WWE's Joaquin Wilde Shares Advice R-Truth Gave Him In Training
Wrestlers from all over the industry have been sharing their favorite moments and memories with Ron "R-Truth" Killings who, after 17 years under the WWE umbrella, announced that he would be leaving the company at the end of his current contract as WWE have opted not to offer him a new one. Of the people who have taken to social media to share their stories about the 53 year old, one story that has stood out to many fans has come from current Latino World Order member Joaquin Wilde, who revealed on his official X (formerly known as Twitter) account just how important Truth has been to his own career.
FCW tryout, 2010. @RonKillings speaks to all of us. Tells his story. How he came from a music background and brought that to wrestling.
Someone raises their hand to ask, "what if we dont come from some other background? What if we just love wrestling and want to be wrestlers?"— Joaquin Wilde (@joaquinwilde_) June 1, 2025
Truth says, "then thats your story. But its not that interesting. Because everyone has that story." Yeah I will never forget that moment. Because it was a game changer for me. I realized I might be one dimensional. It forced me to do some soul searching
— Joaquin Wilde (@joaquinwilde_) June 1, 2025
And figure out what else I was passionate about in life, besides pro wrestling. Realized I have always loved music. My DJ/Producer journey started pretty soon after that. And I was able to bring that background into my pro wrestling career too.
— Joaquin Wilde (@joaquinwilde_) June 1, 2025
So in a way, "DJZ" and alot of my early opportunities and successes in wrestling would have never happened without R-Truth. I have gotten to thank him personally and let him know that without him speaking to us at FCW that day, I may not have made it to where I am now.
— Joaquin Wilde (@joaquinwilde_) June 1, 2025
He helped change my trajectory and I just wanted it known publicly. Also because of him, I would have never started making beats, DJ'd on Sway in the Morning, made my Spotify (Wilde We$t) or dropped an entire album remixing Japanese wrestling entrance themes (coming soon).
— Joaquin Wilde (@joaquinwilde_) June 1, 2025
So thank you (again) for everything, Truth! pic.twitter.com/IKSXKNMw0E
— Joaquin Wilde (@joaquinwilde_) June 1, 2025
Wilde had already won a whole host of championships before his FCW tryout in 2010 under the name Shiima Xion, but following Truth's words of wisdom, Wilde would have his breakthrough into the eyes of many wrestling fans when he joined TNA Wrestling in 2011 as Zema Ion. He would win the TNA X-Division Championship in 2012 before changing his name to DJZ in 2013, which would lead him to another TNA X-Division Championship and a run as TNA Tag Team Champion alongside Andrew Everett, with WWE signing him to "WWE NXT" in 2019.
It's stories like Wilde's which have made a number of WWE roster members extremely unhappy with Truth's departure. A recent report from Fightful Select claimed that people within WWE have called the decision "total nonsense," "ruthless," and that if someone like Truth, who was perceived to be a WWE-lifer having spent 17 years with the company, can be let go, then anyone can be dropped from the company at any given time. Fightful Select also noted that Truth's departure generated the largest amount backlash from people both in and out of the industry in many years.