Jaxon Ryker came under fire in 2020 after posting a pro-Donald Trump tweet in the midst of the George Floyd protests around America. The former Forgotten Sons member was blasted on social media by a good portion of the WWE Universe, as well as some top company stars like Kevin Owens and Mustafa Ali.
Ryker spoke about this time during the latest edition of the Wrestling With Faith podcast. Check out his full recollection of the events below.
Recalls speaking with Kevin Owens after the backlash he received from his pro-Donald Trump tweet:
Well, I’ll go ahead and say it because I don’t really care but, when it all happened (fallout from Ryker’s pro-Donald Trump tweet), one of the guys who came out and just kind of blasted was Kevin Owens and and I instantly knew that (Westin) Blake and Kevin were close, they had talked and stuff like that. I texted Blake, I said, ‘Hey dude, do me a favor, ask Kevin if I can have his number.’ So, lo and behold, Kevin said, ‘Yeah, sure’ so Kevin and I actually talked one night right after this happened for probably 30 minutes. Basically agreed to disagree. But Kevin even came out and said, ‘Dude, I’ve said crazy stuff in my career.’ So, he was one of ‘em and we had already talked.
How Mustafa Ali apologized to him for going public with his tweet and adding on to the drama:
But the only other one that really came up and talked to me was (Mustafa) Ali because Ali I think had said something about the tweet when it had all happened and he had come up to me that night at the arena and respectfully man, ‘Hey dude, we all got our own opinions and I just wanna apologize that I had said anything on Twitter about it. I should have just come to you man-to-man.’ I was like, ‘Dude, that’s completely okay.’ I was like, ‘I don’t hold beef or grudges’ and you know, another one was — he and i had talked on the phone was Xavier Woods because we’ve known each other since, gosh, 2006 and just, you know, put it under the table and kind of ironed things.
Says everyone else played two-face:
But any of the other ones who were tough guys, quote-unquote, with my fingers here on Twitter, they didn’t have anything to say. It was like, ‘Hey man! Good to see you’ and just, listen, you know, whatever. The fake wrestling business, we know how it is. Hey, come here, let me give you a hug. I’m gonna stick this knife in your back. But you know, but those guys did and it’s not like Kevin and I were buddies and went out to dinner together. But, you know, it was a conversation we had and at least he was willing to talk to me.
(H/T and transcribed by Post Wrestling)