Foley and Rikishi chime in.
One of the panels at Comic-Con Northern Ireland (via Monopoly Events) was centered around WWE Hall of Famers Mick Foley and Rikishi. The upcoming Netflix docuseries about Vince McMahon was brought up during the Q&A and both panelists were asked about it and their respective relationships with McMahon.
Foley mentioned that he’s still trying to find an address to write to McMahon so he can thank him for taking a chance on him. Foley went on to state that ‘for a little while,’ McMahon confused having your good traits outweigh your bad traits but he’s seen McMahon do good things.
He feels bad that McMahon got himself into the predicament he’s in but regardless of what he did or did not do, Foley believes many are not allowing that to hinder their memories with him. Rikishi expressed how much he respects the McMahons and what they’ve done for his family. As far as Vince specifically, he believes everyone deserves a second chance and echoed Foley’s sentiments that he’s reserving judgment until the Netflix docuseries comes out. Rikishi added that he wants to keep the happy memories in his mind.
Foley: I genuinely liked him (Vince McMahon). I mean, my relationship was never the same with him after I left WWE and went to TNA for three years. But to this day, I’m still trying to find an address to write to him, just to thank him, you know? 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 and it seems, perhaps, that Vince got it backwards there for a little while. But 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 a chicken soup for the wrestling fans’ souls about some of these real heartwarming moments and he was like, ‘Umm, Mick, I’m afraid that would come across as self-serving.’ So, he was someone that 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… 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’m choosing to appreciate him until I learn more about what may have gone down.
Rikishi: I have nothing but respect for the McMahons and when I say McMahons, I say all of them. What’s happening with him (Vince McMahon) now as far as with the Netflix, I’ll make a decision when that comes out. But for now, I always believe in people having a second chance in life. There’s nobody in this arena or up here that were perfect. 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, and so at the end of the day, like Mick, I would like to keep my happy memories of the McMahons, what they have done. They’ve really taken wrestling to another level. It’s a reason why we’re all here, reason why you guys are listening to our stories and they also have really, really 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, and so, I wanna thank them. I wanna thank you fans especially, because without you coming to watch us, there is no us. What value do we have? So we thank you for helping us take care of our family, helping us do what we love and know that the respect is given back to you.
The sex trafficking lawsuit that former WWE employee Janel Grant filed against McMahon, WWE and John Laurinaitis was paused at the request of the U.S. Justice Department.
To keep up with the latest regarding the case, check out this section here at POST Wrestling.
If the quotes in this article are used, please credit Monopoly Events with an H/T to POST Wrestling for the transcriptions.
