suited to each type of documentary. A/V scripts strive to balance audio and visuals precisely, with exhaustive instructions for editors and a seamless integration of the two. Paper edits, on the other hand, are more about putting together footage and transcripts in a coherent and interesting sequence, focusing on the flow of the story and the emotional impact of the narrative. Scriptwriting timing often depends on the type of documentary being produced. Observational and interview-based documentaries are typically scripted primarily in post-production, since the story emerges from the raw interviews and footage. Narrator-based documentaries typically have to have an advance script, providing a template for the entire film.

Editing: Weaving the Tapestry: Editing is probably the most crucial aspect of documentary filmmaking in the sense that it takes raw footage and sound and transforms it into a cohesive and compelling narrative. This is the process of getting all of the elements into sophisticated editing software, laboriously adding beats to the timeline to create rhythm and pacing, building the underlying structure of the film by sequencing scenes and sequences, and then refining the content laboriously through cuts, transitions, and adding music and sound effects. Lastly, the editing is where all of the different elements of the film are made to cohere and create an emotionally resonant and cohesive story.

Unveiling the Man Behind the Character: The “Mr. McMahon” Documentary

One of the latest and highly publicized instances of WWE’s ongoing foray into the documentary filmmaking world is the “Mr. McMahon” documentary series now available on Netflix. Helmed by award-winning director Chris Smith, renowned for his work on the popular “Tiger King,” the multi-part documentary series ambitiously attempts to peel away the layers of Vince McMahon’s carefully designed public persona and reveal the man behind the notorious character.

The documentary chronicles McMahon’s remarkable transformation of WWE into a global entertainment empire, examining his ruthless ambition, revolutionary business moves, and often controversial decisions. The series also examines the darker side of McMahon’s story, probing the numerous allegations of sexual misconduct that ultimately led to his resignation from WWE.

Smith emphasizes that the story took numerous unexpected and often shocking turns and twists over the four years of filming, culminating in the explosive allegations that shook WWE to its foundations. To build a complete and balanced picture, the series includes over 200 hours of interviews with a diverse range of subjects, from McMahon himself, his family, and close business associates to investigative journalists and a veritable who’s who of wrestling greats who have helped make WWE a success.

Blurring the Lines: Reality and Performance

Investigative journalist Ted Mann, whose reporting helped break the news of Vince McMahon’s alleged abuse and sex trafficking, astutely observes the deliberate mixing of fictional and nonfictional elements that permeates McMahon’s public image. This mixing of reality and performance is a consistent theme throughout professional wrestling, where the boundaries between scripted drama and real emotion are consistently blurred by design, creating a unique and compelling brand of entertainment. The “Mr. McMahon” documentary promises to explore this dynamic in depth, looking at how McMahon has constructed his own myth and how that myth has shaped the image of himself and WWE.

Preserving Wrestling’s Legacy: Documentaries Featuring History

In addition to its profiling of current personalities and events, WWE has also established an enormous library of documentaries that fully document critical junctures and legendary figures of wrestling history. The documentaries serve as invaluable historic records, keeping the history of the sport alive and giving the fans never-before-seen behind-the-scenes peeks and elaborate stories about their favorite wrestlers and events. Ranging from the rise of Hulk Hogan to the Monday Night Wars to the career of legendary figures like The Rock and Stone Cold Steve Austin, the documentaries make a complete and engrossing examination of the rich and varied history of WWE.

Extending the Universe of Entertainment: WWE Studios

WWE’s complete commitment to filmmaking is also exemplified by WWE Studios, an in-house movie studio owned and operated by WWE. WWE Studios produces a vast range of films, ranging from action movies to comedies to documentaries, of course, further solidifying WWE’s place in the broader entertainment industry. In so doing, WWE is thus able to leverage its already built-in brand name and fan base to create new revenue streams and expand its reach beyond the world of professional wrestling.

Riding the Changing Times: The PG Era

In 2008, WWE began a significant strategic transition to a more conservative and family-friendly focus, implementing a company-wide policy that moved all of its television programming to a PG television rating. This transition, more popularly known as the “PG Era,” was undertaken primarily to appeal to a wider audience and to become a more desirable product for advertisers.

While this transition was criticized by some longtime fans on the basis that it diluted the edginess and intensity that had previously been a hallmark of WWE programming, the move was ultimately a testament to WWE’s amazing ability to adapt to changing audience tastes and remain a leading entertainment brand. The PG Era allowed WWE to become accessible to younger audiences and families and thus ensure the long-term survival of the company.

Conclusion: A Legacy of Storytelling

From its humble beginnings as Capitol Wrestling Corporation to its current form as a global entertainment phenomenon, WWE has consistently demonstrated an impressive ability to grow, innovate, and adapt in the face of the constantly shifting fortunes of the entertainment world. Its foray into documentary filmmaking is a natural and logical progression of its internal narrative strengths, offering its devoted fan base an even more intimate and penetrating link to the intriguing world of professional wrestling. Documentaries like the highly anticipated “Mr. McMahon” are a testament to WWE’s willingness to tackle complex and often controversial subjects, adding a level of sophistication and complexity to the retelling of the stories of the individuals and events that have shaped the industry’s development. As WWE continues to produce high-quality and intellectually challenging documentaries, it continues to solidify its enduring legacy as an innovative force in both the sporting world and the entertainment world at large. The organization’s commitment to exploring its own history and the lives of its iconic figures ensures that the legacy of professional wrestling will endure and be celebrated for generations to come.