WWE Hall of Famer Rikishi says he forgives the man who tried to kill him
Rikishi has opened up about being the victim of a drive-by shooting when he was 17 years old. The WWE Hall of Famer says he has forgiven the man responsible for the incident.
On the latest episode of Insight with Chris Van Vliet, the WWE Hall of Famer went into detail on the incident that almost claimed his life in his youth, before he had even begun training to become a professional wrestler.
Along with forgiving the perpetrator, who was never caught by the police, Rikishi also said he would like to meet the man in person.
"Well I hope, I mean, one day, if you’re watching this here, and you think you know who I am, I would like to personally meet you. And I would like to… I’m going to say this in case I don’t have a chance to. I forgive you, man. I forgive you for what has happened to me, for what you have done to me. And I hope you can learn from what has happened. But not only that, to [Inaudible]... and being a better person."
Rikishi reveals how close he came to death when he was shot
During the interview, Rikishi also revealed specific details surrounding the injuries he sustained in the shooting. The former Too Cool member said the bullet which struck him came dangerously close to hitting his heart and that this was only avoided thanks to it catching his rib first.
"It was really a wake-up call for me. I was in there for two months. This scar on my stomach, they had to cut me open, because I was shattered inside. They just said that the bullet, it was a twenty-two, actually hit the side of my rib, which saved my heart. Had that rib not need there, it would have gone through my heart and we probably wouldn’t be having this conversation… My kids were very, very young, twins, at the time. My family members were in and out of the hospital, they were just furious. They wanted to find this son of a b**** who did what he did to me. When you’re in the hospital, you’ve got a whole lot of time. You can’t go nowhere… I just feel like I brought a lot of pain to my family."
Rikishi was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2015. He is currently preparing to train American rap star Bow Wow for his wrestling debut.