In recent days, the wrestling world has been concerned over the whereabouts of Journey Fatu, a member of the famed Fatu family who had been ‘missing’ and unable to contact. Journey’s alleged situation had been shared online by fellow wrestler Juicy Finau, who has this week apologized to fans who have taken issue with what’s turned out to be an angle.
On Twitter, Finau shared that he was sorry for “any emotional damage and distress” caused by the angle, which has been in the works since early August. Finau said he wasn’t aware of “the situation that is currently happening in the real world,” likely referring to the devastation caused by Hurricane Helene that has killed over 100 people and impacted countless others. Finau added that the ‘missing’ Journey storyline “blew up” and again apologized to those offended.
This angle raises the question as to what is the line in pro wrestling when an angle goes from a gripping, envelope-pushing work of fiction to an offensive way to make money. WWE is no stranger to controversial angles, such as the use of the passing of Eddie Guerrero in November 2005, with many heels using his death for heat. In 2003, Triple H and Booker T had a feud that many felt had racially offensive undertones, though Booker has said he approved of the entire angle and its verbiage at the time.
More recently, controversial angles were brought up in Netflix’s Mr. McMahon docuseries, such as Trish Stratus being forced to bark like a dog for McMahon in 2001. In the series, Stratus defended the angle, saying that the “sensitive scene” elicited the right response from fans who were angry at the evil Mr. McMahon character.
While Journey’s brother Jacob Fatu is making huge waves in WWE as part of The Bloodline, his career, and that of Juicy Finau, could be seriously impacted by this controversial angle. Stay tuned to SEScoops for the latest from the world of wrestling and the angles that some believe go too far.
