Road Warrior Animal's Widow Blasts A&E Documentary
Road Warrior Animal's widow, Kim Turman Laurinaitis, says she was not contacted to participate in A&E's "Biography: WWE Legends" documentary on The Road Warriors, and took to Facebook during the premiere to call the episode "disgusting" and dispute how her husband's death was portrayed.
Laurinaitis, who was with Joe Laurinaitis when he died in September 2020, posted a series of increasingly heated reactions as the documentary aired.
"For all of you reaching out to me right now, asking if I'm part of the A&E biography — NO. His actual wife (the one that was with him the night he died and years before) was not contacted to film. Believe it or not, the one that pays for the trademarks and works to continue his wishes and legacy with the LOD Experience and many other things. But this is supposed to be about respect for Joe and the LOD/Road Warrior, right? Yeah, ok. Believe what you want."
She made clear she intends to fight back.
"I can guarantee you my husband is NOT happy in heaven but his story, the real story and truth of all of it will come out. This is disgusting, literally disgusting at his expense and I will not be quiet anymore. Shame on all involved. The truth will always come out. They only did it this way because he was not here, but I still am and will fight for his wishes."
Kim also took aim at unnamed people who appeared in the documentary.
"Do they give out Oscars for acting performances in this? Some of the people on here never kept in touch, wouldn't even walk over to speak to him, and talked so much sh*t. Phony asses getting their irrelevant moment."
Her sharpest reaction came during the segment covering Laurinaitis' death, which was narrated by his daughter Jessica. Kim disputed the account of where and how he died.
"What in the fk am I watching? This is not how my husband died. He died 9/22 at our hotel, not a hospital. They never took him to a hospital. Had to try to save him in our hotel room. I was the only one there with paramedics. I held him for over an hour trying to wait for Jessica and Lindsey, both daughters, to get there before they transported him to a funeral home. What the fk is happening?"
She followed with a broader condemnation of the documentary.
"Can anyone tell the truth anymore? What fake ass phony people. People pretending to be friends, people pretending to tell the truth at my husband's expense. Why didn't we talk about how disrespected my husband was during his memorial planning? Let's talk about the struggles and how much he went through and cried over the past 10 years about how he had been treated by the people he loved so much. Shady ass produced show, not endorsed by his wife, the one who pays for the trademarks, bills, taxes, etc."
Joe Laurinaitis' first two wives, Nancy and Julia, were among those interviewed for the documentary. Kim did not specify any wrestling-related issues with the content.
Laurinaitis died of a heart attack in Osage Beach, Missouri in September 2020 while he and Kim were celebrating their wedding anniversary. He had suffered from congestive heart failure. The Road Warriors episode was part of season five of "Biography: WWE Legends," which also included a two-part documentary on The Von Erichs and an episode on The Four Horsemen. A&E produces the series in partnership with WWE.
