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Original Air Date - December 5th, 2020 This week on the AWF, the action continues from Ellsworth, WI with two big singles matches as 'The Young Gun" Rylie Jackson looks to slow down the momentum of "The Legitimate Athlete" Brandon Gore! Plus, in our Main Event, can AWF Champion JDX hold off the hard hitting fast paced offense of Kenny Alfonso?
All Pro Wrestling: #HalloweenHellXX October 14, 2016 - Pacelli Event Center Daly City, CA 20 Man Battle Royal Final Two Combatants to Challenge for Tag Team Championship • Boyce LeGrande • Synn • Papo Esco • Vinnie Massaro • Manny Mars • Johnny Dynamo • Berkeley Brawler • Amish Johnson • Will Hobbs • Chicano Flame • Bison Braddock • Jeff Cobb • Will Roberts • Karl Fredericks • Sir Samurai • Dalton Frost • Marcus Lewis • The Grappler • Levi Shapiro • Mike Matthews APW Tag Team Championship: Reno SCUM (c) vs Battle Royal Winners
WWE Raw star Matt Riddle filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit brought against him by Samantha Tavel (who wrestles as Candy Cartwright) before the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division on 12/3.
Tavel filed a lawsuit in October against Riddle, World Wrestling Entertainment, the now-defunct EVOLVE promotion and Gabe Sapolsky, seeking $10 million from each defendant, stemming from Tavel's allegations, which initially became public during the Speaking Out movement online during the summer of 2020, claiming Riddle allegedly choked and forced her to perform oral sex on him in May 2018. Tavel's lawsuit stated the incident took place on a bus that was leaving EVOLVE 104 in Summit, Illinois, hence the lawsuit was being filed before Cook County Court. It also alleges that Riddle effectively prevented her from being able to be booked for WWE dates.
In the filing, Riddle stated that he and Tavel entered into an extra-marital affair in April 2017 after meeting while performing for EVOLVE at an event in New York City. They continued to maintain that relationship until Riddle's wife learned of it, at which point, Riddle claims he ended his relationship with Tavel. In his filing Riddle alleges, "Ms. Tavel had a hard time accepting the end of the relationship, and Mr. Riddle changed his telephone number more than once to avoid her calls. Mr. Riddle had no control over any employment relationship Ms. Tavel had with Evolve or WWE."
Tavel remained working for EVOLVE in some fashion until the promotion shut down in the wake of financial losses due to the COVID-19 pandemic leading to the cancellation of their Tampa, Florida events Wrestlemania 36 weekend. WWE purchased the assets of EVOLVE, Inc., including its tape library.
In regard to Tavel's accusations, Riddle's filing, as you might imagine, denied any wrongdoing on his part, stating, "Mr. Riddle emphatically denies Ms. Tavel’s torrid tale. He and Ms. Tavel had a nearly three-year affair during which they engaged only in consensual sexual activity. In July 2019, Mr. Riddle ended the affair after his wife learned of the relationship. In June 2020, Ms. Tavel tweeted an accusation that he sexually assaulted her in a van while other wrestlers were asleep."
Riddle's motion claims that Tavel's lawsuit should be dismissed because it fails to establish that the Circuit Court of Cook Count has jurisdiction over Riddle to begin with and that Tavel's specific allegations also fail to meet federal pleading requirements that bring them beyond speculation. Riddle's attorneys argue that the lawsuit fails to claim that Riddle's, "allegedly tortious activities were purposefully directed at residents of the forum" as Tavel is not and has never been a resident of Illinois. Riddle's attorneys also argued that since he does not live or own property in Illinois, he cannot fall under their jurisdiction.
The motion to dismiss also argues that while Riddle was in Illinois performing for EVOLVE and that the alleged incident happened "on a bus leaving" the venue, therefore those duties would have been completed by the time he was alleged to have assaulted Tavel, so any professional connection to the State of Illinois had been completed. It also claimed that Tavel cannnot claim any connection to her "alleged injuries" (from Riddle's alleged sexual assault against her) and the State of Illinois. For all those reasons, Riddle's attorneys are claiming the lawsuit against him should be thrown out, as they are not strong enough under Illinois law to move forward and that neither party should fall under Illinois jurisdiction in court.
The filing makes mention of two different alleged incidents:
"Ms. Tavel pleads two specific alleged assaults – one in April 2017 and one on May 19, 2018 – but no facts that tie these alleged injuries to Illinois."
The April 2017 alleged incident is referenced in Riddle's motion, noting, "Mr. Riddle believe t[The April 2017] allegation refers to a consensual sexual encounter the couple had in a car on or about April 23, 2017 in New York City after an Evolve event. Mr. Riddle was not in Illinois in April 2017 and did not purposefully direct his activities at any Illinois residents in April 2017."
Riddle also specifically responds to Tavel's allegations that he assaulted her on 5/19/18 in Illinois following the EVOLVE 104 event. In response, Riddle stated that he did perform that evening at EVOLVE 104 in Illinois and that Tavel was at the event as well. Riddle stated that a videographer named Joseph M. Ranta transported numerous performers from the venue to their hotel in Michigan in his van (Tavel's claims have made reference to a bus, but her initial Tweet referred to a van with sleeping EVOLVE wrestlers), as there was another EVOLVE event in Livonia, Michigan the next day.
Riddle's response featured an affidavit filed by Ranta as well as photos of the exterior and interior of his van.
Ranta's affidavit stated that on the evening in question, then-EVOLVE talents Keith Lee, Anthony Henry and JD Drake were also in the van with Drake sitting in the front passenger seat, Henry and Lee in the center seats and Riddle and Tavel in the back seats.
The records from Ranta's GPS on the evening in question were also filed as evidence, noting they left the Summit Park District in IL on 5/20/18 IL at 12:26 AM, They stopped for gas and left that gas station at 12:34 AM, then drove 33 miles to a Denny's Restaurant, arriving in Portage, Indiana at 1:22 AM (48 minutes later), stating that they entered Indiana 36 minutes into their drive, around 1:10 AM. Ranta's affidavit stated that out of all the passengers, only Keith Lee fell asleep during the drive to Denny's and that the other four passengers were awake.
Ranta's affidavit then states everyone exited the Denny's at 2:35 AM, driving 2 hours, 37 minutes to Ranta's home in Mason, Michigan. Ranta stated that Drake, Lee and Henry had all fallen asleep during that drive, with himself, Riddle and Tavel all being awake the entire ride. Ranta stated he, Tavel and Riddle spent 12 minutes at Ranta's home before he drove everyone to The Comfort Inn Metro Airport near Detroit, Michigan where the wrestlers were staying. The affidavit does not mention that any alleged assault took place, but also does not deny one happened.
Riddle's filing featured the following claim, attempting to state that if any inicident even happened, it most likely did not transpire in Illinois:
Based on Mr. Ranta’s GPS and Ms. Tavel’s June 19, 2020 Twitter post, the earliest time the assault could have occurred was during the 2.5-hour drive between the Denny’s in Portage, Indiana, and Mr. Ranta’s residence in Mason, Michigan. Therefore, it is impossible to state a claim under the IGVA for violence that did not arise in Illinois between nonresidents of Illinois.
Riddle's filing also claimed:
Even drawing the facts in a light most favorable to Ms. Tavel, the May 19, 2018 assault is inherently implausible and her right to relief is speculative at best. Mohammed v. Sidecar Technologies, Inc., No. 16 C 2538, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 156090, at *20 (N.D. Ill. Nov. 10, 2016) (dismissing claim where court could not draw reasonable inference that defendant violated the statute based on conclusory and speculative allegations). It is implausible that Mr. Riddle would ask to engage in sexual intercourse “in front of other members of Evolve while on a bus,” immediately after performing at a wrestling event, without any witnesses in a small but full vehicle. If that did happen, no matter the size of the vehicle, surely, someone would have noticed the assault and said something. Count I does not plausibly state a claim, and it should be dismissed.
Riddle is seeking a dismissal of the case.
While Tavel's lawsuit was initially filed before Cook County in Illinois, World Wrestling Entertainment successfully moved to have the lawsuit removed to the Northern District of Illinois. WWE has argued that Matt Riddle was not under contract to them at the time (he signed in July 2018 after New Japan Pro Wrestling showed interest in booking him) and that they had no overview or involvement in the EVOLVE events that weekend.
It does not appear that Sapolsky or EVOLVE have responded to the lawsuit before the court as of this writing.
Joseph R. Meehan, known professionally in the world of pro wrestling as Joey Ryan, filed a request for a summary judgment against Impact Wrestling parent company Anthem Wrestling LLC before the Circuit Court of Davidson County, TN on 11/27, alleging that Anthem took too long to respond to his lawsuit alleging that the company breached his contract when they released him in the wake of a number of allegations voiced against him on social media.
In a filing dated 11/27, Meehan requests judgment in his favor, citing that Anthem was officially served with the lawsuit on 9/24, later requested and received an additional 30 days to respond, but failed to do so in a timely manner. Anthem responded to the lawsuit on 12/4.
In their response, Anthem denied all of Meehan's allegations against them, arguing that his contract indeed ran through August 2021 "unless earlier terminated", claimed that Ryan "misstates" the contents of his exhibits including his Impact contract, that Impact commented publicly about Ryan's exit "so that Anthem's audience would not expect immediate appearances by Plaintiff at wrestling events produced by Anthem", denied that they breached the terms of his deal.
However, claiming Anthem ran over thirty days past their extension before filing their response, Meehan's attorney is arguing that since the company is "not an incompetent or a minor" but "failed and refused to answer" the lawsuit in a timely fashion, therefore Anthem is in default under the Tennessee Rules of Civil Procedure and there is "no reason to delay in entry of a Final Judgment" under those rules.
In his five-page lawsuit filed in the Circuit Court of Davidson County, TN on 9/15 against Anthem Wrestling, Ryan sought a $10 million dollar judgment, stating that he signed a contract on 9/1/19 that was slated to run through 8/31/21 but that the contract was breached when Impact Wrestling Executive Scott D’Amore emailed Meehan on 6/22 to inform him that the company was no longer going to be booking him due to "recent allegations" and that Anthem Wrestling Exhibitions, LLC/IMPACT Wrestling would be "making a public statement to this effect shortly."
Following that email, Meehan received a formal release notice (signed by Anthem Wrestling President Ed Nordholm) the same day (6/22), notifying him that the end of his contract was being “amended” to 6/22/20, thereby releasing him. That was followed by a public statement made by the company that they had terminated Meehan.
Meehan’s lawsuit did not divulge the reasoning as to why he was released by the company, instead focusing on the allegations that Anthem Wrestling breached its contract with him via the following:
-Anthem Wrestling "failed to perform as guaranteed in the express language of the Contract by failing to follow and abide by the terms prescribed in Article VIII. Term and Termination."
-Anthem Wrestling "failed to perform as guaranteed by failing to adhere to the express terms prescribed in Section 8.03 (a)-(i)
Meehan’s filing included a copy of his 23-page contract with the company. The aforementioned section is titled "Termination by Promoter in the Event of Breach" and noted, "Promoter shall have the right, in its sole discretion to terminate this Agreement, or suspend this Agreement for up to 3 months, both as to services and compensation.”
The section then specifically listed a number of potential causes for action to be taken by the company against a talent, including a sub-section that features the following language:
(g) Wrestler commits any act with Promoter believes, in its reasonable business judgment, would damage Wrestler's or Promoter's reputation and/or that of its affiliate, licensees, or assigns or otherwise damages the value or integrity of the Programs, the Works or the Merchandise of which could subject Wrestler to criminal prosecution;
(h) Wrestler commits any act (other than in character in accordance with direction provided to Wrestler by Promoter's Creative team) which places or could place Wrestler or Promoter (or any of its affiliates) in a patently negative light; or
(i) Any instance of a violation for which Wrestler has already received a warning, reprimand or notification therof, provided, however, that in the case of a breach under paragraphs (a), (b), (f), (g),or (h), Promoter shall provide Wrestler with written notice of breach and a 5 day cure period. If the Wrestler is unable to cure such breach after the expiration of the foregoing cure period despite the exercise of diligent efforts to cure same, then the Parties shall make good faith efforts for a period of not less than thirty (30) days to work together in good faith to resolve the matter, failing which Promoter shall be entitled to terminate this Agreement upon the expiry of such additional thirty (30) day period. In the event of the suspension and/or termination of the Term of this Agreement (or promoter's obligations hereunder) Promoter shall have no further obligation to Wrestler hereunder (during such suspension and/or following such termination, as applicable) subject only to Promoter's obligation to pay royalties and to compensate Wrestler for services fully performers prior to the date of termination. Promoter shall not be deemed to be in breach of any of its obligations under this Agreement unless and until Promoter shall have received written notice from Wrestler (specifying in detail the alleged breach and making specific reference to this paragraph and shall have failed to cure such alleged breach within thirty (30) days thereof."
Since Meehan’s lawsuit specifically points to this section of the contract, it would appear he is arguing that if Impact Wrestling felt he breached their contract agreement with him, by the letter of the agreement both sides entered, they should have informed him of the issue in writing and given him a five day period in which to resolve the issue they feel he breached. Then, if he was unable to do so, the parties would have thirty days to attempt to work out a resolution before Impact would have had the actual right to terminate Meehan’s contract with the company. By not following that procedure, Meehan is alleging that due to Anthem Wrestling's actions, he has suffered "substantial monetary damage to his income, as well as damage to his reputation."
As noted, Meehan is seeking a judgment of ten million dollars against Anthem due to damages "he has suffered, which were caused by the Defendant's actions." He is also requesting he be "awarded reasonable attorney fees for the prosecution of this cause" and that the all costs be covered by the Defendant, Anthem Wrestling. He is also asking for any other "further and general relief" the Court may rule he is entitled.
Meehan was the subject of numerous accusations during the #SpeakingOut movement on Twitter over the summer of 2020. Meehan’s work as a professional wrestler and independent wrestling promoter halted when the allegations first came to light. Meehan did answer some of the claims in a now-deleted YouTube video. He is not known to have, as of this writing, been criminally charged in relation to any of the accusations, which could be a sticking point in his breach claim against Impact.
I love Hansen's part of the Ole/Stan promo, cracks me up every time I play that part.