WWE has fired "Gentleman" Jack Gallagher over claims of sordid behavior made by a woman he allegedly harassed at a party, while three more wrestlers are facing shocking accusations as part of an escalating sexual abuse scandal.
Former British champion Gallagher is the first wrestler to have been punished as WWE reels from revelations made by several women against members of their roster, including accusations of menacing advances, choking and forced oral sex during a road trip and rape.
Gallagher – real name Jack Claffey – was abruptly dropped by the organization after a woman named Becky came forward on a private account on Twitter with alleged details of the cruiserweight getting her drunk at a house party on New Year’s Eve 2014.
"He was literally pouring straight spirits into my glass, putting it to my mouth and telling me to drink," she said, adding that she had expressed how uncomfortable she was throughout but "didn't want to make a scene."
"When I would make myself a drink he would add more alcohol when my glass was unattended. Jack asked me to sit on his lap. I said no. He then sat on my lap and made advances.
"At the end of the evening, I went to the bathroom and Jack barged into the room. I immediately stood up and tried to pull my skirt down. Jack grabbed me and he pulled at my skirt. He pulled so hard he ripped my skirt.
"I managed to push him away and I left the room. I then immediately left the party. I spent years afterwards downplaying the story, trying not to cause any issues. I’m not going to be silent any longer.”
The wrestler did not issue an immediate response after WWE issued a one-line statement confirming it had "come to terms" on his release.
Matt Riddle, who beat AJ Styles on his Smackdown debut on Friday night, issued a statement before the event via his lawyers after wrestler Candy Cartwright claimed the married former UFC fighter had asked her to "hop on his d*ck" during a van ride with three other wrestlers.
"When I said no, he grabbed me by my throat, choked me and said ‘what if I just made you?’" she said.
"I ended up giving him oral sex (praying someone wouldn’t wake up) to get out of having intercourse with him. It was incredibly humiliating.”
Cartwright, who is an ambassador for US company Evolve Wrestling, also published screenshots allegedly showing a message from Riddle followed by contact from his wife, telling her: "You are still blocked on Matt's phone and he knows I'm messaging you."
Cartwright added: "I’m posting this because I have been so sad for so long. I didn’t realize that what he did to me was not OK.
"I realize now, reading these other brave women’s stories, that I can’t be afraid anymore and I have to speak out.
"The point of speaking out is that people can be victims of sexual violence in relationships and with people they trusted."
Riddle's representatives claimed Cartwright was stalking the Riddle family, responding in a statement: "The allegations by this independent female performer are completely false and another attempt to harass and humiliate Mr and Mrs Riddle and to try to tarnish their reputation in the community."
"In 2019, our firm had drafted a pleading against this performer to seek an injunction for cyberstalking."
Coming forward as part of a show of solidarity, Laura Ryan accused Scottish WWE star Wolfgang, who she said she had been engaged to, of abusing her and driving to a school to take photos of girls.
"I was an absolute shell of myself due to the emotional abuse I suffered in that relationship," she claimed of her time with the former British Championship Wrestling heavyweight champion before he joined WWE, later deleting her Twitter account.
"He wasn’t physically abusive with me in that time but he was extremely emotionally manipulative and I caught unsolicited photographs of schoolgirls on his laptop and on his camera memory cards from several occasions.
"I know a lot of people will be incredibly shocked by this due to the ‘Good guy, couldn’t do more for you’ facade. I was so f*cking emotionally abused that I feared for my life and it’s taken me a very long time to realize I wasn’t at fault.”
Joey Ryan, who describes himself as a "famous d*ck wrestler" and says he is "bringing sleazy back to professional wrestling" in his social media biography, was accused of groping the thigh and chest of a woman going under the Twitter name of Corinne Mink while she was driving.
"He tried to get me to go to his hotel room and then kissed me to convince me to do so," she claimed about an alleged incident after she had collected the current Kansas Wrestling Revolution heavyweight champion from an airport.
"I told the promoter of the show, who was also the man responsible for a good amount of my training because I was attending his school at the time.
"He promised me he would never book Joey Ryan again. Lo and behold, a year and a half later he books Joey Ryan. I can’t believe I trusted him.”
Canadian wrestler Kaitlin Diemond, who calls herself a "life coach, abusive borderline sociopath" and "casual alcoholic", replied: "I've heard further stories from a trusted friend about him. Before he was married and after."
Diemond then accused former All American Wrestling champion Mike Elgin of sending her unsolicited photos of his genitalia using a false name in 2016.
"I actually said the words 'don't send me anything like that' and he still did. I have no desire to post it publicly but just letting him and the world know I've got it."
Speaking about Elgin's alleged "arrangement" with his wife, she said: "They 'both knew he did stuff, but if he didn't tell her she was OK because she didn't want to know'.
"He was saying nice things to me, being charming and romantic. When I called them out for being Mike they stopped."
When a woman called Sarah said she had experienced similar behavior from Elgin's real account, Diemond replied: "You aren't the first one to tell me this today. Wish I could say I'm surprised – look forward to reading it."
One supporter claimed she had been in denial "for years" after Elgin allegedly tried to assault her while he thought she was sleeping, leading Diemond to label him "a pile of human garbage."
Wrestler Krystal Moon added that an unnamed fighter had watched her getting changed in her locker room in the hope of seeing her naked.
"Sad that you could name like a dozen people and I wouldn't be shocked," replied Diemond, before endorsing a tweet by fellow pro Heather Monroe saying: "So many guys are surprised to hear about women’s experiences in the wrestling business. Unfortunately, this isn’t just the wrestling business - it’s been something most women experience whether they’re in the business or not."
Sabrina Kyle, known as wrestling's "queen of horror", claimed she had seen Elgin's private parts "so many times when I was just starting in the business," adding that she was 15 at the time of her allegations.
Faye Jackson, who is part of a tag team known as Thick 'n' Juicy, told her: "A lot of these men in wrestling are a bunch of primadonna b*tches that never got p*ssy until they started wrestling.
"They don’t know how to act. F*ck them. And if you’re offended by this post that’s because I’m talking about you."
All Elite Wrestling star Allie told her following of almost 128,000 on Twitter: "For anyone wondering why it’s so hard for women to speak out, they run the risk of not getting booked again, being accused of lying, the situation being downplayed, being made to look crazy and so on.
"I’ve been in the wrestling business since I was 18. I, like so many others, have been in situations where I felt I had no voice and was forced to bury it so deep that I never have to think about it again."
Kyle supported a number of women coming forward with allegations against wrestler Dave Crist, leading to his OI4K School being dropped by leading promotional company Rockstar Pro.
The split followed a statement by Zachary Wentz, who won a tag team championship with Crist, claiming that Crist had manipulated him as a young man and made "kids do his dirty work" against a threat of ruining their careers.
"I was a kid who wanted to make it in wrestling so badly that I was willing to sell my soul to appease the devil," said Wentz.
"I was genuinely craving a father figure because I lost mine in the prime teen years ... and he took full advantage."
Rockstar Pro announced that Wentz would be one of the wrestlers taking over the training of young fighters, while professional Ziggy Haim responded to Kyle by alleging: "When I was still training I was 100% groomed and sent unwanted photos by Dave Crist.
"But any time I spoke about it, I felt like I didn’t have a voice because I was a 20-year-old trainee or was laughed at because 'he shows everyone his d*ck.'"
Replying to a series of screenshots in which Crist appeared to tell a wrestler he would "rarely send d*ck pics", wrestler Trash Bradley alleged: "I have read one woman's brave story and what she told was, in fact, rape.
"And she described his house and his sh*tty roommates and everything pretty spot on.
"Sounded exactly like other Dave stories I've heard. That means he's a rapist - not just a groomer and abuser."
Rockstar said they had ended their alliance with Crist's school "effective immediately".
Former Ring of Honor champion Kelly Klein told her Twitter following of almost 38,000 that keeping the name of her alleged attacker anonymous had "no bearing on the validity" of her experience.
“I was raped by a now well-known wrestler when I was 18," she revealed.
"I didn’t feel like I had support or sufficient proof. I believed my career would be over before it started."
In photos that have now been removed, Irish WWE fighter Jordan Devlin was accused of inflicting bruises on Hannah Francesca.
“This is scary," she said. "I’m really scared. Jordan Devlin did this to me and this is just the physical damage. Not including my a*** and back bruises…because I don’t fancy posting that online."
Cruiserweight Devlin called the allegations "completely and utterly false" and said he was consulting lawyers.
"I didn't even want to address the hurtful allegation made against me, but for the sake of my followers and friends on this platform that may for whatever reason be unsure, I'm going to address this once," he fired back.
"This is a case of a malicious personal agenda being executed against me on the back of a very brave telling of true experiences by other women. I completely denounce it."
WWE has responded to the allegations by saying: “Individuals are responsible for their own personal actions.
"WWE has zero tolerance for matters involving domestic violence, child abuse and sexual assault.
“Upon arrest for such misconduct, a WWE talent will be immediately suspended. Upon conviction for such misconduct, a WWE talent will be immediately terminated.
“WWE’s ability to fine, suspend or terminate a WWE talent will not be, however, limited or compromised in any manner in the event incontrovertible evidence of such illegal misconduct is presented to WWE.”
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