R-Truth's Turbulent 2025 Proves That Beauty Can Emerge From Adversity [Exclusive]

The countdown is on to this week's release of WWE: Unreal Season Two on Netflix.

Over the course of five episodes, WWE fans will be taken backstage, inside the writer's room and beyond to witness some of the untold stories and events that led up to last year's SummerSlam.

Seth Rollins, Becky Lynch, Paul Heyman, WWE Chief Content Officer Paul 'Triple H' Levesque and other members of the creative team will unveil everything that went into pulling off 'The Ruse of the Century', while Naomi, Chelsea Green, Pat McAfee, Penta and Lyra Valkyria all navigate their way across the post-WrestleMania 41 landscape. And then, there's R-Truth.

The second episode of WWE: Unreal Season Two will chronicle Truth's contract dispute with WWE this past summer, which publicly went off the rails a week after he experienced the ultimate high of wrestling his childhood hero John Cena at Saturday Night's Main Event.

Warning: mild spoilers ahead.

At 11:12 a.m. ET on Sunday, June 1, 2025, R-Truth sent shockwaves across the professional wrestling landscape when he posted on social media that he had been released from WWE, ending a nearly 20-year run with the company.

Im sorry to inform you all. I just got released from WWE. I want to thank WWE for the ride, but MOSTLY I want to thank each and EVERYONE OF YOU who was along for the ride, Thank you for all the love, support, and appreciation you have given me over the years. Thank you 🙏🏾
— Ron Killings (@RonKillings) June 1, 2025

Paul Levesque told the company's side of the story during Truth's episode of WWE: Unreal, and painted a picture of contract negotiations simply going sideways. There's an ugly side to every business, and WWE certainly is not immune from that, but once Truth made that post on his X account, it set off a massive chain reaction that altered the entire course of the proceedings.

An absolute tidal wave of support for R-Truth washed over WWE, in the form of social media posts, arena-wide chants and messages of disappointment from high-profile company performers and employees. The response was so overwhelming that WWE had no choice but to return to the negotiating table and a deal was struck in time for Truth to make his triumphant return at Money in the Bank less than a week later.

“It was a ride,” Truth told The Takedown on SI. “It was surreal in so many different aspects and so many different ways. The way things happened, how they happened, how fast they happened, so many things came from that. So many different emotions… Man, it was a good learning, maturing experience. Overwhelming, nonetheless.”

There's no denying that R-Truth is one of the most beloved characters in WWE history. He's a special performer who brings a smile to everyone he comes into contact with, whether they be a fan or colleague, and WWE executives found out just how valuable he was only after deciding his services were no longer required.

By the time Money in the Bank came to a close on Saturday, June 7, the whole ordeal was water under the bridge, and Truth had a newfound appreciation for the positive impact he's had on the lives of millions of members of the WWE Universe.

“If I had to go through it again, I would do it again to feel what I felt, to receive what I received. For the world to see what the world did, what the world can do. Yeah man, I'll do it again. That was the right thing.”

"It wasn't worthless..."

While everything works out in the end, WWE: Unreal viewers will accompany Truth during an emotional rollercoaster ride that will cast this major force of positivity and exuberance in a completely different light.

No scene may tug at your heartstrings more than when Truth details a touching exchange between himself and his son, who uttered one of the more encouraging statements that any parent could ever hope to hear, "Dad, it wasn't a waste. Look at those people that love you."

Truth learned in that moment that all his years of hard work and sacrifice were worth every bit of lost time as a father, because of the joy he brought, and continues to bring, to people across the globe.

“That broke me when he said that,” Truth said, fighting back tears. “I was a single parent with him… I've missed a lot of things, man. Like, anniversaries. I've missed birthdays, games. I miss a lot, man. He knows I carry the weight of guilt, but as a father, he knows I have to provide. I have to.”

The outpouring of love and support that Truth received upon his release announcement should also service as a massive reminder to us all. While the ugliest parts of this world are continuously highlighted on broadcast television and across the internet, beauty still exists, even in the face of adversity.

“We all came together. Humanity is still there. Good people are still there. It was so powerful, man, in so many different ways.”

Another powerful theme of Truth's WWE: Unreal episode is friendship, and fans should walk away with a better appreciation for Brian James, aka the "Road Dogg" Jesse James, and the type of man he is behind the scenes.

Truth met Road Dogg decades ago when he was performing in Memphis, Tennessee, under a developmental deal. This chance meeting came at a time when Truth, then wrestling as K-Krush, was ready to give up on the business, but James saw his potential and refused to let that happen.

@RonKillings @Konnan5150
Test of time…. Still hits to this day https://t.co/JibBSh5kkx
— Brian G. James (@BrianRDJames) June 9, 2025

“It’s hard for me to talk about Dogg without getting emotional,” Truth said, again fighting off tears. “My first time meeting Road Dogg… he took to me right away. He cared, man. That word cared. Again, revolving back around to those hundreds of millions of people who cared. Road Dogg cared, man.”

James' belief in Truth stretched far beyond the ring. He even once took out a loan so that he could finance his friend's first music studio.

“When I didn't believe in myself anymore, when I doubted myself, man, he related to me so much. He's been like the brother that I've never had, like a protector of me. He took me under his wing from day one, bro, and I've never felt more love from somebody that wasn't related to me than I've felt from him.”

From the highest of highs to the lowest of lows, from Ron Killings to the return of R-Truth, the man behind the persona went all the way there and back again in 2025. But for Truth, no moment on screen will rise above his much-needed and much-deserved closure with John Cena following his babyface turn in August. A moment that would not have been possible without the WWE Universe.

“Man, that was monumental. I'll never forget it. It's documented, it's recorded and recordings last forever. That was a great way to cap it off, dog. You can't get no higher than that.”

WWE: Unreal Season Two will be available to stream on Netflix, in its entirety, beginning on Tuesday, January 20.

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