Image: Associated Press
WWE and Blumhouse Media announced Monday that they are developing The United States of America vs. Vince McMahon, a limited-run scripted TV series that will be “the first-ever scripted dramatic portrayal of a chapter in WWE’s history” and “the first scripted portrayal of McMahon as well as many of the legendary Superstars of that era.”
The series will focus on the mid-1990s in the then-WWF and specifically the steroid trial of 1994.
From the press release:
“The show will delve into WWE during the 1990s, at the time Rupert Murdoch had purchased the New York Post to further his massive infiltration into the U.S. media landscape. For years, infamous Post writer Phil Mushnick regularly hammered WWE Chairman & CEO Vince McMahon in his column. Headlines like “Legislators Give WWE A Free Pass On ‘Roids” and “McMahon Skips Through the Cemetery” eventually captured the attention of the FBI and the U.S. Attorney’s office for the Southern District of New York – the nation’s most prestigious federal prosecutor’s office with a conviction rate of over 96 percent.
In 1994, the U.S. government indicted McMahon for allegedly supplying anabolic steroids to WWE talent. McMahon, with his liberty at stake, two school-aged children at home and with WWE on the brink of bankruptcy, refused to take a plea deal. Ultimately, McMahon stood trial and was acquitted unanimously by a jury of his peers and went on to build a multi-billion-dollar global sports entertainment empire.”
From the WWE side, McMahon and Kevin Dunn will be executive producers. No TV/streaming partner or anticipated release date accompanied the news.
The project is the latest in a growing list of media about the WWE chairman. Last fall, president Nick Khan announced that they were developing a documentary series on McMahon for Netflix while a biography written by Abraham Riesman with McMahon is set to be released in 2022.