THE CAGE
*DISCLAIMER: This story is completely fictional. All characters are owned by the WWF or are creations of the author. No infringement intended. Any likeness to characters or incidents is completely coincidental. I hope that covers it.
EXAMINATION FOR DISCOVERY
Of Amy Dumas ("Lita")
Held August 27, 2001
MR. RONALD A. WHITMORE,
WHITMORE SMITH & ROSS
Appearing for the Plaintiff
MR. HOWARD J. MCGARVEY,
TITAN GROUP LLP
Appearing for the Defendant
MS. CORRINE SLATNEY,
EXECUTIVE REPORTING
Court Reporter
EXAMINED BY MR. RONALD A. WHITMORE:
Amy Dumas, duly sworn in at 9:30 am.
Q: Miss, could you please state your name for the record?
A: Amy Dumas.
Q: And you understand that we are here to question you in regard to a lawsuit filed against your employer the WWF?
A: Yes.
Q: And when I refer to the plaintiff you understand that I am referring to Mr. Michael Latt?
A: Yes.
Q: Okay. How old are you?
A: 26.
Q: And how long have you been employed with the WWF?
A: Umm, I don't know the exact number.
Q: But we can assume more than a few years, correct?
A: Yes.
Q: So you are quite familiar with the WWF itself, its ownership, and basically how it's run, yes?
A: Yeah, you could say that.
Q: Okay. Now what is your exact position in the WWF?
A: I'm a wrestler.
Q: And do you wrestle against the women or the men?
A: Sometimes both.
Q: And you are involved with a tag team, yes?
A: Yes.
Q: What is the name of the tag team?
A: The Hardy Boyz.
Q: Made up of Matthew Hardy and his brother Jeff, yes?
A: And myself, we're kind of a group.
Q: Ms. Dumas, on the night of April 23rd, you were participating in a wrestling match?
A: Yes, I was with Matt and Jeff. We were wrestling against Kane, Dean Malenko and Terri.
Q: Could you describe for the record exactly what type of match this was?
A: Well, um, we've all been wrestling against each other for some time in a feud. So this was the match that was supposed to end that feud. Vince set it up as a Cage Match.
Q: Vince?
A: Mr. McMahon. He's the acting commissioner. So anyway, we were having this whole wrestling match inside this 14-foot high cage. The whole deal is the first team to make it over the top of the cage and reach the floor wins. It was a pretty good match, everything was going cleanly.
Q: And you didn't notice anything odd about Kane's behavior?
A: Kane's always weird. It's part of his act. He's supposed to be this dark guy who's angry at the world for being prettier than he is. Something like that anyway. But no, he seemed pretty normal for whatever normal is for him.
Q: What happened after Jeff Hardy got over the cage?
A: Well, we were winning. I was already over, then Jeff was supposed to come, then Matt. Kane was supposed to come over, but after Matt.
Q: And when did he come over?
A: After Jeff. Jeff started climbing, and Kane followed. I don't think that Jeff even knew he was behind him. Jeff reached the top of the cage, looked down and saw Kane following him. Jeff started climbing down and when he got down to the floor, we looked at each other. He gave me a funny look.
Q: What kind of look is that?
A: Like he wasn't sure what was going on. Kane reached the ground and he just stood there. Then he pointed at Jeff.
Q: Why?
A: I don't know. But then he came after Jeff. At first it was hard to tell if he was actually punching him, but then Jeff started putting his arms up.
Q: How?
A: To defend himself, you know how you try to block the shots as they come at you? I don't think Jeff really knew what to do; I didn't either.
Q: Did he fight back?
A: Well yeah, he kind of had to. Kane was punching the crap out of him; he had to defend himself. So Jeff started fighting back, kicking and punching Kane. Then Kane started choking him.
Q: One hand or two?
A: Uh, two. He had Jeff in a pretty good hold, you could tell Jeff wasn't getting any air.
Q: How?
A: Just by his facial expression. At first it looked like he was in pain, then it was like he started to panic. He started to, to thrash, you know? Like his arms were going crazy, trying to punch Kane and get out of his grip at the same time.
Q: Did anyone else see this?
A: Uh, yeah. The whole stadium was watching. Matt was going insane. He was trying to get out of the cage but Malenko was still trying to fight him. I don't think Dean thought it was real.
Q: What was Matt doing?
A: He kept calling Jeff's name and swearing at Kane.
Q: What exactly was he saying?
A: He was like – can I say this? – "You fucking bastard, let him go". Something along those lines.
Q: And where were you during all this?
A: I was right beside them, I couldn't believe what was happening. When I knew for sure that Jeff was choking, I tried to pull Kane off of him. I grabbed him around the neck and started to pull. But Kane was too strong. So I kicked him.
Q: Where?
A: Well, the first time I kicked him, it was in the back of the leg. That didn't do much. So I kicked him again.
Q: Same place?
A: No, this time it was in the crotch.
Q: Ouch. Did that do something?
A: Yeah, he let one hand off of Jeff to turn to look at me.
Q: So he still had Jeff by one hand?
A: Yeah.
Q: And he was still choking him?
A: Yeah. By then, Jeff was down to his knees and making choking sounds.
Q: Choking sounds?
A: Yeah, he was wheezing and gurgling.
Q: What did Kane do when he looked at you?
A: He didn't say anything, he just backhanded me.
Q: Did it knock you out?
A: No, but it put me down. I blacked out for maybe a second, and I was on the mat on my side. It hurt like hell though.
Q: What was Kane doing?
A: He still had Jeff in a choke hold, and he was dragging him up the ramp.
Q: Could Jeff walk?
A: Barely. He was more crawling up the ramp.
Q: What happened at the top?
A: He kind of dangled Jeff over the side at the top. Then he pushed him. And Jeff fell.
Q: Where was Matt?
A: Matt? Matt had reached me when Jeff was dropped. He was checking to see if I was all right. We both watched it.
Q: What happened?
A: Matt went over to see Jeff. Kane looked towards the ring before he left.
Q: Was he looking at you?
A: I don't know. You can't really tell with that stupid mask.
Q: Where did Kane go?
A: He went backstage. I don't know where he went after that.
Q: How was Jeff?
A: Bad. When I saw him, Matt was checking on him. He wouldn't wake up; Matt kept calling his name and tapping him. There was blood coming from his ears.
Q: Both ears?
A: Mm-hmm.
Q: How long did you wait before the paramedics arrived?
A: It wasn't long. I don't know the exact time, but they were pretty quick. They were just backstage the whole time.
Q: Did Jeff wake up at all during this time?
A: The paramedics were working on him. Checking his pupils and stuff. He didn't wake up. Then they put him in a neck brace, and onto the backboard. They put him on the stretcher, and then he moaned a bit. They stopped the stretcher and took his mask off, so they could hear him.
Q: Did he open his eyes?
A: Slightly.
Q: What did he say?
A: He said, "Kane."
Q: And that was all?
A: Yep. Then he closed his eyes again, and that was it.
Q: Did you ride with him to the hospital?
A: No, that was Matt. There was only room for one person. I met them at the hospital.
Q: When you got to the hospital, what happened?
A: Matt was there. He was really worried. He hadn't even called his dad yet. The doctor hadn't spoken to him either. When I got there, Jeff was getting a CAT scan.
Q: Did Matt say anything to you?
MR. MCGARVEY: I'm not going to have her answer that.
MR. WHITMORE: Why not?
MR. MCGARVEY: A general conversation between two people is not relevant to this case. You'll have to be more specific than that in your questioning.
Q: Okay. Ms. Dumas, are you involved in any sort of relationship with Matthew Hardy?
A: We're dating.
Q: Okay. Did Matt say anything concerning his brother?
A: No. But he was really worried.
Q: How could you tell if he didn't say anything?
A: He was biting his nails. He only does that when he's really stressed.
Q: Okay. Did he say anything about Kane?
A: Not at first.
Q: When?
A: After the doctor came in. He told Matt that Jeff had a fractured his skull in the fall. There was a lot of swelling and some bleeding, so they were going to keep him in a coma until it went down.
Q: And Matt was angry when he heard this?
A: He was furious. He started cracking his knuckles and swearing under his breath. Then he got up, punched the wall and said he was going to kill Kane. He left the hospital, and I don't know where he went.
Q: What were your thoughts about Kane?
A: I don't know. I was so confused. I know that Glen isn't like that in real life. It was almost like his character took over.
Q: Do you believe he had any reason to attack Jeff?
A: No. That's the stupidest part. The only reason Kane was even in that match was because Vince wanted to stir things up. He thought another match between the Radicalz and us would be boring. So he threw Kane in.
Q: In your opinion was Kane acting irratically?
A: Definitely. That's totally not like Glen.
Q: Do you believe drugs could have been involved?
A: I don't know. I guess so. Yeah, probably.
Q: Do you have any knowledge of Kane's whereabouts the night he attacked Mr. Michael Latt?
A: No. I didn't even hear about till the next day.
Q: Where were you?
A: In the hospital still. Matt and I both. Jeff still hadn't woken up yet.
Q: How did you hear about it?
A: Through Kat. She called me on my cell.
Q: What was your reaction?
A: I was totally shocked. Matt was even angrier.
Q: But you had no interaction with Kane between the time of the match and the time of his overdose?
A: No. I heard about everything through other people.
Q: Do you think it was characteristic of Kane to experiment with drugs?
A: Characteristic? I don't know. I honestly don't know him that well.
Q: But do you think it was possible that he could be a drug abuser?
A: I don't think it's impossible. He could have been. But he might not have either.
Q: How would you explain the overdose then?
A: I don't know. It's not like I was there.
Q: Are there wrestlers in the WWF who you do know abuse drugs?
A: Um. Yeah, yeah there're a couple.
Q: Could you name them?
MR. MCGARVEY: I'm going to have to object. It's not relevant.
MR. WHITMORE: I think that drug abuse is very relevant.
MR. MCGARVEY: Sure it's relevant – for a different case. Not to this one.
MR. WHITMORE: Fine. No more questions. Thank you for your time Ms. Dumas.