Wrestling

Pro Wrestling EVE Owner Dann Read Gives Statement On Paul Robinson Working As A Producer

Will Ospreay celebrated EVE Wrestle Queendom 8 by thanking everyone involved with the production of the show, from the wrestlers to those backstage.

In his thread, he revealed that Paul Robinson worked with him Michael Oku and Nina Samuels as co-producers for the show.

Robinson was named during Speaking Out, accused of having an inappropriate relationship with a minor. Robinson confirmed he knew the woman in question, but denied any allegations of grooming or taking advantage of her.

On the EVE Discord channel, owner Dann Read posted the following statement regarding Robinson’s involvement on the show:

Okay, so… I’m not going to discuss this in places like Twitter or do “official statements” or anything like that – all I can do is talk on here as me like I always do. Whilst I’m sure there are genuine concerns from some people there like there are here, the way things escalate there quickly makes real conversation impossible. What we’ve built here is different.

I’ve now gone through everything above, and just want to say first off thank you to those who didn’t jump straight into attacking or trying to turn things into gotchas, and instead voiced concerns and asked for clarity. That genuinely makes a big difference.

Clearly some naivety on my part played a role here and I’m sorry if anyone had questions or concerns and didn’t feel comfortable asking me. That’s the exact opposite of the environment I want.

Paul has been back around the scene for a long time and at EVE he has been sat with the other producers in full view of anyone attending shows, on a raised staging area no less, so it isn’t a case of trying to hide him as I think someone above suggested. Quite the opposite, he’s been there in full view for almost a year.

The reason I’ve quoted Dev’s post is because both posts he put reflect the situation as I understand it, and as others in the scene including people within EVE understand it as well. I’ve seen some people say it was something he admitted to, but that has always been denied and there seems to be a lot of confusion around that point online.

I’d like to think, and I think a lot of you do judging by how kind people have been above, that I do my best to be as open as I can. What I can say is that I would never knowingly bring anyone into EVE if there was evidence they were a danger, or if they were someone not wanted there. And while I obviously can’t claim to speak for every single person, I think it’s pretty clear from how cast and crew interact with him that he has their support.

And honestly, I know some people will say that makes me naïve, but I don’t think the kind of support and relationships you see around EVE are something you can fake like this. You saw it yourselves this weekend. I don’t think Wrestle Queendom happens the way it did if there was some other feeling hanging over the place. If anything, the candid backstage photos people have been sharing, the interactions at the after-party etc probably show that better than anything that this is real.

I don’t think there’s a unicorn solution here that will appease everyone and I won’t claim this will suddenly fix things for everyone. At the end of the day this comes down to trust and people’s word, and if some people feel they have to tap out here – I get it, I do. But the statements shared above reflect the character that many people know, and I can’t in good conscience hold things against someone that do not seem to be accurately represented. So I have to believe we are doing the right thing in standing by that.

Fightful will update fans on the situation as more is known.

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