WWE star Matt Riddle is the latest pro wrestler to face sexual assault allegations
WWE star Matt Riddle is the latest professional wrestler facing sexual assault allegations.
Independent wrestler/valet Candy Cartwright posted a Twitter thread from an alleged 2018 incident involving herself and Riddle, who is set to debut on Smackdown airing Friday on FOX.
The allegations against Riddle come on the heels of Thursday’s #SpeakOut social media trend, where several wrestlers were accused of various sexual assault and harassment allegations.
“I’m posting this because I have been so sad for so long,” Cartwright wrote early Friday morning. “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 #speakout.”
“Back in May of 2018 I was riding with Matt Riddle and a few other wrestlers. During the van ride, when the 3 other wrestlers had fallen asleep, Matt asked me to ‘hop on his (expletive)‘ When I refused (although we had previously been together I was incredibly uncomfortable in that setting).
“When I said no, he grabbed me by my throat, choked me and said ‘what if I just made you?’ I ended up giving him (expletive) (praying someone wouldn’t wake up) to get out of having intercourse with him. It was incredibly humiliating.”
“It is never ok to put your hands on a woman, it’s also not ok to not listen when she says no.”
The WWE, which has aired its shows live without fans at its Performance Center in Orlando after Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis gave it the green light to resume as an essential business in mid-April, issued a statement regarding the allegations.
“We take any allegation of this nature very seriously and are looking into the matter,” the WWE statement reads, according to WrestlingNews.co.
The WWE’s official statement on Riddle was the same as the one issued Thursday relating to various allegations against NXT’s Jordan Devlin and NXT UK stars Travis Banks, Joe Coffey and Tyler Bate, according to Forbes. Independent wrestler David Starr and NWA vice president Dave Lagana are also among the names facing sexual assault allegations.
