5 accusations made against the WWE

In the past couple of days, former developmental wrestlers have expressed their opinions about the former NXT trainer, Bill DeMott. Although few current WWE superstars have defended Bill, the accusations have once again raised concerns over the existence of bullying in the world of professional wrestling, and particularly in the WWE.Many ex – WWE superstars had previously voiced their displeasure regarding the status quo at NXT and Tough Enough, and the recent accusations have strengthened their claims, stating that Bill had not only racially abused the developmental stars, but has acted against the code of conduct which is followed by the WWE. With Bill stepping down as the trainer of NXT, it once again sounds off the alarm about how more often than not, people in power tend to misuse their authority.In this article, we take a look at five major accusations that were made against the WWE in the past.

#5 Sexual advances of Pat Patterson

One of the most shocking things to come out of the wrestling world during the 90s wasn’t just the involvement of steroids in the industry, but also what happens behind the scenes. With the wrestling fans getting smarter and more engrossed in the backstage topics, a lot of things came to light, and one of the things that raised quite a few eyebrows was regarding Pat Patterson.

Not so long ago, Pat came out as being gay, which wasn’t quite a shocker, as a lot of people already knew that fact. What it did lead to however, was people looking back at some accusations made by numerous talents, including Murray Hodgson who accused him of making sexual advances, and getting fired because he rejected Pat’s offer. Ahmed Johnson, an ex – WWE superstar himself also accused Pat of sexually bullying the talent backstage.

#4 Racist remarks directed towards Alberto Del Rio

Last year, Alberto Del Rio parted ways with the WWE, but not under the best of circumstances. When WWE parts ways with the superstars, more often than not, it is amicable. This time around, a huge controversy erupted even before he left the organization. Reports surfaced online that Del Rio had allegedly slapped a member of the WWE social media team, and as more information came to light, WWE quickly released Del Rio, and posted a formal message, stating that he was released due to “unprofessional conduct”. But as it is with everything else, there were two sides to the story.

Del Rio then accused the aforementioned crew member of racially abusing him, with him belonging to Mexican nationality. It was also alleged that the person looked down upon Del Rio, and when confronted, smiled at the former WWE superstar instead of apologizing to him. With Del Rio being proud of his heritage, he took the matter into his own hands and slapped the WWE employee. While Del Rio claimed that he received a phone call the next day, ensuring that he won’t be released but had to be suspended to appease the WWE employee, he was soon released from the company.

The person in question, whose name was revealed to be Cody Barbierri soon left the organization, but not before the global conglomerate was accused of being lenient towards him, and instead taking action against Alberto Del Rio.

#3 Inappropriate behavior of Michael Hayes

Michael “P.S” Hayes has been one of the longest serving WWE employees in the company’s history, and as such has a lot of “rub” backstage. Hayes was a member of The Fabulous Freebirds, and after his in – ring career, he took up a backstage role in the WWE.

Hayes is also known to be one of the more volatile characters, and has been accused of racially abusing superstars. One such instance allegedly happened during an after – party, when Hayes was intoxicated, and called Mark Henry a “n*gger”. As things turned out, Henry being a company guy didn’t go to the management, and it wasn’t the first time accusations were made against Hayes for his behavior and improper code of conduct.

#2 Forcing the wrestlers to work hurt

Professional wrestling can be unforgiving at times, as the performers put their health and well being on the line as often as five days a week. With WWE currently employing a few hundred talents, there is always someone behind your shoulder trying to climb up the ladder and taking your “spot”. This has always been the case in the industry, and the talent, fearing for their spot and joining the unemployment line work hurt.

Many wrestlers in the past have alleged that WWE had forced them to compete while still recuperating from previous injuries, or have hidden important information regarding the extent of their injuries. Billy Jack Haynes, who performed for the organization in the mid 80s accused the WWE of hiding medical information and evidence on concussions. While this is just one of many accusations thrown at the WWE, it once again raises concerns over the unsafe work environment that persists in the world of professional wrestling.

#1 Sexual assault on a co worker

This one might be the most controversial out of the five mentioned, but there have been many serious allegations against the WWE brass, and believe it or not, against Vince McMahon himself in the past. We’ve all watched how the Mr. McMahon character doesn’t just love power, but asserts dominance over the wrestlers, especially the female performers (Remember the segment where he made Trish strip and bark like a dog?).

In the past, WWE had a female referee by the name of Rita Chatterton (Rita Marie), who worked for the WWE back in the 80s. However, she quit the WWE and later appeared on the Geraldo Rivera’s show, and accused Vince McMahon of making sexual advances, and when she didn’t accept them, she accused Vince McMahon of raping her in his limousine!

Rita wasn’t the first woman to accuse Vince McMahon, as former WWE women’s champion and Brock Lesnar’s wife, Sable (Rena Lesnar) filed a lawsuit citing sexual harassment and unsafe work environment in the WWE. The case was settled out of court and Sable came back to work for the WWE afterwards for a few more years! Even Nicole Bass, who was a female body builder accused a WWE official of sexually assaulting her.

Although we may never know the legitimacy of these claims, we can never be sure of what happened when the cameras stopped rolling. Nonetheless, the recent accusations against Bill DeMott weren’t the first, and won’t be the last, as the professional wrestling industry has a history of being murky.