Next Wednesday, Netflix will release a docuseries about Vince McMahon’s life and career, described as a “double shovel burial” of the former chairman.
A lawsuit claimed that McMahon was involved in a sex trafficking and abuse scandal involving Janel Grant, a former WWE employee. The lawsuit also named the company and its former executive, John Laurinaitis.
Mick Foley and Rikishi were asked about their former boss’s Netflix docuseries while speaking at Comic-Con Northern Ireland in 2024.
Foley said, “I genuinely liked him. I mean, my relationship was never the same with him after I left WWE and went to TNA for three years. To this day, I’m still trying to find an address to write to him, just to thank him for taking a chance on me. I think all of us are a combination of good traits and bad traits, and you hope your good traits outweigh your bad traits. Perhaps it seems that Vince got it backwards there for a little while. I’ve been there when he’s done good things. I’ve seen him do good things. When I was writing books, I wanted to essentially do something like ‘Chicken Soup For The Wrestling Fan’s Soul,’ about some of these heartwarming moments. He was like, ‘I’m a little concerned that would come across as a little self-serving.’ He was someone who did the right thing for the right reasons a lot of the time. I feel really bad that someone I care about got into something that seems pretty unsavory. I’m gonna hold off judgment until I see the [docuseries], but I think one thing that’s fortunate is whatever he did or did not do, I don’t think many of us are allowing that to mess with our memories. He was instrumental in creating some of those memories, so I think I’m choosing to appreciate him until I learn more about what may have gone down.”
Rikishi said, “We have a long relationship with the McMahon family. Well over 75-plus years with this man. We’ve kind of grandfathered into the McMahons. Me personally, I thank him for the opportunity of giving a bunch of guys from the island of Samoa, this small place, to be able to give us a platform, to introduce our culture and our people to the world. If it wasn’t for the McMahons, then nobody would know who Afa and Sika was nobody would know who Peter Maivia, Rikishi, all the way down to Roman Reigns to The Usos. So, as far as the Fatu-Anoa’i clan, we’re forever McMahons in WWE. Since I’ve left the WWE, I’ve been underneath, a legend in that umbrella, with the family still in contact. They’ve given me another opportunity. I feel it’s the trust and the relationship of our families that’s given me the opportunity to help my business grow in Los Angeles with a wrestling school……I have nothing but respect for the McMahons, and when I say McMahons, I say all of them. What’s happening with him now, as far as the Netflix [series], I’ll make a decision when that comes out. For now, I always believe in people having a second chance in life. There’s nobody in this arena that were perfect or up here that we’re never perfect. It’s not made like that in this world for us. There’s always speed bumps for us to be able to learn from one another, each one teach one. So, at the end of the day, I would like to keep my happy memories of the McMahons, what they have done. They’ve really taken wrestling to another level. That’s why you’re all here to hear our stories. They have taken care of a lot of professional wrestlers, their families, their kids. So let’s think how far this man has reached out to everyone to be able to give them the lifestyle that possibly some of us could never achieve. So I want to thank them.”
You can check out their appearance below:
