Ring Boys Challenge WWE, TKO & The McMahons’ Attempt To Dismiss Abuse Case
New details about the latest on the case.
There’s an update on the Ring Boy lawsuit against WWE, TKO, Vince McMahon, and Linda McMahon, via Brandon Thurston of POST Wrestling and Wrestlenomics.
The plaintiffs filed their formal opposition to the defendants’ motion to dismiss. The filing urges a judge in Maryland to reject the defendants’ efforts to throw the case out. The attorney for the eight Plaintiffs argues that the alleged abuse that happened in the 1970s, 80s, and 90s has a direct connection to the state of Maryland and WWE’s then-leadership either encouraged the environment or failed to put an end to said environment.
The eight plaintiffs are suing under Maryland’s Child Victims Act.
The Ring Boys claim they were groomed and sexually assaulted by former ring announcer Mel Phillips. Another plaintiff claims he was sexually abused by Pat Patterson.
WWE, TKO, and the McMahons argued that because neither the defendants nor the plaintiffs in this case reside in Maryland, in addition to WWE headquarters being located elsewhere, the court in Maryland does not have the authority to carry the case out.
The Ring Boys’ attorney is focusing on WWE’s wrestling history in Maryland and spotlighting the Tuesday Night Titans tapings as proof of WWE’s consistent business in Maryland.
The defendants are also being challenged on the argument that they had no duty to protect the Ring Boys because they were not formal employees. WWE, TKO, Vince, and Linda say that the Ring Boys were working for Mel Phillips and not WWE.
The Ring Boys note that WWE and the McMahons knew about Phillips’ behavior as early as the 1970s and still brought him back after letting him go in 1988.
TKO questioned whether they can be held liable for the alleged abuse that took place long before their merger with WWE. The Ring Boys’ representation argued that TKO took on WWE’s legal liabilities when they merged the company. Linda McMahon’s filings list TKO as WWE’s successor company. If TKO succeeds with an argument, they could be dropped as a defendant in the case.
Maryland’s Child Victims Act was put into place in 2023. In early 2025, the Act was challenged by the U.S. Supreme Court.
