NXT UK wrestler Ligero has responded to several allegations bandied against him. While he denies any assault, he does admit to inappropriate behavior and sending unwanted messages to female talent.
“The current story that has been released by Violet O’Hara/Claire-Michelle Oldfield is neither accurate nor true,” Ligero stated on Twitter. “This is a completely false allegation and whilst I’ve done other things in my life that I deeply regret, this isn’t an accurate or truthful portrayal of events. This is something I strongly deny and is something I’ve been in the process of speaking to a legal team about.”
In a separate statement, Ligero admitted some wrongdoing. “Regarding the other statements from people like Laura, Natalie who have spoken out about the way they were made to feel, and others that have come forward about unwanted messages, I have no excuse,” Ligero admits.”
“It’s inappropriate, it’s an embarrassment and it’s an absolute shameful way to act from someone in a position of trust. I sincerely apologise for my actions and any hurt I’ve caused. I have no justification of my actions in the slightest. In these situations, I have failed people as a friend, as a fiancée and as a decent human being.”
June 19, 2020
NXT UK’s Ligero Issues Statement On Recent Allegations, Admits Sending Unwanted Messages
WWE Releases Jack Gallagher After Rape Allegation
WWE 205 Live Superstar Jake Gallagher has been released from the company. WWE announced the departure this evening.
Gallagher's release comes after he was accused of rape by a woman named Becky this week as the "#SpeakingOut" campaign continues to out several pro wrestlers and other people in the business.
Becky recalled the incident in a tweet and noted that it happened on New Year's Eve in 2014.
Positive Tests Reveal True Depths and Incompetence of WWE
From Deadspin.com:
As “Monday Night Raw” was wrapping up last night, reports started to leak out that a member of WWE’s developmental program had tested positive for COVID-19. While no one would ever look to a wrestling company to be an example or beacon of responsible action and safety, the aftermath has torn off any semblance of cover WWE had that it was taking all of this seriously.
It’s hard to pinpoint which is the more galling aspect: that the talent and crew of WWE found out about the positive test the same way the rest of us did, through social media and the internet last night, or that everyone showed up to work thinking they were safe, or however close to that word they felt by working for WWE, when in fact they weren’t.
Second, last night was the first time WWE let in non-employees into their very limited, encased crowds. Friends of performers and local fans were allowed in, though they had to sign a waiver that they would not hold WWE responsible should they get sick. Real confidence builder, that.
David Lagana Resigns As NWA VP Due To Sexual Assault Allegations, NWA Production Temporarily Halted
The NWA has announced that David Lagana has resigned as Vice President following sexual assault allegations made by indie wrestler Liz Savage.
Liz joined others in speaking out in the "#SpeakingOut" campaign rocking the pro wrestling world right now, and said the incidents with Lagana are a big reason why she took time away from the business.
She captioned the statement on Twitter and wrote, "Well here's my #SpeakingOut which happened when I moved to California for wrestling. Essentially this was a big part of why I took my hiatus."
...About two months into my stay, I had gotten a job and was working very little, my savings was running dry from adventures all over job hunting, one night he was home and we went to bed. Everything was normal. We had clothes on, I fell asleep. I woke up in the middle night of the night and he had his hand down the front of my pants underneath my underwear. He was also touching himself. I was scared. I froze for a moment and pretended I was asleep. Then I tossed hard and pulled away, hoping he would leave me alone. He did. Then he kicked me out that week with less than a week's notice...
While Lagana is still quiet on the matter, the NWA announced today that Lagana has resigned as Vice President. It was also noted that production of all NWA content will be temporarily halted until executive management positions are re-filled.
"Pursuant to allegations made by pro wrestler Liz Savage on her Twitter account, 6/18/2020, NWA VP David Lagana has resigned his position, effective immediately. As well all production of NWA content is temporarily halted, pending a restructuring of executive management positions," the NWA tweeted.
WWE Issues Statement Regarding Abuse And Assault Allegations Against Their Talent
Many women have been using the #SpeakingOut movement to address their past experiences with abuse and assault in the wrestling industry.
Several wrestlers have been called out by name, including talent in WWE, AEW, ROH and Impact Wrestling. WWE issued statements in the past 24 hours regarding accusations against Matt Riddle and former WWE NXT Cruiserweight Champion Jordan Devlin.
WWE sent several media outlets a statement regarding the accusations against their talent, noting that they have "zero tolerance for matters involving domestic violence, child abuse and sexual assault." If a talent is arrested on those grounds, they would be immediately suspended. If they are convicted, their contract is immediately terminated.
Below is the full statement:
"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."
The WWE talent that have been accused so far (Matt Riddle, Ligero, Jack Gallagher, and Jordan Devlin) have not issued their own statements.
June 17, 2020
WWE Lawyer Responds To Former Wrestler's "Crown Jewel" Allegations In Lawsuit
A former WWE Superstar is now a witness in an amended class action complaint against WWE, filed by Firefighters Pension System of the City of Kansas City Missouri Trust, which includes dealings with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Allegations from the still-anonymous former WWE talent matches several claims that had made been made about the Saudi travel debacle that several WWE employees dealt with in November 2019. The wrestler recalled an alleged "hostage situation" where the crew was stranded in the Kingdom. The lawsuit stated that the wrestler worked for the company from 2012 to April of 2020 and participated in the Crown Jewel event last October.
Longtime WWE attorney Jerry McDevitt of the K&L Gates law firm issued a statement to Alfred Konuwa of Forbes today, denying the allegations.
McDevitt noted that three different firms had been on the suits, but the first two dropped their lawsuits to avoid sanction motions. The third firm continued with their suit and that's where the anonymous wrestler was cited.
McDevitt referred to the wrestler as "disgruntled" and said they have no knowledge of the facts. He added that WWE is preparing their response to the lawsuit and will be moving to have it dismissed.
You can see McDevitt's full statement below:
"These false allegations were originally made in two suits filed by two different law firms. After the Court appointed a third firm to be lead counsel, WWE provided all three law firms with specific detailed facts from the persons with actual knowledge of the situation, including the phony allegation about the plane. The first two law firms then dropped their lawsuits to avoid sanction motions, but the third firm chose to ignore the specific facts they had been provided, and instead cited an unnamed disgruntled former wrestler with no knowledge of the facts. WWE is preparing its response to the lawsuit and will be moving to have it dismissed."
June 15, 2020
Man Previously Shot At The WWE Performance Center Returns
Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful.com is reporting on Twitter that Armando Alejandro Montalvo the man who was shot by an Orange County sheriff's deputy outside of the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida after an incident in 2015 has returned.
The man who was shot outside the WWE PC years ago just had to be removed from the area by WWE security yet again. He's trying to send a message to Triple H.
He claims that he's been trained by Team 3D and that he did security for WrestleMania. The security guard is trying to de-escalate the situation. It looks like it ended without incident. He streamed it on his Facebook page.
The security guard oddly told him to go try his talents at AEW, but did a really good job making sure everything ended calmly.WWE recently filed a new civil hearing against Montalvo related to two May incidents that happened outside of the WWE Performance Center in Orlando.
Real Fans Used At Today's WWE Television Tapings
There will be a small number of real fans at today's WWE television tapings. Bryan Alvarez of F4WOnline.com first reported that these were actual fans and not WWE Performance Center recruits.
Wrestling Inc. has learned that the fans are some of the local diehard fans, as well as friends of the wrestlers. They had to sign waivers to not take pictures or send out spoilers. They received a free t-shirt as well.
WWE had been holding shows without fans since March due to the Coronoavirus pandemic. Last month WWE started placing NXT wrestlers and developmental talent in the crowd to improve the atmosphere on the shows.
here will be a small number of real fans at today's WWE television tapings. Bryan Alvarez of F4WOnline.com first reported that these were actual fans and not WWE Performance Center recruits.
Wrestling Inc. has learned that the fans are some of the local diehard fans, as well as friends of the wrestlers. They had to sign waivers to not take pictures or send out spoilers. They received a free t-shirt as well.
WWE had been holding shows without fans since March due to the Coronoavirus pandemic. Last month WWE started placing NXT wrestlers and developmental talent in the crowd to improve the atmosphere on the shows.
WWE Developmental Talent Tests Positive For COVID-19
A WWE wrestler has tested positive for the novel coronavirus.
The wrestler, who is a development talent and not a main roster star, was last at the WWE Performance Center on June 9. While no other talent have reported symptoms, the company is testing all talent, staff, and employees that were at the PC immediately.
“A developmental talent, who was last on site at WWE’s training facility on Tuesday, June 9, has tested positive for COVID-19,” WWE Associate Medical Director Dr. Jeffrey Dugas explained in a statement sent to WrestleZone. “Since that time, no other individuals that attended the facility have reported symptoms. However, out of an abundance of caution and to ensure the health and safety of the company’s performers and staff, all talent, production crew and employees on site at the training and production facilities will be tested for COVID-19 immediately. Following the test results, WWE plans to proceed with its normal television production schedule.”
Multiple Lawsuits Filed Against WWE Regarding Saudi Arabia Deal; Former Talent Supports Original Crown Jewel Flight Reports
Dave Meltzer is reporting on his post WWE Backlash edition of Wrestling Observer Radio that well over a dozen class action lawsuits in the the same vein have been filed by people who have stock in WWE for allegedly misrepresenting to investors the nature of the situation with Saudi Arabia, the television deal being the primary bone of contention.
According to Meltzer, the key to the lawsuits is that the filers have two secret witnesses, one of which happens to be wrestler and another is an employee from the Middle East Broadcasting Center (MBC) which is the station that was negotiating with WWE for the new TV deal.
The lawsuit filed states that the parties could not agree on basic assumptions of a proposed deal. The MBC witness recalled that “WWE had wildly unreasonable expectations of the revenue expected from a potential broadcast partner. It proposed an $80 million licensing fee and a projection of a 100 million plus over-the-top subscribers which were based on the large number of OSN subscribers who also watched WWE.” (It should be noted that subscribers in this case don’t mean WWE Network, but television subscribers for people in the Middle East who watch WWE)
June 12, 2020
Rumors On WWE Purchasing EVOLVE
There are a lot of rumors going around in regards to the future of EVOLVE and WWE. The two promotions have had a working relationship since 2015.
There have been reports of EVOLVE selling everything to WWE, including the tape library, and being done for good, but neither WWE or EVOLVE would confirm the reports to The Wrestling Observer Newsletter when asked.
EVOLVE has had major financial issues, and the COVID-19 pandemic hasn't helped. The canceling of WrestleMania 36 Week in Tampa was described by The Observer as catastrophic to the promotion.
EVOVLE, which was founded in 2010 by Gabe Sapolsky, has had a working relationship with WWE since 2015. WWE streamed EVOLVE's 10th Anniversary Celebration on the Network last July, which went head-to-head with AEW's Fight For The Fallen event.
Source: Wrestling Observer Newsletter
