The new A&E Biography episode centered around Road Warrior Animal and The Road Warriors is already facing serious backlash — and it’s coming directly from Animal’s widow
Kim Turman-Laurinaitis, the widow of Joe Laurinaitis, took to Facebook during and after the broadcast to publicly tear into the special, accusing those involved of disrespecting her late husband’s legacy while also presenting what she claims were false details about his final moments.
Midway through the episode, Turman-Laurinaitis revealed that she was never contacted to participate in the documentary despite being married to Animal at the time of his death in September 2020 and continuing to manage parts of his estate and legacy projects.
“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 who was with him the night he died and for years before — was not contacted to film, believe it or not.”
She also pointed toward her continued involvement in maintaining the Legion of Doom legacy through trademarks and related projects. From there, the situation escalated quickly, as she accused the documentary of failing to properly honor her husband.
“The one who 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, okay.”
Turman-Laurinaitis then claimed Animal himself would not have approved of how the story was presented. She also promised that what she called the “real story” would eventually come out publicly.
“I can guarantee you my husband is NOT happy in heaven. But his story — the REAL story, the TRUTH, all of it — will come out.”
After the episode finished airing, her criticism became even more direct. Turman-Laurinaitis specifically called out how the documentary portrayed Animal’s death, insisting major details shown on television were completely inaccurate. According to her, Animal did not die in a hospital as portrayed during the broadcast.
“WHAT IN THE FCK AM I WATCHING?!!! OMG, I am SO DONE. This is NOT how my husband died. And FYI, he died on 9/22 at our hotel — NOT a hospital. They never took him to a fcking hospital. They tried to save him in our hotel room!”
She emotionally described being present with paramedics and staying with him afterwards while waiting for family members to arrive. She also accused people involved in the documentary of pretending to be close friends to Animal while allegedly misrepresenting his life and experiences.
“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 fake-ass, phony people… people pretending to be friends, people pretending to tell the truth at my husband’s expense.”
She later claimed there were major struggles Animal dealt with during the later years of his life that the documentary ignored completely. She also alleged Animal spent years hurt by how certain people within wrestling treated him.
“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.”
Turman once again stressed that the documentary was not endorsed by her despite her continuing involvement with Animal’s estate and legacy.
“Shady-ass produced show NOT endorsed by his wife — the one who pays for the trademarks, bills, taxes, etc!!!”
At this point, neither A&E nor WWE has publicly responded to the criticism surrounding the documentary. But Kim Turman-Laurinaitis clearly believes the special failed to accurately represent both Road Warrior Animal’s life and the circumstances surrounding his death.
Do you think wrestling documentaries should involve immediate family members more closely when covering legendary stars, or can producers still tell a complete story without them? Leave your thoughts and feedback below.